Sightron SIII 6-24x50 vs Leupold VXIII 6.5-20x50LRT

W

Waffen

New member
Hey Guys,

I've just completed building a new Savage/Shilen .260 Remington build, and I'm looking to top it with some new optics. It will primarily be a bench gun spending time at 100-700 yards, but may see 1-2 white tail trips a year.

I'm looking for something in the 6-20ish power range, with around 100MOA of internal adjustment. I've got a Vari-X III mounted on a .223 bench gun that I absolutely love. I would buy another, but it doesn't have enough adjustment internally, and it's got the standard hunter turrets.

In the past I've had a VX3 8.5-25x50LRT on a 300 RUM that was a good scope, but it started "boiling" and getting a bad mirage at anything past 20 power in less than perfect conditions. I also felt my older Vari-X III has better optical clarity, with just as precise adjustment.

I had all but settled on a new Leupold VX3 6.5-20x50LRT with a fine duplex reticle, but I've tried to keep an open mind and look at alternatives. To me the Leupold is a constant, a bench mark, and solid glass. That being said, I can't help but think it's slightly overpriced for what you get.

Over the past few days, I've been frantically searching for feedback & reviews on scopes in this relative price range ($700-$1000) with these features.

I've noticed the Sightron SIII series seems to be getting a good bit of publicity on several forums, and I wanted to get some feedback from those that have used them. I have seen them compared to Leupolds, NightForce (BR series mostly), and other high end optics. In most cases the reviews seem to indicate they are better than the Leupold and "on par" with a NightForce BR scope.

I don't have a Sightron dealer close to me, so I was hoping I could get some feedback from those of you with an SIII and other high end optics. What would you do?
 
Get the Leupold. Nothing wrong with the Sightron, but if anything ever did go wrong with the optic Leupold is the company to deal with.

Jimro
 
I know the Leupold has a great warranty, but I was hoping to get some feedback on optical clarity. Anyone with SIII experience?
 
It is a Japanese scope same as most of the rest. Light Optic Works Japan provides the lenses to pretty much every brand save for Nikon. LOW also supplies Leupold.

So in terms of optical clarity you are looking neck and neck (Leupold has a number of lens suppliers other than LOW). The Bushnell Elite series is made by LOW for Bushnell, so that is the same sort of clarity you can expect (very good).

If you want a step up in optic quality you need to step up to Schott glass. The "low end" price for a Schott scope is up there but occasionally you can find them used or on clearance. Zeiss, Hensoldt, S&B, and IOR are the big names. I still have one IOR and if you don't mind dealing with Val for warranty work they are a great option.

That isn't to say that the Sightrons aren't great scopes. They are. But are they any better than a Leupold in the same price range? No.

My preferred optics dealer Scott Berish www.libertyoptics.com sells Sightron SIII tactical scopes. If he can't guarantee it he won't sell it (and I trust his recommendations). So is the Sightron going to be clearer than the Leupold? I wouldn't place a bet on that, but between the two I would get the Leupold because of the warranty.

The Sightron exact trac knobs are very good, not perfect but good. Leupold adjustments can be "sloppy" so that Leupold recommends going one click past then back at the end of dialing in your drop.

I wish I could give you an exact answer for a clear winner here, but you already know you won't be disappointed by Leupold. You probably wouldn't be disappointed by a Sightron either.

Jimro
 
Glad I could help. Now if I could only figure out which factories in Red China were turning out good scopes versus crap I could rule the world. I don't know which factory it is, but some industry guys I know are in awe of the quality to cost coming out of it. I think it's some transplanted talent from Hong Kong but have no way to prove it, just that most of the "good" scopes get shipped from Hong Kong (but that means nothing really).

Jimro
 
as far as I know the SIII's have the same optics as the SII Big Sky line, which were very clear. I would prefer the SII-B-S but the SIII's seem a bit chunky to me. They have alot of adjustment though, and very repeatable.

I will also add that I have never looked through a VX-III, only a VX-II, so unless theres a huge difference between the two its a tossup.
 
warbirdlover said:
Just out of curiosity how would the Zeiss Conquest 6.5-20 X 50mm compare to the Leupold? Better right?
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Yes the Zeiss Conquest 6.5-20x50 glass IMO is better then Leupold VXIII glass, but the Zeiss only has a 1" tube so it only has about (if I can remember right) 75MOA of travel (about 45 MOA up) so it may or may not need a canted base to reach 1000 plus yards depending on what caliber rifle you are using (to reach 700 yards on a 260rem my guess it wouldn't need a canted base). IMO the Conquest IS the best value for money on the market.

Another scope to look at IMO is the Swarovski Z5 5-25x52 scope again it is only a 1" scope and from memory it has around the same adjustment as the Zeiss and one thing I really like about the Swarovski is you can get the ballistic turrets with then so it is very easy to adjust for any distance and back without having ever having shot that distance before or to remember how may clicks you have gone (once you buy the turret that is set up for your ballistics). Again IMO the Swarovski glass is better then the Leupold glass and it should be as they are around $1500-$1600 (but would I own the Leupold VXIII 6.5-20x50 "Yes most definitely they are good").
 
For what it's worth, I have a newish Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 FFP and an old VariX III 6.5-20x50 with the 30mm tube. I like them both, but I do think that the glass in the Leupold is better. I can't quantify it or even prove it, but I'm pretty darn sure of it.

I also can't prove that Leupold has a great warranty, since decades pass and nothing has ever broken. I have a couple of old 2-7's that are kinda purple they are so old.

I'd get the Leupold if I was the OP.
 
Does one click on everyone's Leopolds equal one on the target? I have the sightron s3 and it does. I wanted to go with Leopold originally but everyone said to look at vortex and sightron for repeatability since I was only shooting off a bench. From what I hear leos are better in field conditions though.
 
I would choose Sightron over Leupold for optical clarity. Let me be clear, both were good, but Leupold's still seem to show color slightly wrong although vastly better than years ago. Sightron has always had what it took to show colors very well.

Zeiss may have great high end stuff, but their under $1000 stuff has thick reticles and poor, still great, edge clarity.

Another couple to consider IMO are Nikon, Burris and high end Bushnell. All have an eye toward clarity and color.

I have only tried one Vortex and it was good, but had some optical clarity issues. It was a demo gun/scope. I tried to focus for 10 min and just gave up. It was a MSRP $2500 ish scope if I remember. Frankly, I would try Vortex again as they have impressed people WAY smarter than me.

I like Leupold, but they redid their top end because, I heard, the .mil guys were breaking them like Popsicle sticks. YMMV as you likely don't drop your rifle out of a helicopter and expect it to hold or twist turrets like a bull in a china shop!
 
I have the 8-32 Sightron III for my Match Rifle. I would not think twice about buying another one. Clarity is second to none,Tracking is dead nuts on. Plenty adj to shoot 1000 yards with ease. I must also say- That at 8 to 900.00 I think I would choke up another 4 or 5 and jump to a Nightforce next time. If most of your shooting is going to be target or 1000 yards, I would go with the 8-32 power. I think they are the same price.
 
If you're comparing glass alone: you want the Leupold VX-3, not the III, as the former's is much-improved. Sightron tracking is hard to beat, but I'd buy the Leupold because it's American-made.
I happen to like the Minox scopes, some don't. They have a version of Schott glass, plus they're assembled here.
 
talk about service, i sent a 20 year old leupold scope in to be serviced that i bought third hand. nothink wrong with it, i just wanted it checked for gas loss and tracking. i recieved a call from leupold in about a week saying they no longer were serviceing that model and that i could choose between three new scopes for my old one, i picked a 4.5x14 with SF 30mm tube and cds and i recieved it in 9 days with no charge at all. if there is better or faster service than that on any other scopes i would like to hear about. eastbank.
 
I am currently running the SIII 10-50x fine crosshair reticle with dot on my F Open rifle. The knobs track really well, very repeatable using a box test. I prefer the lenses on my IOR Valdada scopes as they don't seem to induce as much eye strain as I experience with other brands, including the Sightron.
 
ME TOO

I happen to like the Minox scopes, some don't. They have a version of Schott glass, plus they're assembled here.
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Great comment Len!!!

Just had to chime in! Minox isn't as well known because they don't advertise as much as some of the others but they are great scopes at a great price point.
 
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