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Mike S wrote: ↑Mon Aug 07, 2023 9:10 pm Well, it turns out that the glass had actually shifted a little bit within the housing of the Viper RDS, which in turn pushed the red dot askew resulting in the drastic shift in POI. I'm glad the Vortex Rep who called me actually took the time to look it over while we were on the phone, because the guys in the shop thought it was just zeroed way off.

I had been doing alot of one-handed shooting in the 6 months prior to the zero shift, racking the slide (by using the optic) against the holster, belt, pocket, jeans, etc, so I'm thinking that's what did it in.

Good news is that I asked them to replace it with the Defender-CCW, their newest RDS, & they did. Both RDS' are listed at the same MSRP, but supposedly the Defender-CCW is built more solid (and, the battery is top-loading so no need to remove the RDS to change batteries).

Hey,
Just catching up on this. Good to hear they were able to find the issue and solve it to your satisfaction. Not sure the rack procedure you're using is kosher, but I suspect it's not explicitly forbidden by the User Manual.
But it seems they were OK to replace the sight, even given the circumstances. Thanks for following up and letting us know.

LabRat

Mike S wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 9:04 pm Thanks for the feedback!

The G-19 is the only pistol I currently have that the Viper RDS fits on so I didn't swap it out, but I'm confident it was the optic & not the gun. I could look at the dot through the optic, and then refocus on the front sight & see how far off it was from the point of aim. After removing it & reverting back to iron sights the gun was dead on.

Vortex didn't say much when I contacted them, other than to send it in for repair & they emailed me a prepaid label for the return. The rep did offer to fill out the service request form for me, but I had already downloaded & filled it out. I did ask them to replace it with their new Defender-EDC as it's listed at the same MSRP, but we'll see. Regardless of what goes on it next, I'll be running it hard for a bit before I have full confidence it it.

It went in the mail yesterday, so I'll let you know when I get what I get back & how it runs.

Sounds good. Just my musing about the gun. Good check you did to confirm the optics.
Will monitor thread for any updates.

LabRat

Wow, that's a lot of shift. Not drift; but shift.
Interesting information and a good video of the issue. You did not come off as bashing Vortex; just a presentation of your data and a path forward to resolve.

Like you, I've heard Vortex CS is excellent. Hopefully, they investigate to determine the cause, not just replace the sight and move on.
Having said that, a quick internet search didn't find more than 1 or 2 articles regarding Vortex RDS experiencing shift in the zero.
Maybe it's just a one-off and not a systemic issue?

I watched the video, but don't recall if you noted trying the RDS on another pistol? Just to see if the issue followed the RDS after swapping to another weapon? Any issue with accuracy when using the iron sights?
Just curious; weapon is also part of the "system" when you're shooting. Thinking out loud here....

I'm looking for an RDS for my Canik TP9SFx. Vortex was on my short list, but I think I'll hold off until you post a follow up to the results. Interested to know what they find as a likely or root cause.
A few years ago, I had an EOTech RDS that experienced a significant shift in the zero due to thermal drift. As I recall, humidity was also an issue linked to zero drift. Sent the 512 back to EOTech with the receipt and they did issue a full refund, including my shipping costs.
They were sued by the US Military for the issue as I remember.

Let us know what you hear from Vortex. Thanks for posting.