What's up with sightron

Market wants reticles like the EBR-2C and the Sightron reticles don't hold a candle to that for PRS style shooting (which is what is driving the tactical scope market). The HS everyone is talking about is the new one with the XLR, which is like the EBR-2C.
 
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I was seriously considering a Sightron, but I can't look through one so it's hard to spend the money on one. I checked out a Prostaff 5 in the store and it's really clear to my eyes so I can't refuse the sale at Cabelas for one.

Wish I could see all these scopes before buying, especially since I wear glasses which makes things problematic.
 
What's not to like? Less bells and whistles, but my old Sightron is going on 9 years ... and not one issue. My 8-32 is working fine after all these years :) 6-24x FFP, the same.

Vortex? Never heard of them :) I used to own one.... never again. My gear has to work, and be reliable. If that means sacrificing zero stop, then so be it. I REALLY dislike waiting for an RMA scope to come back.... it means one rifle is down until the replacement comes back.

The best warrany is the one you never have to use!
 
If you can use a ruler or a measuring tape, you can use that reticle. Its far easier than the estimate in inches and convert to MOA routine (which is also obsolete, btw).
 
I think a zero stop is useful and like them but I believe there are a lot of redical out there that are a bit to busy for the average shooter to use. Aluminated redicals are nice have a few of them on my nsx scopes that I own but are they necessary?

I would rather have a scope that tracks and is repeatable and has clear glass then one that is always going back in for repair. And i seem to be hearing a lot that the lower to mid range vortex scopes are at the shop often more so then sightron. Don't get me wrong even the high end stuff has problems I had nsx go south and a friend had a sb go bad twice.

Just don't understand all the buzz about the pst if there seems to be more problems then most.
 
Sherlock Gnomes said:
I had a sightron and liked it a lot. What's the take on them being suitable to get banged around during the Prs style match Kombayotch?
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Some of the field matches where you shoot mostly prone, they would probably be ok. For the matches where you're shooting out of stuff (east coast matches), I wouldn't trust them (wouldn't trust a gen 1 PST either though). My Premier has a lot of bare aluminum showing from hitting door frames in shoot houses and cars as well as from the occasional rock loophole. Scope turrets often get used as barricade stops... sometimes that's intentional, often it's not. You end up being a lot harder on your equipment that you intend to be when you're doing things on the clock and focused on shooting and not on babying the gear.
 
Sightron totally dropped the ball with their S-Tac line. There is nothing "tactical" about a second focal plane scope when it comes to LR shooting. I don't even want to run SFP on a decent hunting gun. I don't have much experience with the Sightron's, shot a couple of rifles with them, and I like the glass, and the turret feel. But no zero stops and only a few options in FFP options is a total fail IMO.
 
Hi

you seem to you plenty about tactical scope.

What scope would you recommend in the 1500-1600$ range with 24x magnification or more? It would be for precision shooting and long range shooting. No competition

thanks
 
bulldog284 said:
I have been reading lots lately on optics on here and other sights and it seems lately everyone is talking about vortex pst or vipers or the new nightforce models and some of the Burris models xtr 2.

I may be wrong but it seemed like a short while back the buzz was with the sightron scopes 8-32 and 10-50 models, I have not heard much about the tac models? Are they no longer in the game and the vortex train is taking over now?
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The SIII 8-32 and 10-50 scopes continue to be good sellers for me BUT the "fashion" on this forum has changed. PRS or "tactical" style position shooting has become a very popular sport in the US and many up here are talking about it. The game is different then fixed distance square range type sports we commonly shoot so the gear is different.

Super high mag scopes just aren't needed nor desired in the PRS world. 24-27X used to be a really popular high end but I am seeing more gravitate to lower mags due to the need for larger field of view and speed of target aquistions.... catching your missed shots is as important then seeing the target impact.. maybe more so.

In this game, features like FFP, Zero stop, mil/mil, xmas tree reticles have become SOP... so with alot of chatter about the Sport, there is alot of chatter around scopes focused on this sport.

Go to a forum chatting about F class, and none of these scopes come up as these are not desired features... not bad features, just not appropriate for the game. here, there is no interest in any scope over 30oz.. let alone 42oz.

But let's address the elephant in the room, why has Sightron been so slow to respond to the PRS/tactical game? honestly, I have no idea. I have been discussing the game, needs and features over the last few years with the higher ups. They have been very open and responsive ....

Started with 2 FFP scopes.. YEAH, great start.. The SIII6-24X50 LRMOA/LRMH was pretty close to what was being asked for. Their advantage was better glass then their peers in the price range. Sold a bunch.... hoped for version 2.0... how about 1.9 or maybe we can just settle on version 1.7???? So far zip....

That year, I chatted about xmas tree reticles to be added to the FFP scopes... Good idea.

The year after Sightron DID release a bunch... all in SFP high mag scopes (palm head slap). Ummm, why not the FFPscopes? and what about that Zero stop?... So far, I have a "we are thinking on it", "it is in the works", "we want to make sure the zero stop is better then what is currently on the market".

The last point, I get.... The only Zero stop system that I have used and totally love is the Tangent Theta set up. For those with systems from Bushnell, Vortex, NF, I am sure there are pros and cons as I have heard complaints and short comings about them all. Maybe these will be get tweaked and improved on too???? At least companies are actively pursuing this tech.

Maybe Sightron is trying to develop a better system??? don't know but 2017 was not the year to announce this success.

To Sightrons credit, they are attacking niches not common on the NA continent. They are one of the dominant scopes in Air rifle Field shooting.. yeah, just google it. This is what happens when Govts say your gun can't go BANG... The sport is MASSIVE in the UK and Europe.. Talk about very very expensive and high tech rigs. Kind of slow mo PRS as you are trying to engage very small targets on a walk about course and shoot from various "field" positions. ... think urban hunting or "sniping"

Ranging with your scope is critical and Sightron has enhanced their side focus system to work superbly for this very short range game. As hard/easy as it is to make a side focus system work for LR shooting, figuring how to get a full range or adjustment to cover 10 to 65yds is tough. These were their new product offerings a couple of years ago... good for the Air Rifle shooters, not so much for us.

A brand new product line was created around a patent pending side focus system. The SVSS is quite a scope... big heavy, amazing side focus system... this is an ELR target scope. Again, a niche market with really, not a whole lot of true participants.. how many shooters can actually shoot beyond 1000yds? beyond 1 mile? Must be enough cause they are enhancing this scope with even better ED lenses this season... Yep, going to get me one of these with a reticle swap me thinks.

So the lack of chatter about Sightron is more a byproduct of forum participant interest then what I see through sales. In fact, on a day to day basis, there is FAR less requests for "tactical" scope features then the dull boring SFP stuff. We may be passionate about the PRS game, but the average Canuck seems far happier to chase Bambi or crush a coyote... and 40oz scopes just don't really fit in the mix.

Cover other questions in another post....

Jerry
 
kombayotch said:
Some of the field matches where you shoot mostly prone, they would probably be ok. For the matches where you're shooting out of stuff (east coast matches), I wouldn't trust them (wouldn't trust a gen 1 PST either though). My Premier has a lot of bare aluminum showing from hitting door frames in shoot houses and cars as well as from the occasional rock loophole. Scope turrets often get used as barricade stops... sometimes that's intentional, often it's not. You end up being a lot harder on your equipment that you intend to be when you're doing things on the clock and focused on shooting and not on babying the gear.
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Thanks for the response. That's what I figured.
 
I am pleased to read the debate going on here... some good points, some not so accurate points. www.sightronusa.com for all the scope specs and product offerings.

So let's look at the products and where things are going as I know it...

Sightron is greatly reducing their 1" tube scopes. Sorry, but the SII and SIIB are on life support. In fact, most of the SIIB are now gone.

As their entry level 1" products, the SIH is it. First ones were BLAH.... current ones are crazy good for the entry level price. Surprisingly good glass, tracking and features. Obviously, leaning on lower tech but all of it is useable and for those on a really tight budget, you get a scope that works. For those with package rifle and those "scopes", if you want to improve but on a really limited budget, the SIH family will get it done.

Better eye box, eye relief, field of view and useable glass... I have yet to see anything at this price point remotely close.

STAC... ok, CanuckR is completely accurate in that NONE of these scopes fit the "tactical" mold. What lives here are superb PREDATOR, LR hunting, low light, close range hunting scopes. The line up would have been better served with say a "predator" or "alpine" moniker. All are 30mm which at this price point is a great feature. Most of the SIII goodness is packed into these scopes put together in the Phillipines where the cost of manf is far lower then Japan. Yeah, yeah, I can hear the Phillipines comments coming... sorry, robots and CNC mills don't care where their factory is based.

these are featured filled scopes that really answer the question from the specialty HUNTING market from around world. Yep, the STAC 2.5-17.5X56 was not designed for the NA market... it was the low light, lamp light hunting done elsewhere. It doesn't take much light to put your target in view.... very impressive. Not as relevant for the rules we hunt here but if you really need a low light scope, worth a consideration.

The 1-7X20 is one of the few true 1X variable scopes... yep, I can see and aim at my feet at 1X. 7X can quarter a Fig 11 at 600m.

Two new ones from last season have been a home run. The 4-20X50 is the most popular as many want a higher mag scope but not over $1k price. Lots of desired features, solid optics and tracking... users have been reporting their positive results in many places including this post. PD hunting at LR would be a natural for this scope.

My fave is the 3-16X42... small and compact of a standard hunting 3X9 but all the features you would want in a predator and LR hunting scope. At 3X, door knob across a room is an easy target. 16X, no problem to engage MOA sized targets out beyond 1000yds. Whether calling in a 'yote or picking off an elk across a canyon, the features are the most asked for over the last many years. Sightron did listen and now you have an amazing product for cheap.

On a clear day, I can put the central dot of the LRMOA reticle on an exterior door knob of a house just over 1000yds away. Capped target turrets, my fave LRMOA reticle, side focus, big easy to use eyebox. This is the scope I am currently playing with as I learn the PRS positional shooting stuff.

SIIIs haven't changed much since they came out... new reticles, a few new features but nothing radical. For the money, amazing glass, solid tracking and has been on podiums in various LR shooting sports including 50 BMGs and F class rigs. The scopes these compete with are 50 to 100% more money.

I wished they would try and diversify into the tactical arena.. and maybe they will. Keep bugging Sightron, they may be slow to react BUT they do listen and with enough interest, offer what we want.

But for now, the specialty hunting, LR shooting and square range competition markets is where they are at and for the money spent, it is hard to find anything comparable.

YMMV

Jerry
 
For those with a concern about zero stop, here is a simple tip. I shim my scope to use the full elevation range of all my scopes. My 100yd zero is almost at full "down". I don't worry about a zero stop cause if I needed to dial back to my start, it is near the bottom of the scope travel.

When the scope turrent gets to "0" marking and you can't turn the scope much further down, that's it. Simple and can't fail.

I do not shoot at night but I could still use this method by knowing how many clicks dead bottom and my "0" mark was.

A few things I forgot to mention about the STACs and SIII and SVSS. They have more turret adjustments then comparable scopes AND you can actually use the optics through out the scope travel. Many high travel scopes loose optical qualities as you move to the extremes of travel.

Something to consider and test for yourself when looking at LR suitable scopes

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
In fact, on a day to day basis, there is FAR less requests for "tactical" scope features then the dull boring SFP stuff. We may be passionate about the PRS game, but the average Canuck seems far happier to chase Bambi or crush a coyote... and 40oz scopes just don't really fit in the mix.
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That is only due to exposure. We are about 15-20 years behind the US when it comes to field oriented practical shooting. More and more guys in the US are hunting with setups that look like PRS match rifles. Once they go to a match, they realise that PRS looks a lot more like hunting than gallery range shooting does and much of the stuff carries over directly to hunting (ranging, setting up improvised postions quickly, shooting from tripods, moving targets, randoms speeds and distances, etc...). Hunting scopes are starting to look more like tactical ones (Bushnell LRSH comes to mind). This trend will only continue and it will find its way up here as we catch up.

All Sightron needs to do is get a few top PRS guys onboad to give them direction. Bushell's offerings were garbage before they got George Gardner onboard. No one was too wild about about Kahles before they got Shannon Kay giving them input. Vortex was a cheapo brand before taking input from people like the Team Blaster guys and designing the Razor II based on that. Nightforce didn't listen till thier old NXS was getting dropped from Military contracts. They tried to do the BEAST on their own and it flopped, but then they got input from shooters for the ATACR and it is a big success. Now, they're even using those shooters and their venue to anounce the new versions. The list goes on...

Sightron could create a great tactical scope, but they need to LISTEN to the people who excel at that type of shooting instead of those that do not and don't understand how the equipement is actually used.
 
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