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Sightron SIII or Vortex viper PST

WVGuns

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Messages
102
Location
Eastern Panhandle,WV
Sightron SIII or Vortex viper PST........ I own the viper pst but sightron has me interested. Let me know your thoughts on each. Looking at the 6x24 models. Will be target shooting and hopefully blasting praire dogs.
 
I have the PST 4-16X50...I do love it! I was a leupold fan boy BTW!!.

Now the sightron S3...my buy had it on his 6.5 build, very very good scope. It is clear and solid...BUT my PST just feels better and is clearer than the S3.

I would go with the PST, plus you have that awesome customer support!
 
I have the PST 4-16X50...I do love it! I was a leupold fan boy BTW!!.

Now the sightron S3...my buy had it on his 6.5 build, very very good scope. It is clear and solid...BUT my PST just feels better and is clearer than the S3.

I would go with the PST, plus you have that awesome customer support!

Bushnell Elites now have the same customer support as the Vortex. I have never found a Vortex at the range when compared on the same magnification as bright or clear as my Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50. It weighs 22.2 ounces.
 
Now the sightron S3...my buy had it on his 6.5 build, very very good scope. It is clear and solid...BUT my PST just feels better and is clearer than the S3.

I have literally looked through dozens of PSTs and S3s and I've never seen a PST be clearer than a Sightron. I wouldn't tell you a PST isn't good but optically I don't think it's great for the price point even though it is very feature rich. I've owned a bunch of S3s and they are a great value in LR optics and I would always buy one of them before a PST when spending my money.

I have had 3 buddies sell their PST and buy Sightrons after shooting them side by side. Your mileage may vary.
 
I think first off, before you compare them you should adjust both optics for clarity....:)
 
Appreciate all the replies guys.What happened to the days when we had like 2 choices....lol I wish I could find a store that sold every optic on the planet and could sit down at a range and look thru each one. Truth is everyones eyes are different and what looks better to one person may not to the next guy. Guess I need to look thru each side by side and decide. One thing I will say I was at Williamsport last summer at their 1000 yard club and saw a lot of siii on the firing line.
 
The floating dot in the Sightron reticle is awesome and when you need an even finer aiming point you can dial one less MOA than you need and hold with the start of the crosshairs down below the dot. I absolutely loved my S3 when shooting prairie dogs.
 
Even if something is out of absolute clear focus a brighter scope is still brighter.


You are absolutely correct on this statement, but you are wrong on clarity. You, yourself needs to focus both scopes to your eyes before making a conclusion of what's what.
 
I am in the same boat, looking at Vortex PST 6-24x50 FFP Mil vs. Sightron SIII 6-24x50 FFP Mil.

The Pro's on the Vortex, to me, are :

- Illuminated reticle
- EBR-2C reticle, which I like very much
- Slightly advantage in price tag
- Zero stop feature

Pro's on the Sightron :

- "known" to have a better glass
- More Elevation travel (23,5 vs. 19)
- Slightly shorter


Now, I must say I do not have any experience at all with Sightron, although I keep hearing of how good their glass is, but I do own a Viper PST 4-16x50 since a few years now.

Things I do not like about my PST 4-16x50 scope are :

- Glass quality is not that good, I must say. No problems in bright daylight, but if the weather gets a bit foggy I can't see very well (Image quality unclear and dark).
- Turret "sharpness" : No complaint on their functioning (always spot on), but their edge makes them easy to catch on something and thus turn a few clicks...(mostly the windage knob)
- Parallax knob : at times it seems it ìs not working, as image focus hardly change (it does, but not much noticeable) and additionally it is very stiff to operate (not smooth as it should).

All in all I am happy with the scope and I am sure the 6-24x50 would work good.
I am just wondering whether I should go with the Sightron instead....

What say you ? :D

Thanks for your input.

BJ
 
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The PST has more features. The Sightron SIII has awesome glass. Tracking on my Sightron has always been spot on and it's the best scope I own. It has more elevation. I have looked through plenty of scopes and the Sightron is great for the money.
 
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