Red dots have gained a lot of traction among turkey hunters lately due to offering more precise aiming at longer distances. But it hasn’t been all smooth shooting. If you’re using a shotgun with a traditional stock, to mount a dot, you’ll need a compatible Pic rail and an adapter plate. Moreover, with this setup, the red dot ends up sitting quite high on the gun, which makes you lift your head to line up the sight. That’s not exactly an ideal shooting position, you know.
Fortunately, Vortex has stepped up to solve these issues with their Viper Shotgun Enclosed Micro Red Dot, a real game-changer. Finally, shotgunners have a dot that makes sense!
Mounting System
The core feature of the Vortex Viper shotgun red dot is the mounting system with its long, integrated base compatible with most drilled and tapped receivers. No need for rails and adapter plates—the Viper Shotgun red dot mounts directly onto your gun.
To install the Viper Shotgun red dot, all you need is a set of screws and a torque driver. Vortex includes 4 mounting screw kits with the Viper – M4x.7, 6-48, 8-36, and 8-40. All you’ll need is a torque driver to secure the screws to the receiver. All screws tighten to 12in/lbs, so don’t eyeball it, do use the torque driver to secure the screws.
FIX IT STICKS 12 Inch Lbs Torque Limiter
$42.00
Price accurate at time of writing
- Retains accuracy for 20,000 cycles
- Accuracy +/- 6%
- Fits into any standard 1/4" driver
- Accepts any standard 1/4" bit
For a basic setup, you’ll secure the base plate with one screw in the rear and one in the front channel. If your shotgun allows for additional screws, definitely use them. This will add more stability to handle the recoil from heavy loads.
If your shotgun isn’t directly compatible with the Vortex Viper, you can still make it work with a little extra effort. You might need to trim longer screws or use washers, but as long as you do it right, these small adjustments won’t affect how the red dot sits and behaves.
Compatibility
The Viper Shotgun Enclosed Micro Red Dot is designed to work with a variety of turkey guns (like Benelli SBE series, Franchi Affinity 3.5, Mossberg 835, Remington 870, Winchester SXP/SX4) as well as tactical shotguns (think Benelli M4 Tactical, Beretta 1301 Tactical, Mossberg 590A1/590S).
Check Vortex Viper Shotgun Dot compatibility list.
While these are the officially listed compatible models, the Viper Shotgun red dot can also work with other firearms that have a flat mounting surface.
For example, lever-action rifles like Henry rifles (such as the Lever Action Supreme), Marlin (1894, 1895, 336), and Rossi (R95) can all accommodate the Viper. Additionally, the Ruger 10/22 has a suitable mounting area for this optic. It’s even possible to mount the red dot on some muzzleloaders and certain revolvers, as long as they have enough flat area for mounting.
A Dot That Sits Low
Thanks to its long base integral with the sight, the Vortex shotgun red dot sits low on the shotgun, keeping the distance between the bore axis and the sight minimal. This low profile helps with better target alignment, promotes a natural aiming position, and improves recoil control. Essentially, the dot feels like a natural extension of your shotgun’s sightline.
In comparison, many other red dot sights not specifically designed for shotguns require a mounting plate, which raises the optic higher. This forces you to lift your head for proper eye alignment, resulting in a poor cheek weld and an inconsistent aiming position—not to mention the risk of the shotgun smacking you in the face under recoil.
Another great feature of the Vortex Viper Shotgun red dot is that you can see the bead sight through it. This is especially handy for quick target transitions or as a backup in case the battery dies. It’s not true co-witness, though. More on that later.
Zeroing
Zeroing the Viper Shotgun red dot is simple, even if you’re new to optics. The windage and elevation dials are clearly labeled and easy to access. Once zeroed, the optic stays zeroed even under heavy recoil, so you won’t need to make frequent adjustments.
How to Zero Vortex Viper shotgun red dot:
Start by setting up at 25 yards for your initial sight-in. This should give the unit plenty of adjustment range to smooth out any alignment issues. The final sight-in distance will depend on your specific needs, but for most shotguns, somewhere between 25-50 yards should work perfectly.
Here’s how to do it step by step:
- Slugs: Fire a precise 3-shot group. Shot: Fire a single round and then identify the center of the pattern.
- Adjust the illuminated dot so it lines up with the center of your group or pattern.
- Slugs: Fire another 3-shot group to verify the group is centered on the bullseye. Shot: Fire another single round and confirm the pattern is centered.
Keep repeating this process until your zero is spot on. Just remember, when adjusting the turrets, the dot moves in the opposite direction—dial up, and the dot moves down; dial down, and the dot moves up; dial left, and the dot moves right; dial right, and the dot moves left. Take your time, and you’ll have your optic perfectly dialed in before you know it!
Recoil Performance
The Vortex shotgun dot was tested with heavy turkey loads and slugs fired quickly, inertia guns, and lever rifles, and the dot holds zero pretty good.
That said, it’s still a good practice to occasionally check the mounting screws, maybe after firing 40-50 rounds of magnums, to ensure they remain tight.
Also, applying a thread locker to screws can help screws resist recoil. However, the screws on the Viper Shotgun Dot come with a pre-applied locking compound. So it’s recommended to re-apply the threadlocker after 2-3 re-mountings.
Build Quality and Electronics
The Viper Shotgun red dot is built tough to handle heavy use and harsh conditions. Its enclosed housing made from a single piece of 6061 aluminum keeps the lens protected from debris, dust, water, and other elements. Even with water droplets on the lens, the reticle stays clear and fully functional.
The optic features a bright, crisp glass window with a good enough FOV. The brightness buttons are tactile and conveniently located on top of the housing. These buttons allow you to adjust the illumination (with 12 brightness settings – 10 DL / 2 NV), toggle the auto shut-off mode, manually turn the dot on or off, and cycle through reticles (in the MRS version). When in auto shut-off mode, the dot activates the Shake Awake feature, automatically turning the dot on when it senses motion and off after 10 minutes of inactivity.
Another smart design feature is the side-loading battery compartment, so you can swap out the CR2032 battery without removing the optic. This means you won’t have to re-zero your sight after a battery change.
Reticles
The Viper offers two reticle options to suit different shooting needs. One model features a single 3 MOA dot, while the other includes a Multi-Reticle System with seven reticle options, such as halo and circle-dot configurations.
3 MOA Dot: Perfect for precise aiming, this reticle is ideal for turkey hunting or slug shooting. It provides a clean, uncluttered sight picture, making it great for stationary targets.
Multi-Reticle System (MRS): This option includes seven configurations, featuring a 3 MOA dot, a 32 MOA circle, and a 65 MOA circle. The MRS is excellent for fast-moving targets like clay pigeons or waterfowl, as well as dynamic shooting scenarios. Also, according to Vortex, the 32 MOA and 65 MOA circles roughly align with full and modified choke patterns, respectively. However, keep in mind that choke and load combinations can affect your pattern, so this should be used as a general guideline rather than a hard rule.
Limitations
The Vortex Viper Shotgun red dot is a solid optic with plenty of great features, but like any product, it has a few limitations worth noting for potential buyers.
Not True Co-Witness
While the Viper mounts impressively low for a shotgun optic, it doesn’t offer a true co-witness. Achieving true co-witness would require mounting the optic below the receiver’s top deck (like on optic-ready handguns). That said, you can still see the bead with the Viper, which works well for most users.
Astigmatism and Reticle Clarity
For shooters with astigmatism, the Viper’s red dot reticle may appear slightly less sharp compared to green dots, like Holosun 507C, for instance. However, this isn’t a universal rule—some shooters with astigmatism actually find red dots less distorted than green ones.
Additionally, at full brightness, the Viper’s dot can show slight “spackling” (however, that is more common in red dot sights that you might think). Switching to a halo or ring-and-dot reticle can help mitigate this issue.
Window Size
Some might feel the 22mm window is slightly smaller than expected for a shotgun-specific optic. For comparison, the Holosun 507C has a slightly larger window at just over 23mm, and the Williams LRS measures 24mm.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Vortex Viper shotgun dot is an excellent optic, not just for shotguns but also lever guns and muzzleloaders. It’s versatile enough for wingshooting, turkey hunting, competitive shooting, and home defense.
Looking ahead, it would be exciting to see Vortex expand the Viper series—perhaps with a larger “Vortex XL” model or a green dot option. These additions could make the Viper even more appealing to a wider range of shooters and applications.
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