Sightron vs Vortex

[Spike A]

i know this has been chatted about a fair amount on here but truthfully i am having a hard time believing i guess that there is a big difference between the glass. But also i am curious on if anyone has had any dealings with sightron warranty or customer service? i know there is always bias people either way, One more ?, has anyone personally looked through both scopes to see if there is a big difference in the reticle thickness between the two. And btw only talking sfp scopes .. thanks guys

 

[rkittine]

Both companies have a number of grades of scope and different reticles. I have one Vortex Viper and One Sightron III and for the models that I have of each of these, the Sightron seems to be clearer and of better quality, but that might be just because I do not have the best grade Vortex, which is just a plain Viper 6x24.

Bob

 

[Spike A]

Which redicle do you have in the two ?

 

[nmkid]

I have an HST Vortex that I feel is pretty clearer for the money I spent on it. My Sightron lll should hopefully be here tomorrow. We shall see then.

 

[Spike A]

I'm all ears nmkid to see what u think those are the two models I am going between

 

[MNFinn]

I'm all ears nmkid to see what u think those are the two models I am going between

I have an 4-16 HS-T on my hunting rifle and love it. I have a SIII 10-50 on my F-TR rifle and love it. However, if Vortex ever came out with an equivalent scope to my SIII, I would be tempted to sell the Sightron and get another Vortex. I had a PST before I had the HS-T and love both.

If you want info on the scopes, PM me with questions, I'd be more than happy to talk about them

 

[nmkid]

I'm in front of the wood stove and watching the football game and the doorbell rings. What!! I open the door and there a good sized rectangle shaped package on our porch. Also, a big ugly brown truck was driving away!!! On a Sunday?? Well, the Sightron appears to be very, very clear. I like the looks of the MOA-2 reticle. It's bright, clear all the way to the edges. I like it!! Oh wait. I'm just sitting in the garage looking at a white wall. LOL. We'll see what I can see tomorrow when the sun comes up. I think I still have about 6-8 weeks before my barreled action gets here so, it's going to be a while before it gets put to real use.

 

[nmkid]

Well, the sun never showed it's self today. Gloomy all day. I took a peek at and past the trees in our back yard just before the sun came up. Vortex at 16x and Sightron also at 16x. Whoa Nellie...To my eyes not ONE bit of difference!! Much as I wanted too, I could not honestly say the Sightron was, "brighter". I did not buy this scope to shoot at dawn or dusk but, I was a bit disappointed. If the sun comes out tomorrow I'll see what the sight picture shows.

 

[Spike A]

nmkid how do the clicks feel on the sightron compared to vortex?... i am at a disadvantage as there is no one even near me that carries sightrons for me to check them out myself unfortunately.... and it seems like if there was going to be a difference in the optics that it would show up stronger on gloomy days like today imo but i could easily be wrong.. what reticles are in your two scopes if you dont mind me asking?

 

[rkittine]

My Super Black Friday deal from SWFA came today. Sightron III 8x32 with the MOA-2, so now this week I can compare all three. I should set up each rifle at shoot photos through the scope at the same target from each of them. Might try that. Two Nightforces, Two Sightrons and One Vortex Viper.

Bob

 

[Spike A]

That would be a very interesting thing to see

 

[BOLTED]

I have a Sightron SIII 10x50, and several Vortex Viper 6x24's. I don't know what magnification you are going for, but the Sightron is better at high power than the Vipers. I don't use the Vipers at 24, as I feel that after 22 or 23 it's hard to keep the eye relief perfect for a clear sight picture. The Sightron is excellent well into the high 30's/ low 40's

You cant beat the Vortex warranty. Dropped on the rocks, fell off the tailgate, meteorite hit it... doesn't matter. Vortex will replace or fix it. If you have a good distributor, they will just swap you out. The glass is as good or better than Sightron, so the transferable warranty seals the deal for me.

My vote-
Above 24 power SFP -Sightron 8x32/ 10x50
Under 24 SFP- Vortex

Good luck,

Dave

 

[nmkid]

nmkid how do the clicks feel on the sightron compared to vortex?... i am at a disadvantage as there is no one even near me that carries sightrons for me to check them out myself unfortunately.... and it seems like if there was going to be a difference in the optics that it would show up stronger on gloomy days like today imo but i could easily be wrong.. what reticles are in your two scopes if you dont mind me asking?

Too me, the clicks feel very crisp I have no issue with that. Duplex on the Vortex and the MOA-2 on the Sightron. Don't ask why, because it's not even on a rifle but, I like the MOA-2 just looking through it. Also, the entire scope is quite a handful, (heavy feeling). Feels very solid.

 

[Spike A]

I think i am leaning more towards the sightron than the vortex as i have read several people say that the vortex gets a little fuzzy over 20x .. and i hear the sightron reticle is a little finer than the vortex. Any input on this?

 

[nmkid]

I finally quit messing with the new Sightron. Very hard to adjust the power ring and the parallax without the scope being mounted on a rifle. The reticle too me is just perfect. Way less then a regular duplex and not so thin you can't find it. The reticle is finer than the Vortex I have.

 

[Spike A]

yea i have read that the power and paralax adjustment tend to move a little stiff... some people have even sent them back in to have them freed up some.

 

[XTR]

Sightron makes good target scopes.

Vortex makes a lot of good scopes and has a no BS if it's broken we will replace it policy; e.g., I read a post from a smokeless ML shooter who screwed up, double charged his rifle, and had a KABOOM. He had just mounted a brand new Vortex. He sent it in in bits and chunks and told them what happened. They sent him a new scope and vortex comes out and shoots and dupports shooting.

If I was looking for a less expensive alternative for a NF on my FTR rifle I'd get a Sightron, if I was looking for a scope for pretty much anything else, between these two, I'd buy the Vortex.

 

[Spike A]

I hear that their warranty is amazing ... I just see too many people complaining that above 18x or so they get a little unclear compared to sightrons

 

[Rtheurer]

The only problem with the Vortex Warranty...... Is your most likely going to need it.... Ha!

 

[CharlieNC]

I've shot a couple of 6-24 PST at long distance ranges and to me the optics are vastly inferior to the similar SIII which I've had for about a year. After reading about Nightforce horizontal parallax problems I checked my new 8-32 SIII and it did too, interesting no vertical issue. Sent to customer service and its back without hassle. I own one of the first 4-12 Vipers and it is more clear than the current PST.