Sightron SIII or Ziess HS

[NZVarminter]

I have Zeiss Conquest MC 6.5-20*50 and love it. Cant fault the optics, huge bright sight picture. Its my benchmark that I compare any new scope against.

I need a second scope of my new 22Br and was obviusly going to get a HD5 5-25, but then I found the Sightron S-TAC 4-20 at a hugely discounted price us$400 compatred to "normal" $795

Did a bit of research and everyone was saying the optics are not as good as the SIII, but comparable to older Conquests.

So I ignored common sense (that there is no free lunch) and bought one. Well its nicely made but the optics are no where near my old conquest. Ok its half the price of the Conquest, but only because it was heavily "discounted" . I'd be really pissed off if I'd paid full price for it.

I cant understand Sightron producing such poor optics, and now have major reservations about their SIII.

So I've on-sold the S-TAC and am now looking at either the HD5 in 5-25 or the SIII in 6-24*50 with the MOA reticle. Everything I read about the SIII optics rate them equal or better than the HD5 and I'd like a reticle with horizontal hold-off marks so the Sightron MOA reticle would work whereas the Zeiss dont do do a reticle with hold-off marks (dont like their Z 600/800/varmint reticle).

So will I regret buying an SIII over the HD5????

Thanks

Grant

 

[wmdron]

I don't own a Zeiss HD5 so I can't do a direct comparison. I do own a Sightron SIII 8-32x56 that I purchased a year ago and I am totally happy with it. My feeling is that if you stick with the SIII's you will be fine. I also tried to save a buck and bought a SII that I currently have on a rimfire and I am not very pleased with it at all, in fact the first chance I get I am going to do what you did with that S-Tac.

 

[nmkid]

I also have a SIII and I am quite happy with it. Truthfully, I was going to buy a Conquest but, got led away by reports of their long, long service wait times.

 

[slm9s]

I briefly owned a Zeiss 3-15. I own several SIII's, from 6-24 to 10-50.

I am a fan of conquest glass, as well as Sightron. I don't think there will be a big difference optically, if I had to guess I would say slight edge to SIII.

One thing to consider, though I don't know what type of hunting you do, is the low light usefulness of the LRMOA reticle. In a non-illuminated model, the reticle is pretty thin. Don't get me wrong, its my favorite reticle, I just don't use it on hunting rifles.

Another thing is no zero stop with an SIII, unless you DIY with 0-rings or washers/etc. Not sure about the Zeiss.

Let us know what you decide and how it works out... If you get an SIII and don't like it, you won't lose much money reselling it - they hold their value well, especially on this board.