MTC Viper 3-12x44

[Davestate]

Bought myself one of these recently to see what the 'new kid on the block' is like. It arrived in a box the size of an 8-32 Elite 4200 which was a bit of a shock as I wasn't expecting a telescope Upon opening said crate I was pleasantly surprised to see that the excess housed all the extra goodies that are included in the price; sunshade, 30mm mounts & big side-wheel to name a few.

A quick glance at the ret had me in awe at all the aiming points, and unlike some rets from other manufacturers, the spacing seemed more purposeful without washing out the sight picture with dozens of lines - very impressive.

The first outing was a lamping trip, (a few weeks back when much of the Country was under heavy fog), a quick zero in my garden range then out on the hunt. Unfortunately, due to the poor weather visibility was down to 50yds at best, less than 30yds for most of the time so any sign of Roger would have been a miracle, but under lamplight, the Viper performed extremely well. Again, very impressive.

Earlier today was my first chance to get to the club, were I could get some real target practice in. I was truly amazed at the fact that the scope actually snaps in to focus while adjusting the parallax. I have only come across this on much higher mag scopes, never before on 12x! The multi aiming points are spot on, giving a true mark to aim at over all airgun ranges.

As for the optics: - simply stunning for this price! certainly better than a Bushnell 3200 but not quite up to 4200 quality, almost but not quite – hardly surprising given the price difference.

Build quality is top notch, although the ally flip-ups were marked when I received the scope. As they are included, I have no gripe with this.
The Viper seems to be bombproof; the weight alone backs this up and is the only fault I can give the scope. Stick it on a light rifle and you will soon forget about it, but you will notice on an already heavy rifle, unless you like sore arms.


Overall impressions:-

Price – buttons! Waaay too cheap for a scope with so many features included in the give-away price to start with.

Features - too many, and the turrets which are lockable are ace. The side-wheel and zoom ring are a tad tight, but I expect these to ease off over time. I forgot to mention the illuminated ret, a feature I've never gone for in a scope before as I have never seen the need for it. This one looks good at night, and that's all I can say about it...

Optics - superb, you simply will not find better in this price range. If I were selling the scopes, I would guarantee this.

[baxterbasics]

Don`t sit on the fence,do you like this scope or not??

[Spanner.]

Dave

Did you use the mounts supplied? Are they OK.

[Davestate]

Yup, on an HW100 & a Falcon, no zero shift and fitted a treat. Wouldn't use them on a springer though.

[Pod]

Got mine a couple of weks ago. The ret is absolutely superb; as is the illumination. But I have had a few problems getting a zero. The click values seem inconsistent. One click will move it a tiny amount, another the same and then the next click and the POI moves 4 or 5mm at 30 yards. I'm just hoping that once its all settled in and zeroed that the zero holds.

The Viper also seems to be very sensitive to head position - with a just over 25 yard parallax setting, the error that can be acheived at 45 is quite substantial.

I'll stick with it and see how it works out as the ret is too good to give up, but if it doesn't work out I'll go back to a Lightstream .

[MattLin]

Mine is my first expensive optic. - Expensive being over £100, I'm a student

I've found the optics superb - Nice and bright, Similar to my Simmons WTC.
The reticle has been useful to, the aim points all seem to work well for .177 hold over.


The extras were nice, as mentioned by Dave the covers were marked but its no big deal to me. The sunshades in use and pretty good and the side wheel is nice and solid. The mounts were rubbish on a springer though, due to the lack of an arrestor pin - But what do you expect?

The build quality feels great, one of the only scopes I've ever held I'd trust to be able to club someone with and still shoot straight.
Its held up with 1000 shots through the Prosport too. - Which brings me to a question, Davestate, why would you not use one on a springer?

I love the scope, no gripes with it so far, and unless something at about the same price takes my fancy beforehand, I'll be putting one on my next gun.

[Davestate]

It's the mounts that I wouldn't use on a springer.

[MattLin]

Oh well, I certainly wouldn't recommend that either.
Since, hypothetically, they could become so loose the whole scope slips backwards and ****s you in the face upon firing.
I certainly didn't happen to me, its all hypothetical.

[Gary C]

Mounts are OK no a springer if the rail is wide enough..

But as I said before the mounts cost us about a fiver a set. They are designed to help the guys trading up that want to use a scope but have maxed out and can't afford 30mm mounts just yet.

We advise trading up the mounts to good quality asap.

(We were advised by a few people not to put free mounts in but I still think it's a good idea if it helps a few less well off)

Thanks for the review Dave. High praise indeed from a scope snob

[Davestate]

Just telling it how I find, Gary.

And the mounts are good for a PCP, no need to upgrade imo.

[baz]

The mounts are fine on a springer if you drill a hole in one and tap it for a grubscrew (get someone else to do it if you aint got the tools) then sit mount over AA or HW recoil stud hole and adjust grubscrew to sit in hole

It the mount wont tighten enough remove around 1mm from the fixed side

My 3-12x44 has been on two springers, one FAC, no problems

If you dont feel confident to do the mods I described buy a set of Sportsmatch off JSR, lets face it the mounts were free anyway IMO especially considering the price of such excellent optics

Baz

[R. P. McMurphy]

Had another look at these in last Saturday,was very impressed and will be getting one for sure!

[Maverick]

Just stuck one of these babies on my BTAS HFT400 and it look the dog danglies.

Cracking Scope can't wait to zero it.

[Maverick]

Just stuck one of these babies on my BTAS HFT400 and it look the dog danglies.

Cracking Scope can't wait to zero it.

And now another for my MFR


Dam you Gary and Sammie

[Snapshot]

Finally got round to mounting my 3-12x44 on my MFR and it's a perfect fit using Theoben's 30mm mounts. Must get down the tunnel to get it zeroed.

Jonathan