I have always been a fan of Viridian Optics. Whether it’s a red or green dot, a scope, or anything else they make, I’ve never had an issue with their products. They tend to produce optics in the mid-to-upper tier price range.
But do they only make optics in that range?
Nope. I have proof of that in my hands. The Venta line of scopes is made to sell at a lower price point… in this case, $99. Wow. Let that sink in. A Viridian scope for under a hundred bucks!
You might be thinking, how can they do that, and I don’t blame you. I wondered the same thing. I figured they would have to cut costs a lot in order to sell a 4-12×40 scope for that price.
So what did they do? Here’s what Viridian says about it:
- No overcharging: They leave out expensive features and marketing terms everyday shooters don’t use.
- Direct-to-consumer and streamlined retail savings: They cut extra overhead and pass the savings directly to the buyer.
- Purpose-built simplicity: The scopes use standard second focal plane reticles and efficient manufacturing to keep production costs low while maintaining waterproof, fogproof durability.
As you can see, the scope includes only the necessary controls. There is no parallax adjustment/reticle illumination knob hidden on the left side, and no handy little lever to attach to the magnification ring. The scope comes in a box with rings (a plus), a Torx wrench, a sticker, torque settings etched on the rings, and a cleaning cloth. All this for $99.
In my view, Viridian has done the shooting public a favor. Many shooters will not miss the items I just described. Viridian brought a very decent, name-brand scope down to discount-store prices. That’s a good thing!
I placed the scope on a CVA Cascade 6.5 Creedmoor for testing. Nice rifle! Look for a review soon…
Specifications
Here is what this scope’s web page says…
- Manufacturer: Viridian Weapon Technologies
- Price $99.00
- Magnification 4x-12x
- Reticle BDC
- Objective Lens Diameter: 40 mm
- Night Vision Compatible: No
- Weight (oz): 12.38
- Length 328 mm
- Finish Matte Black
- Lens Material: Optics-Quality Glass
- Water Resistance: Water Resistant
- Shockproof No
- Fogproof Yes
- Operating Temperature 14° F – 140° F
- Warranty Lifetime Limited
- Adjustable Windage/Elevation
- Color Matte Black
- Tube Diameter 1 inch
- Eye Relief 67–81 mm
- Field of View, Linear 19’–72′ @ 100 yds
- Parallax 100 yds
- Optical Coating: Fully coated
We can see where Viridian might have saved a couple of bucks with the Venta line. First, it uses a one-inch tube. I’ve seen a lot of scopes over the past decade, and it seems manufacturers are moving to 30mm tubes, or even 34 mm, in their scope lines. Even though they used to be the standard, one-inch tubes are typically used in less expensive scopes, from my observations.
Other Venta Models
They also make a 2-7×32, $89, for closer shots, and a 3-9×40, $89, for all-around use.
Parallax Adjustment
Another area they saved a bit on is parallax adjustment. Many scopes have a dedicated parallax adjustment knob, and if they have an illuminated reticle, that knob also adjusts the illumination and holds the CR2032 battery.
This scope is set for the deer blind, with parallax fixed at 100 yards. What do parallax adjustments do? Why do you need it? Simply put, parallax in rifle scopes is when you sight through the tube and move your head a bit; the crosshairs shift on the target because your viewing position changes.
Many scopes let you adjust the degree of parallax neutralization at various ranges, usually starting at 25 and factory-set at either 50 or 100 yards. If all you hunt is deer or similar game, 100 yards is a good compromise. Parallax adjustment is personal… some shooters’ eyes don’t pick up much, and reticle movement at different ranges isn’t an issue. But it’s nice to have the scope adjusted for those of us whose eyes do seem to shift the reticle. It’s built in here.
Turrets
If you look at the turret shot above, you will see two controls with a cap. These turrets don’t feature a resettable zero, but they still allow ¼ MOA adjustment per click. Many shooters I know don’t need the resettable zero feature; once they find a load that works in their rifle, they stick with it and don’t need to shift zeros.
Glass
As near as I can tell, the Venta scope line is made in China. So many optics are made there today, so that doesn’t surprise me. It also doesn’t put me off, as the glass in this scope is clear and produces sharp images. I had no trouble sighting through it, and the image was clean throughout the magnification range.
Summing Up
This scope is a worthwhile addition to your collection, especially if you have a rifle that “needs a scope” but you don’t want to spend a ton of cash on it. It simply works as intended. For a hundred bucks, I don’t think you could find a better optic for your rifle.
