Sightron 10x50 or Leupold 45x comp

[skeetlee]

Fellas i would like to hear what some of your opinions are pertaining to a sightron 10x50 compared to a leupold 45 comp scope. I have had a few of the Leupold comp scopes but never a sightron 10x50. I like the Leupold very well but i am having a hard time finding one in my price range. The sighton looks a little big to me in size compared to the leupold but that really isnt an issue. What scope has the better glass and ergonomics? Lee

 

[skepler]

Lee

I am new to benchrest shooting however I have been shooting all my life. I own a lot of leupold scopes including some benchrest models. I also have several swarovski scopes. I had a new 30BR built and I topped it off with a Sightron 10-50 x 60. I was originally going to put a Leupold comp 45x on this rifle. After a very reputable shooter encouraged me to look at Sightron for whatever reason I went with it. I can say I have been very impressed with it. The optics are as good as any scope I own, probably superior. I feel the optics in the Sightron have an edge over the leupold. That is hard for me to say because I am a big leupold fan. The scope is defintely bigger however I think the ergonomics are not hindered by the size. The scope has been excellent holding its point of impact. The adjustments have a very positive feel to them. The only negative I have encountered so far is the scope is heavier than the Leupold comp series. Making weight for an LV gun may be difficult. Overall I am very impressed with the scope, in fact my friends are navigating to them. Good luck



Shane

 

[260Remshtr]

I am in the process of building a new F-Class rifle and went with the 10X50. I was shooting with several other shooters who had the range of optics from NF to Vortex, with the majority being NF, Leupold, Sightron, and weaver. I looked through almost all the brands that day and couldn't tell the difference, at 600yrds, with Sightron or NF, but they both were a little more better--to me-- than the Leupold 45x target. Now that being said there was a little bit of haze that day. I went with the Sightron and put the rest of the money into the new rifle.

 

[skeetlee]

seems to me the last sightron 8x36 i had there for a short time had issues with the parallax adjustment. Seemed as if it was a bit touchy. Anyone experience this? Thanks Lee

 

[in2deep]

They are pretty much 2 different animals and it depends on what range your shooting.
The Sightron to me is better for long-range where you may have to dial back power for mirage and still great for closer range too only thing is the side-focus is tricky on the Sightron but managable once you get used to it. Some people find them fiddly but to me it's worth it for the price to quality aspect.

The 45 Leupy is a great scope and side-focus is better than the sightron and for under 300 yards in nice weather you can't beat it (when they are functioning properly Lol they don't call them UPS scopes for nothing) but for longer distances if mirage boils you can't dial back and you have to shoot thru it which alot of people do anyways.
It really depends on your local conditions for mirage and the distance you shoot. Both are truly great optically and similar prices. The Sightron though is not really usable much past 40 power as the image gets considerably darker even on a bright day so if your looking for biggest power go with the Leupy.

 

[LarryDScott]

They are pretty much 2 different animals and it depends on what range your shooting.
The Sightron to me is better for long-range where you may have to dial back power for mirage and still great for closer range too only thing is the side-focus is tricky on the Sightron but managable once you get used to it. Some people find them fiddly but to me it's worth it for the price to quality aspect.

The 45 Leupy is a great scope and side-focus is better than the sightron and for under 300 yards in nice weather you can't beat it (when they are functioning properly Lol they don't call them UPS scopes for nothing) but for longer distances if mirage boils you can't dial back and you have to shoot thru it which alot of people do anyways.
It really depends on your local conditions for mirage and the distance you shoot. Both are truly great optically and similar prices. The Sightron though is not really usable much past 40 power as the image gets considerably darker even on a bright day so if your looking for biggest power go with the Leupy.

You must have a defective scope. Just put a new 10-50 on my 6.5-284 and shot 1500 yds. I couldnt be happier with the clarity and brightness all the way to 50pwr. Larry in western Ky.

 

[in2deep]

Thanks for the heads up Larry I will call them Monday and see what they say but others have had the same complaint as me.
Maybe it was on the earlier ones as mine was from the initial release and also suffers from the "too easy to turn" scope knobs which I have also learned to deal with and don't find to be a problem for benchrest shooting.
If they have the 40-50X darkness worked out then I can't imagine a better scope in it's class-

 

[LarryDScott]

Well 10-4 on contacting Sightron. I definitily would. Thats the reson for buying a big power scope. It has to be useable all the way w/no penality. Larry in western Ky.

 

[skeetlee]

I agree with Larry. if you cant use it, no need to own it. It just seems strange that you like this scope maybe a little better than a Leupold but yet it doesnt work real well on full power settings? I think i will go with Leupold. you cant beat a lifetime warranty. I will say that i absolutely love the sightron big sky 36x scopes. They are a great value! Lee

 

[RJinTexas]

I have three 8-32x56's none have ever had a side focus issues and have excellent resultion turned all the way up. I also have two 10-50x60's neither have side focus issues but both start to loose resolution when turned above 40x and so do all three of my friends 10-50 scopes. But I can live with that as they're as clear as any NF BR model I've shot and I've fired several hundred rounds through a NF 10-42 BR models and my 10-50 SIII on the same dog shoots. I can buy three SIII for the price of two NF's and there's not any difference in glass quality that these old eyes can see. I've sold off most of my Leupold's except my pistol scopes and a couple of hunting scopes and one 8.5-25x50 LR with a target dot which has found a home on my 22RF. Down her in this Texas heat ya can't get by shooting a fix 45x, the marage will wear ya out and the center X count dots on your 100 & 200 yd VFS targets will be jumping around more then a grass flea on the black top road. The lesser 30x & 40x Leupold's aren't anywhere close to the glass quality on even Sightron's 8-32 scope. It's a big help to be able to dial down under our adverse conditions. But it not easy to make weight with the big 60 objective scopes if your shooting a SS action and a HV barreled 30BR.

 

[260Remshtr]

RJ---I found out exactly what you mean by weight..... As I said, I was building a new rifle, just got it done last night. F-Class open rules 22lbs....my rifle after 10-50x60 is 21.9lbs.... Glad I opted for a tappered barrel.

 

[in2deep]

I think RJintexas summed it up perfectly and I have to agree with everything he said and others have mirrored his response.
Sightrons are also widely known to be extremely reliable and trouble free and Leupolds are known to be.....cough cough....a little less so.

Either will do you fine and we are nit-picking subtle differences at this level of optics and both are incredible to shoot with.

 

[artbosco]

I have TWO Weaver T-36s that I put on my competitive 6PPC and 30BR rifles. Never had a problem with them. Needed a little more power for weakening eyes, so I transitioned to TWO Leupold Competition 45Xs. I've never had a problem with those, and clarity is superb.

 

[Rustystud]

I have a number of different scopes for all types of shooting from the most expensive to the least expensive.
I now have four 10 X 50 X 60 and four 8 X 32 X60 Sightron scopes. They may not be made as tough as some others but they are clear and track with the best. The variable power is a great advantage when dealing with mirage.

Their lessor cost and life time warranty is hard to beat.

Nat Lambeth

 

[RJinTexas]

Well folks I guess I'm going to get a chance to see just how good Sightron's life time warranty truly is. I recently had two SIII go to hell on me in the same week. One was a 10-50x60 which the side focus went south on, the other a 8-32x56 that both the side focus & parallax adjust went out on so badly that the center dot resembled a jumping flea at 200 yds. It was so far off that it went from shooting 0.2's in practice to enabling me to shoot five groups that were all over 1.0 the biggest being a 1.6, I could group two or three shots together then print the others together over one inch from the start of the original group. As luck would have it, the last scope went out during a club VFS match now I know that my shooting sometimes sucks but believe me it ain't quite that bad. I noticed the scope started acting up after on the third score target, after shooting clean on the 1st two targets and having 6x's I dropped 2 pts on the third target and was all over the place the rest of the score portion ended up with a 248-6x.

RJ