Rifle Scopes Opinions on Sightron Siii 3.5-10×44 lrirmoa

[threewood]

I plan on putting it on my SIG 716 for shooting steel and an occassional coyote out to 600 yards or so. Moa reticle and knobs is what I want. How does their glass compare to say a Vortex PST 2.5-10×44 ebr moa, IOR 2.5-10×42 or Nightforce 2.5-10×42. The last two are north of a grand in the same mag range with the NF being over $1600. I do not need or want ffp. Any long range shooting is going to be done at 10x power so no calculations needed.*

The scope is12" long and 20oz, which is about the same as the others listed. I hear nothing but good things about the Siii series and want to give one a try. Opinions on scope choice please. Price is not too important, just want to keep it under $1600. The Sightron is around $750 and looks like an outstanding deal.

 

[Bluejazz]

Interested in this as well. Tag

 

[delixe]

I had an SIII 3.5-10 and the glass was very good.
Nice audible tactile turret clicks, too.
I'd buy another if the need arose.

 

[Deerhunter 28]

I have a Signtron scope and binos.
They work great.
I did have a problem with binos and they Signtron would NOT stand behind there lifetime warranty they advertise on there website.

All scopes and binos after that is NF and Leopold .
These 2 will make things right.

As long as you have no problems with Signtrons products you will be fine.

Just my experience .


PSE EVO 60 Lbs.
Blacked out

 

[propulsionclimbing]

I have a Sightron SIII 3.5-10x44 scope with the exposed turrets. They are superb. Glass is excellent. I would rate it as a definite step above the Vortex Viper PST range of glass. The turrets have a very positive feel to them, and tracking is spot on. The SIII 3.5-10x44 is by far the best value in that price range.

 

[Import_gsd]

+1 on propulsionclimbing

i have a the 3.5-10x44 on a spr a1 in .308, was cheaper than a leupy even with mil discount. that being said my buddy has a mark4 m1 3.4-10 and side by side we both say my sightron beats it in brightness and clarity. he is looking to sell his and buy 1 like mine. my next scope will be a 6-24 FFP sightron. they cannot be beat for the money! buy from liberty/ swfa and i don't think you will have any warranty issues !

kenny

 

[HD1911]

I hope ya'll are right... I just ordered a 3.5-10 S3 with Mildot Reticle and Mil Turrets. It honestly seemed like a no brainer, given the price of these scopes. I really want the NF 2.5-10x42 and still may eventually get it, but I'd have to wait a couple months and spend approx. 3x times more money.

Everyone I've talked to with Sightron's say the Glass is much better than the PST and just overall a better quality scope. Actually the one Sightron S3 I have looked thru and shot with, had noticeably better glass than my old Bushnell DMR 3.5-21.

 

[SomeOtherGuy]

I plan on putting it on my SIG 716 for shooting steel and an occassional coyote out to 600 yards or so. Moa reticle and knobs is what I want. How does their glass compare to say a Vortex PST 2.5-10×44 ebr moa, IOR 2.5-10×42 or Nightforce 2.5-10×42. The last two are north of a grand in the same mag range with the NF being over $1600. I do not need or want ffp. Any long range shooting is going to be done at 10x power so no calculations needed.*

I've owned both the LRIRMOA and tactical knob (.1 mil) mildot versions of that scope. The good:
-absolutely outstanding glass clarity, you will have a hard time buying most other sub-1k scopes after using it
-great knob feel
-price

The bad, for both versions:
-once you see how the knobs are reset to zero, you'll look at this as purely a benchrest / light and casual use type scope. (FYI, I have a 6-24x SIII on my F/TR gun)

The bad, for LRIRMOA version:
-the reticle is INCREDIBLY FINE BORDERING ON FAINT. It is great for bright sunny days shooting at white paper targets. I don't think it would work at all well for hunting or any dark backgrounds, even with the illumination. It's the finest reticle I've used on anything - makes Nightforce reticles look obese in comparison. Not a duplex, the hairs are fine from edge to edge, and the center dot, which I believe is 1/4 moa, is just barely visible. You will definitely know if you have the reticle correctly focused for your eye.
-the illumination was Meh. It works, but the dot you're illuminating is tiny, and the brightest setting isn't that bright. Might be OK for use near dusk, or even into night time.

The mildot version has a reticle that, to me, is just right, and even without illumination I find it much more useable. I still have that, but sold the LRIRMOA one.

I have also owned the Vortex PST 2.5-10×44 in mrad, and to me that scope was an aquarium. Glass was awful at 10x, almost unusable. I have not owned the other scopes you're asking about. If you want a SFP quality scope in that price range, check out the Nikon Monarch X at Natchez, it's around $750-900 depending on whether you want illumination and new or refurbished, and would give you an illuminated SFP reticle that's useable. (Disclosure - I bought one from them, then returned it because the elevation knob went far above its intended stop when I tried adjusting it, obviously defective (not an issue with the set screws for the cap, completely different from that). At the time I didn't want to try another, but now that time has passed, I might. Natchez was A+ in accepting the return with zero hassle.)

 

[diggler1833]

I have owned two Sightron SIII's, but mine were an 8x32 and now a 6x24 so unfortunately no exact experience with the model you are looking at. However, I have noticed that the SIII line has great glass for the price (subjective). Next to one of my Leupy Mk4's the Sightrons do have better clarity and resolution (again, subjective). I have found their turrets to be repeatable and reliable for long range target shooting. Would I trust it to take a beating like my old USO? No. Would I trust one to go on a rifle that is going to primarily see range use and never get beat on (like most shooters here)? Yes. Would I put one on one of my hunting rigs? Yes.

It may not give you the performance of a multi-thousand dollar optic, but you are going to spend twice as much to be able to find a noticable difference over the SIII line. I also see that they have a lot of new stuff out there. I will definitely give them a look when the time comes to put another optic on one of my rifles.

my .02

 

[jsthntn247]

Why the hell don't they do a 4-16x44 in a s3 that weighs around 20oz?

 

[threewood]

Thanks for the great reviews. I just got off the phone with Scott at Liberty Optics and after talking a bit I ordered one. I had concerns about the reticle thickness but it should work for what I need. He highly recommended it and offered a price I couldn't refuse. I'll post pics and my opinions once I get it. Thanks again.

Oh, forgot to mention my mounting option. Going to try out Midwest Industries cantilever mount. No quick detach but I don't plan on removing the scope either. Looks good on paper so I will see how it holds up. My second choice is the ADM Recon if there are any issues with the MI.

 

[SomeOtherGuy]

Enjoy! Post back with your comments once you've used it a bit.

As for mounts - the MI is probably fine, but it looks just like a Leupold Mark 2 IMS, which can be had for $25-30 cheaper. And the ADM can be found for about $20 more than prices I've seen on the MI. ADM is made in the USA (like MI), and I'm fairly sure the Leupold is also - haven't found any "made in" stickers or labeling on mine or the package it came in.

 

[threewood]

Enjoy! Post back with your comments once you've used it a bit.

As for mounts - the MI is probably fine, but it looks just like a Leupold Mark 2 IMS, which can be had for $25-30 cheaper. And the ADM can be found for about $20 more than prices I've seen on the MI. ADM is made in the USA (like MI), and I'm fairly sure the Leupold is also - haven't found any "made in" stickers or labeling on mine or the package it came in.

I didn't even think to look for Leupold mounts. The MI set me back $104.95 plus shipping so not too bad.

 

[SomeOtherGuy]

Not too bad - I have seen the MI for $120 or so which I think is too much. The Mark 2 mounts tend to be in the $90 range with some variation.

 

[BCP]

I had the 3.5-10 .1 mil model and have a mil-moa model with capped turrets too. Both of them track perfectly and have great glass for the money. Also the mil-moa model I bought used and it arrived busted (obviously from abuse), Sightron fixed it no problem. Sold the .1 mil model but wish I'd kept it, that same rifle now has a leupold M3 on it and the Sightron was a better scope.

 

[Browninglover1]

Sightron lists the FOV of these scopes as being very small, I simply don't believe their numbers. You guys that run these scopes, is the FOV the same as any other 3.5-10?

 

[SomeOtherGuy]

The FOV at the link below is some kind of mistake. Possibly meters at 100M? The apparent FOV of these scopes is very normal, probably around 30-31' at 100 yards at 3.5x, and 10' or so at 100 yards at 10x.

Sightron Riflescopes SIII Series SIIISS3.510X44LRMD-CM

 

[Browninglover1]

That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Sightron told me that the FOV listed was correct but I simply could not believe the technician nobody would ever buy that scope if the FOV were that small.

 

[I Am Hero]

Yea something seemed messed up when I saw that too. I have a Siii 8-32 and nothing is out of the ordinary from what I would expect. Love the optic.

 

[Browninglover1]

Also, are these 10 or 15 MOA per revolution of the turrets? My 6-24 has 15 but I've heard the 3.5-10 only has 10.

 

[SomeOtherGuy]

I only have mrad versions of the SIII, and mine are 5 mils/turn on both the 6-24x and 3.5-10x SIIIs.

I've contacted Sightron customer service twice with middling results. One time a very basic question on whether the reticles were glass-etched, was told they are, and that appears to be correct. Other time I asked if their 2013-new spotting scope, the SII Blue Sky, was made in Japan at the same factory as the SIII scopes. I was told it was. Bought one and it says "Made in China" on the bottom. I was not pleased. (Fortunately, the spotter is good optically and I paid little enough I decided to keep it. Better not tell son-of-Sako or else I'll be told what crap comes from countries that aren't Japan.)

 

[LibertyOptics]

If the features and design of these scopes are not a problem for you (e.g., SFP, MOA) these are an awesome option for the $$

 

[jp_over]

Good info - any long term updates?