Rifle Scopes Opinions on Sightron

[Jcreek201]

I've always been told buy the best optics you can afford. At the time it was Barska, and I got burned...bad (not surprising to most of you, I'm sure.) Well, that mistake won't be made again. I've got a little bit more money this time but I'm not in a huge hurry and can keep saving if I have to. I'm looking for a decent target scope in the 24-32 max power range and haven't heard much about Sightrons. Thoughts?

 

[Straight Shooter]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

I just bought 2 Sightron SIII 8-32x56LRMOA scopes for a couple upcoming LR 338 Lapua builds.

Out of the box the glass looks very good with no obvious edge to edge distortion, the colors look good along side VX3 8.5-25x50 shop scopes and the 2 MOA reticle is nice. The adjustment seem smooth and positive. I hope they work. With the money we saved allowed us to buy nice custom TAC 338 actions.

I may mount mine up on my shop 6.5x284 and go try it out on some squirrels this Sunday.

 

[Armored Transport]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

I have one of the exact scopes listed above on a custom 300 RUM and couldn't be happier.

 

[ToddKS]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

A friend of mine bought an SIII 6-24X50 about a month ago. Glass is very clear and tracking has been spot on. I am considering buying one myself to upgrade the scope on one of my AR-15's.

 

[1911GunNut]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

I have a couple of sightron on target/Benchrest rifles. They do have excellent glass for the money. Tracking has been perfect.

Now, they don't appear to be build like a tank as nightforces do...but that's fine for me. My target and Benchrest rifles aren't ever in a harsh or abusive environment.

I would buy another sightron. Just depends on the rifle. Can't afford European glass for every rifle. Unfortunately.

 

[GSRswapandslow]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

glass = nightforce (some say slightly better)
tracking = almost March quality!!
build quality = hard to say...it can't be used as a hammer, like USO....but I'd not cry if I dropped it
price = Vortex Viper area

They're hard scopes to beat....had I not got a super good deal on my Viper, i'd have an SIII. My best friend runs the 8-32 mil/mil on his 260...and it's a fantastic piece of glass.

Just a hint.... www.bigsupplyshop.com then go to SWFA for the 110% price match...just sayin..

 

[BobD]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: *Straight Shooter*</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

I may mount mine up on my shop 6.5x284 and go try it out on some squirrels this Sunday. </div></div>

6.5x284 + Annoying Squirrel = Pink Vaporized Mist

Question for you... What else would you compare the SIII to as far as its different qualities?

Vortex pst, bushnell etc...
Eg. Glass better than (x) but not quite as nice as
Anything else stand out?

I've seen a few reviews but never handled in person. Would be nice to hear another opinion of how it stacks up to its competition.

Good luck with your builds, curious to hear how well the sightron holds on 338-

 

[SierraCJ5]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

I have the 8-32x56 LRD on my 6BR that is mostly used for F-Class and informal targets. Works great; clear, tracks well, repeatable. It delivers everything you need for a reasonable price. One gripe you will hear people mention is the very sensitive and sometimes stiff side focus. Is it a problem? Not for me. You'll have a hard time finding an equivalent scope for the price.

 

[1911GunNut]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 1911GunNut</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a couple of sightron on target/Benchrest rifles. They do have excellent glass for the money. Tracking has been perfect.

Now, they don't appear to be build like a tank as nightforces do...but that's fine for me. My target and Benchrest rifles aren't ever in a harsh or abusive environment.

I would buy another sightron. Just depends on the rifle. Can't afford European glass for every rifle. Unfortunately. </div></div>

Let me add, my experience has only been with SIII series, I can't speak to the others.

 

[leadbullet]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

I have two SIII, an 6-24 and 8-32, I have shot both in Fclass matches from 600 to 1000 yds and couldn't be happier, glass is great, tracking spot on, and price is very reasonable for that kind of quality. Only problem is I loaned my 6-24 to a friend 10 months ago and he won't give it back, it sits on his TRG22 and brags how accurate it is, he needs to get his own scope.
hope this helps.

 

[LineofDeparture]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

I own a SIII SS 6-24x50 LRMOA... Seems like a solid scope, I also own 2 NF NXS 5.5-22x56mm NP-R1.. They are not equal. Glass is not equal. I hate to inform the sighttron fans. Sighttron has made a wonderful scope and glass for the price but they are in two different leagues. If you guys are comparing them on bright sunny days, then you're crazy. Pick a hazy day and tell me what you see.. or night time or dusk. This my friends will seperate the men from the boys. HOWEVER for the price, Sighttron is an excellent scope. The only complaint i have about mine is that the parallax adjustment knob is a bit tight but i imagine it will get better as i use it more. Two seperate leagues guys, but Sighttron is excellent for what i paid for it.

 

[BobD]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

What are all of your opinions on the different magnifications in the SIII series? Any appreciable differences in quality in either the lower or higher mag models? 32x and 50x require some pretty serious glass to produce a respectable picture in that range...

Also, any takes, gripes or prefrences on the reticle choices?

 

[overbore]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

What is your experience with a S111 on a.338 Lapua with an unknown range in the area of 1,700 yards?

Laus Deo
overbore

 

[Sapper524]

Re: Opinions on Sightron

in the sub $1k range Sightron is a good option. For a strickly target rig a good choice. Some comparisions / reviews I wrote up ...

http://sapper-dz.blogspot.com/2012/05/siii-6-24x50-vs-pst-6-24x50.html

http://sapper-dz.blogspot.com/2012/02/sightron-6-24x50-lrmdcm.html

 

[texote]

i love mine! got a 6-24x50 siii

 

[Sniper260]

It's been one of the scopes I'm looking at buying too. I've heard nothing but good things, and lots of benchrest guys use them.

 

[Sniper260]

One thing I can't answer about these and I'd like to know... Sightron says all of their scopes are in the 2nd focal plane... Most of them are variable power... This would mean that the crosshairs don't stay true throughout all the power settings correct?? From my understanding only a variable power scope that is first focal plane stays true throughout all the power settings...

 

[cb_tikka]

To me, SIII 6-24x glass is better than the Viper PST 6-24x glass especially above 20x.

 

[prieto9000]

I own both, Sightron SIII 8-32X56 MOA-2 and a Viper PST 6-24X50 EBR-Mrad and I'm trading mi sightron for a second viper PST.
Glass may be a little better on the sightron, at least that's what a lot of people say on every forum I've checked. To my eyes "my" scopes seem very very close, can't tell the difference.
Viper magnification ring is just a treat, you can go from 6x to 24x with no problem. Can't say that of the sightron. It's practically impossible to change the magnification setting without having to put the rifle down and use one hand to hold the rifle an the other to change the magnification. That is a very very annoying situation. The other thing that made me trow mi SIII away is that the parallax adjustment knob is super thight also, and looking at a target at 1800yds with the knob set to infinite will be impossible, you need to set it "about" half way. With the viper you just crank it all the way and you get a crystal clear image. The turrets are the opposite. Sightron turrets are prone to move because, Vortex's turrets are much stiffer, but you can make quick adjustments if you need to. Zero Stop is also a nice feature. Tracking on my PST is dead-on. Never missed a target using my ballistics app, so I belive they are true .1mil clicks. FFP reticle on the Viper PST is also very useful and if you add the fact that the reticle itself is more "user friendly" you've got more points in favor of the vortex.
I was shooting at steel targets @ 950yds last week with no problem very close to dusk. Image was clear enough to shoot with my viper pst.

This is the experience I've had owning both scopes. Both were mounted on my .338 EDGE and I'm kicking the SIII out of the house to buy a new PST for my .308 win.
Maybe I got a very nice Viper PST and a crapy SIII, maybe, but I belive Statistics say they must be the average scope from each brand.

 

[Mr Flannel]

SIII range is best value for money around - if you're happy with 2FP and MOA adjustments. Probably not built to take as much punishment as some scopes but they're all optical instruments in the end..

 

[flatland1]

I've been shooting with SIIIs for several years now, and have yet to have one give me any sort of problem. Yeah, I'd love to have the bucks to be able to mount anything I wanted on the rifles I've built myself over the past eight years, but that's just not the case, so I buy the best glass I can afford for each rig. Right now, I've got four 6-24x50 LRMOAs, one 6-24x50 LRMD, and one 6-24x50 LRD, plus a couple of the 8-32x56 LRDs on LR BR rigs. No regrets where optical quality, click accuracy/repeatability are concerned. And yeah, I've compared the 8-32x56 side-by-side to a NF BR 8-32x56 at dusk, and still feel the optical quality is about the same, with even a slight edge going to the SIII's color rendition.

On the negative side - the tactical knobs on the LRMOAs vary some on ease of turning - one scope's knobs move easily enough so that I've got to be very careful when removing or replacing that rifle in or out of the drag bag. The others are stiffer, and are no worry. I've also got a couple of Vortex 6-24x50 Viper PST SFP scopes, and would love to have their knobs, zero stop, and reticle on the SIIIs. The SIII glass will resolve 223 hits on steel at 600, even when shadows from trees west of my backstop fall across the targets, while the Vortex isn't quite up to that task. So if Vortex could bump the quality of the glass in their PSTs to at least equal that of the SIII, I'd be in the market for that one, probably even sell off a few of the SIIIs to get 'em.

Whatever - I keep buying powerball tickets each week. I'll have a couple of Premier Reticle Heritage scopes if I ever hit any kind of a jackpot. But for now, I'm just glad the market for good glass is good enough so that we've got some of the mid-range price choices that are available.

 

[mws2000]

I have one of the Slll 6x24 tacticals. Been very happy with it. Excellent glass and has tracked perfectly.

 

[Abq-Defense]

I have (2) Sightron SIII 6-24x50, MOAR scopes. The tracking, glass, and reticles in both are as folks have described above. I have used both scopes in tactical matches and found the turrets to be solid, but smooth. I have dialed the Sightron all the way up when I do ELR and my scope always returns to zero.

I have used my Sightrons at 1500 yards. That was pushing the limits of the scope, but I was able to make out the target well enough. The last time I shot at 1108 yards, my first 3 shots were hits. Obviously the scope did what it was supposed to.

I recently bought a Premier Reticles 5-25x56 scope, so I have one of my Sightrons up for sale. The Premier costs 3.5x, and the glass is clearer, but I really miss how the sightron functions. I know it sounds crazy, but the Premier MOA setup has superfine reticle adjustments. I find it hard to dail in stuff like 8.5 quickly (i.e. match conditions). The Premier is new, so I will give it a little more time, but the fact that I even consider going back to my Sightron for matches speaks volumes.

 

[steve123]

One thing I can't answer about these and I'd like to know... Sightron says all of their scopes are in the 2nd focal plane... Most of them are variable power... This would mean that the crosshairs don't stay true throughout all the power settings correct?? From my understanding only a variable power scope that is first focal plane stays true throughout all the power settings...

Correct. That's the only reason I haven't bought a Sightron, too spoiled by FFP.

 

[kiwiaug]

i have been looking at them for my savage 260 lrp, mates have the 8-32 sightrons, they look good, but been reading up on ffp scopes and they seem to be they way to go (had a pm2,3-12x50) didn't like it, but sold due to cheating wife break up.had a look at a viper hs and it looked great and bright. the sightron was going to be the scope for me but gone the pst 6-24 ffp as it seem to have better features that work.

 

[Maroonfeather]

Tag until I figure out how to subscribe. The Sightrons sound great, hopefully they have some good ffp models.

 

[BobD]

What are all of your opinions on the different magnifications in the SIII series? Any appreciable differences in quality in either the lower or higher mag models? 32x and 50x require some pretty serious glass to produce a respectable picture in that range...

Also, any takes, gripes or prefrences on the reticle choices?

I posted this back in August, shortly afterwards ordered the SIII 8-32x56 LRMOA-2. It's a terrific scope, very happy with the reticle and the glass does it justice to the top of its mag range. I've compared it on lower settings next to an Elite Tactical I own and the glass is quite different. I'm perfectly happy with the Bushnell (its plenty bright) but for purposes of seeing bullet holes and the like Sightron has better contrast and resolution (at least this sample, in my eyes). Colors are very natural looking as well.

Turrets are serviceable... Tactile and audible with consistently the same feel.

I mentioned in another thread that they have now developed 2 new mil based reticles (mil hash and silhouette) with matching turrets. They are also now starting a custom shop to change reticles, parallax focus, and adjustments (ie .05 and .10 mil, .125 and .25 moa). In a fairly short period of time I've grown to be quite a fan of them.

Money very well spent as far as I'm concerned-

 

[flatland1]

BobD, gotta agree with you on SIII's optical quality, and I do like the MOA-2 reticle, though I prefer Vortex's EBR-1 over it. What I'd really like to see out of Sightron is a simple but effective zero stop like the Vortex PST has. I've always felt that the SIIIs are the best value for dollar spent; even though I've been bragging on the accuracy of the clicks on a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50, I don't believe it's got anything over my SIIIs in that regard.

Only negative things I can say about the PST 6-24x50 are that its glass quality isn't quite up to that of the SIII, and I definitely don't like the illumination dial being out on the ocular bell where the bill of my cap hits it during recoil.