As the inexorable march of progress continues across the firearms industry, the proliferation of red-dot sighting systems has expanded to shotguns as well. While those who shoot upland birds and clays may not wish to partake, there’s clear advantages for tactical and other hunting applications.
Despite the recent push to mount optics on rifles ever higher and higher, shotguns remain best employed with a natural mount, low on the gun. But the typical mounting options on shotguns — such as an optic mounted on a Picatinny rail mounted on the receiver — result in a sight that’s quite high, ruining your natural mount and often requiring a raised comb. Mossberg’s new shotguns with an optic cut very low on the receiver are a notable exception.
VORTEX OPTICS VIPER SHOTGUN SPECS:
- Enclosed Micro Red Dot
- Dot Size: 3 MOA dot (single dot) or 3 MOA / 32 MOA circle / 65 MOA circle (multi-reticle)
- Dot Color: Red
- Battery Run Time: 50,000 Hours
- Illumination Settings: 12 (10 daylight, 2 NV)
- Weight: 2.14 Oz
- Price: $430 (3 MOA dot), $500 (multi-reticle)
Pros:
- Better than any bead sight
- Directly mounted to the shotgun
- More accurate, faster, more robust
- Enclosed red dot
| Palmetto State Armory | $300 |  |
| MidwayUSA | $300 | |
| Sportsman’s Warehouse | $300 | |
Vortex has come to the rescue with a unique solution, their Viper Shotgun Enclosed Micro Red Dot sight. None of the individual elements of this product are entirely new, but Vortex has packaged them in a very clever way. They’ve built an enclosed red dot with an integrated mount to place the sight as low as possible on a drilled and tapped receiver.
The housing is a single piece of 6061 aluminum with a long base with a rear mounting hole and two more in-line mounting channels that allow you to fasten as many screws as possible to secure it to your particular gun. It’s 4.9 inches long by 1.2 inches tall and 1.3 inches wide, weighing just over 2 ounces.
The slots provide flexibility to accommodate a wide variety of mounting patterns, from Benellis to Winchesters. It needn’t even be a shotgun, so long as it has a flat, drilled and tapped receiver, such as a lever gun. Vortex provides a selection of mounting screws in various thread pitches to accommodate a range of typical applications.
The optic itself is of the recent enclosed variety, providing excellent resistance to the elements and avoiding potential blockage of an exposed emitter. The glass is nice and clear, but it has a noticeable bluish tint.
There are two available models — one has a single reticle with a 3 MOA dot, while the other has several reticles to choose from. Press both buttons to cycle between them, with all permutations of the center dot, 32 MOA circle, and 65 MOA circle elements. There are 12 brightness settings, two of them for night vision. We’d love to see Vortex offer a green version as well. The top-mounted buttons are large and mounted on top of the sight; they’re easy to activate, even with gloves.
The sight takes a CR2032 battery, with the compartment on the side so you needn’t remove the optic to change batteries. Run time is rated at 50,000 hours at a medium setting, with motion activation and auto-sleep after 10 minutes.
We mounted the Vortex for testing on an FN SLP shotgun. It fit perfectly, and we were able to secure it with three screws after removing the top rail and rear sight. It was approximately the same sight plane as the ghost ring sights — nice and low though not quite as low as a bead sight.
The sight was nearly zeroed from the beginning, needing just a couple clicks of windage. With the screws torqued to the spec of 12 inch-pounds (printed on the base so you won’t forget), it held zero throughout our testing.
| Palmetto State Armory | $300 | |
| MidwayUSA | $300 | |
| Sportsman’s Warehouse | $300 | |
The Vortex worked great and mounts the optic as low as possible without melting one into the receiver. We give it two thumbs up, especially for all you turkey slayers out there.
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