Sightron vs Vortex pst

Vortex PST or Sightron

  • Vortex PST

    Votes: 49 37.7%
  • Sightron

    Votes: 81 62.3%

  • Total voters
    130
Some very helpful posts on here, so thanks guys! It certainly seems Sightron has one hell of a following. Is there a specific model you would recommend from them as being superior?

I have a custom .260 Rem that is far more accurate than I will ever be. When I first got the rifle, I mounted a Vortex PST 4-16x50 FFP scope. In general, it was a good scope, but I quickly found that it wasn't right for me. I did a lot of research, and looked at a lot of options (I was about 90% convinced that I would be upgrading to a Nightforce ATACR.) but the scope that kept getting recommended was the Sightron SIII 8-32x56. It was about 1/2 the cost of the ATACR and I was concerned that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. I even sent an email to Sightron to ask them quite bluntly why their scopes are so affordable. I was told that it is because they rely on word of mouth, and don't spend a dime on advertising.

When the time came for me to do the upgrade, I contacted Jerry at Mystic Precision and ordered a Sightron SIII 8-32x56 LRMOA. I had the rifle out at the 300m range for the first time with the new scope last weekend and this scope was absolutely the right choice. (I had it out at the 100m in January, but this was the 1st time I got to the 300m)

So, to answer your question, I highly recommend the SIII 8-32x56 LRMOA.
 
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So far I think I have come to the conclusion of the Sightron SIIISS 6-24×50mm LRMOA with the MOA2 reticle.
That being said I'm still a little torn between the FFP and SFP reticle due to the tacticool factor.
 
I have a SIIISS6-24 LRMIL in FFP. I think it is great, but I Dont love how thick the reticle is at 25 power shooting long range. I do like that at any magnification I can use the same holds and adjust off of a FFP reticle spotting scope.
 
Uncledillers, how far do you shoot with it and at the farther ranges how large does the reticle appear.
How much of the target does it cover, maybe .5 moa or less?
 
Most newer FFP scopes have reticle that are 0.030-0.035 mil thick. The thick reticles are usually 0.05 mil.

This is what the various thicknesses look like over 0.5 MOA dots

 
I don't trust what is listed on the sightron site, because if the ffp retical has a center dot that measures .25 moa like the specifications say and the sfp model lists the dot at 1moa @min and .25moa @ 24x then the ffp dot shouldn't appear larger than the sfp at say 1000yrds. If both scopes where set to 24x and viewing the same target at the same distance would they not be comparable as the measurement given for both at that point is .25moa. I thought both would cover 2.5" of target at 1000yrds.
 
I don't trust what is listed on the sightron site, because if the ffp retical has a center dot that measures .25 moa like the specifications say and the sfp model lists the dot at 1moa @min and .25moa @ 24x then the ffp dot shouldn't appear larger than the sfp at say 1000yrds. If both scopes where set to 24x and viewing the same target at the same distance would they not be comparable as the measurement given for both at that point is .25moa. I thought both would cover 2.5" of target at 1000yrds.

What??
 
I don't trust what is listed on the sightron site, because if the ffp retical has a center dot that measures .25 moa like the specifications say and the sfp model lists the dot at 1moa @min and .25moa @ 24x then the ffp dot shouldn't appear larger than the sfp at say 1000yrds. If both scopes where set to 24x and viewing the same target at the same distance would they not be comparable as the measurement given for both at that point is .25moa. I thought both would cover 2.5" of target at 1000yrds.

According to the spec, they both cover 0.25 MOA (2.62" @ 1000 yards) at 24x. The FFP scope will always cover 0.25 MOA, the SFP scope will cover more of the target as you reduce the magnification. The SFP scope will cover 0.5 MOA at 12x and 1 MOA at 6x.

It seems like you are confused by what the reticle does relative to the target when you change magnification. It is a common misunderstanding that the reticle grows in FFP and stays the same in SFP. That applies to what you see looking through the scope, not what is happening relative to the target. In the FFP scope, the reticle is on the same side of the magnification optics as the target. It gets magnified by the same ratio as the target. If you cut the magnification in half, the reticle appears half the size, but so does the target. In FFP, the reticle always covers the same amount of the target regardless of magnification... it's kind of the point of FFP. In SFP, the reticle is on the same side of the magnification optics as your eye. When you reduce the magnification in half, the target appears to be half the size, but your reticle appear the same size as it was at the higher magnification. This means that the reticle now covers twice the amount of target.
 
I don't trust what is listed on the sightron site, because if the ffp retical has a center dot that measures .25 moa like the specifications say and the sfp model lists the dot at 1moa @min and .25moa @ 24x then the ffp dot shouldn't appear larger than the sfp at say 1000yrds. If both scopes where set to 24x and viewing the same target at the same distance would they not be comparable as the measurement given for both at that point is .25moa. I thought both would cover 2.5" of target at 1000yrds.

The printed Sightron info is usually wrong. Their catalog spec sheet has so many errors, I will no longer send out catalogs

In simple terms, the SIII6-24 SFP center dot covers LESS at 24X then the FFP at 24X. Sorry, I have never bothered to measure. They are both very small but for LR paper punching, SFP. For rocks and gongs, really doesn't matter.

In low light or dark background, the FFP can be helpful for some shooters

Jerry
 
So I contacted Sightron about their IOP program that is offered in the states and asked if it would be something they could pass on to Canadians as well. They said they will forward the request to their Canadian distributor Hirsch Precision.
I am glad to see there are more and more great companies offering these programs to us north of the border now.

Update. Turns out the individual purchase plan for Canadians is a no go. Kinda disappointing when you see the amount of discounts Americans can receive that we miss out on up here.
 
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