Rifle Scopes Which would you pick? Viper PST 6-24 FFP vs Sightron SIII 6-24

[alpha6164]

I am looking for a "lighter" scope for my 308 semi. Let me say that i like magnification and 8-10x is just not enough for me. I like 15x and above. Most scope i have looked at are 30+ ounces. I have narrowed the choice to Viper PST FFP 6-24 or the Sightron 6-24 SFP with illuminated center dot. I would chose the Sightron FFP but it appears it does not come with the lit center dot which is a deal breaker for me. Being SFP is not a deal breaker although i would have loved if it was FFP with lit reticle. I have seen glowing reviews on the Sightrons glass and turrets. It seems that most say the Sightrons glass is significantly better. My questions is which do you think is more stout as far as being rugged. I know neither are like a NF or USO etc but just wanted to know. Also, is the glass on the PSt that bad? I had heard that the 4-16x PST was pretty bad and that the 6-24 was much better but was surprised that was that much worse than the Sightron. I really want to like the Viper PST cause its only 23oz, FFP and lit reticle. But if the glass is an issue i will settle for second focal plane and much better glass. Would love to hear your inputs.


BTW, forgot to mention that the scope has to be MOA/MOA or i know there are other options such as SWFA etc.

 

[Travis S]

Why not the 4-16 pst? Glass in either is good. I'm going with the pst for my bolt and semi.

 

[SomeOtherGuy]

Haven't we had this exact discussion three times in the last month? My vote is for Sightron. But flip a coin, do whatever you want.

I've "owned" and returned two of the 4-16x50 PST scopes in the last year and both were pretty bad above 13x or so. I've never seen the 6-24 PST in person but it seems to get consistently good reviews.

 

[Jake and Anna]

Viper PST is the way to go. Good glass at reasonable cost.


JVS
Sent from some spot on Earth hosting my current adventure

 

[GhostFace]

I'm running a 6-24 PST on my AR-10 and I love, the glass is pretty damn good, better than my MK IV but it does get a little dark at 24X. I am very satisfied with it, I have never seen a Sightron other than the internet so I can't help you there....

 

[KWilson]

Having looked through the Sightron i liked what i saw. It would be my choice of the two.

 

[Shibby!]

I own a PST 6-24x and some of my buddies have a SIII. The SIII glass is better, eye relief is better too. Not sure the cost differences on the FFP models, but if you can pay the premium, the Sightron is a good buy. Otherwise, I've been happy with my PST. Actually upgrading it to the Razor here this week just to try something new.

 

[jagged77]

With the Sightrons you get a lot of scope for your money. Yes they don't have the features of a pst but the glass, tracking and build quality more than make up for it.

 

[EXSOCAL]

I have owned over a dozen PST's over the last few years - almost every single one made. The only one I actually thought was worth the price was the 2.5-10x. The features of the PST's are nice as some have mentioned, but they do not hold a candle to any of the Sightron SIII line of scopes. I have sold every single PST, including the 2.5-10 and currently have Sightron SIII's on 2 rifles, and SII Big Sky models on 3 rimfire rifles. Talk to Scott @ Liberty Optics about these scopes, he just sold me the new 3.5-10X44 Sightron LR MOA Illum Reticle for a 20" Krieger barreled, long range coyote rifle. I was so blown away with the brightness and clarity of the glass I sent him an email the day after I got it saying how it was damn near as good as my 2.5-10x32 Nightforce.

Apples to apples ( PST vs SIII ) the SIII wins where it counts in my opinion. It is been documented widely on this forum and all over the other forums that the 4-16X PST was a dog optically. the 6-14 was the better of the two but still has its issues in the higher mag levels. All of the ones I looked through were good down low, but up over 20X they were just too dark.

One man's opinion.

Cheers

 

[Triple D]

SIII.

I own the 4-16 and 6-24 PST's and the 8-32x56 SIII. I've owned the 6-24 SIII and will be purchasing another.

The PST has more features but I'm really into glass resolution and brightness. To me, the SIII is the way to go in that price range. That being said, I've used my 4-16 to harvest deer at 340+ yards and shoot steel out to 975yds. The glass isn't as crisp, but it does it's job. For the longest time I thought they were very close optically (SIII /PST) until I did a resolution test at 100 and 300yds. The 6-24pst could make out 1" red dots, but the SIII could resolve 1/2" dots and 30 cal holes at the same power at 300yds. It was a warm day with a varying mirage, but I think it speaks volumes about what the SIII's are capable of.

Even with my love for the SIII, I'll admit that the PST's are a good optic.

4-16 on my 7mm during load development 1/4" dot at 100yds. 1 sighter then 3 to test promising loads. Perhaps a ballistics expert can confirm that a heavier bullet wouldn't spin as fast as a lighter bullet (zero'd for 140 NBT and testing 162amax's) which would result in the initial round being left of the target with a right handed twist.

 

[Mayhem52]

At full mag the Sightron has considerably better clarity than the Vortex. I really like the Sightron reticule better. I haven't destroyed either one of my scopes yet so I can't say anything about durability between the two but I'm guessing they are similar. IMO the Sightron has better turrets but they don't have a zero stop. You have to loosen and reset the turrets to establish the zero position. Vortex has a better warranty, prices are close to the same if you do some shopping. Vortex comes with bikini covers, Sightron has flip up caps.

 

[pawprint2]

Sightron's warranty isn't bad!
Sightron Warranty

Even really great products require a warranty and service to match. We wouldn’t expect you to trust our products if we didn’t believe in them ourselves. We’re certain our riflescopes, binoculars, and spotting scopes will line up to your high expectations and never let you down.

We are so confident in the quality of our products that Sightron offers a “Lifetime Warranty”. Should your Sightron product ever fail due to workmanship or materials , simply return it to Sightron and we will repair or replace it at our option.

 

[Snip3r]

I wish Sightron would get it together and offer the SIIISS 6-24X50 LRFFPMH with illumination. I'm trying to decide between that scope and the Vortex Viper PST 6-24X FFP MILRAD.

They recently released an illuminated scope in MOA only....

 

[jagged77]

I asked Sightron directly if the SIII's were .50 BMG rated and what would happen if I had a problem. The answer was yes and in the remote event of a problem it would be taken care of by customer service - repair or replacement no issues. Sounds like a pretty robust warranty if you ask me...

 

[Mayhem52]

That's pretty good. I agree Sightron has a lifetime warranty but the way it's written limits what they will cover and excludes some things specifically, which does put it behind the lifetime repair or replace for any reason it broke that Vortex provides. I do think the Sightron is a better product though, and I am not one to buy a lessor product for the same or more than the better product simply because the warranty is a little better. I do feel for the mil-mil shooters since Sightron isn't serving them all that well yet but if you're an MOA shooter you're well covered.

 

[GotGoodGroups]

I have a Sightron SIII 10-50X -60 that I am very happy with. It is bright, clear and hasn't given me any issues.

 

[rockbox]

I have a Sightron SIII 10-50X -60 that I am very happy with. It is bright, clear and hasn't given me any issues.

The fact that Sightron's glass holds up at 50X is the reason why I bought one. If I wanted dim, fuzzy optics at max magnification, I would buy a tacticool Walmart centerpoint special.