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Old November 1, 2018, 11:51 AM   #1
missouri-ar
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Leupold, Vortex, or Sightron

I am looking to upgrade my current scope which is a Leupold vx-2 4-12×50. It will mostly be used shooting off a bench at paper from 100 to 600 yards. It will also be used for whitetail hunting occasionally. My max that I would like to spend is around $800. I have been looking at the Leupold vx-3 6.5-20x, Vortex HST, PST 6-24x, and Sightron SIII 6-24x. I prefer MOA over Mil. How do these three compare and what are the pros and cons of each one. I would really appreciate any advice. I'm also open to other options that fit that criteria also. Thank you!
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Old November 1, 2018, 01:38 PM   #2
bamaranger
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Leupold

I'm a Leupold guy, and always will be. I cannot comment on Sightron or Vortex, as I do not own one, but Vortex is commonly seen these days at the range or in the woods. I do not see many Sightron's.

I guess I'm running upwards of a dozen Leupold's, maybe more, most of them versions of either the Vari-X family, or M8's and FX-II. I think there is one VX-3. I've bought almost all of those used on eBay. Rock solid. I've returned several to Leupold for reticle changes, but NO service issues. The ones that went to Leupold came back quickly, and they were great to work with.

We have a long deer season here in 'Bama, and it can be wet. I hunt a lot, or try to, and my scopes see weather.......no issues. Also, two of those scopes (a Vari-X-IIc and an M8) are on known scope killers, a Mini30 and a Ruger .44 carbine, known for their slam bang actions to be hard on scopes. Those two Ruger SA carbines killed several cheap scopes before I put Leupold's on them...no issues now for years.

I can't say enought about my blue collar Leupolds.
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Old November 1, 2018, 02:38 PM   #3
std7mag
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I don't see where you could go wrong with any of the 3.

I have Vortex, and Sightron. No Leupold yet. Give me time.
My budget is somewhat less than yours, so i usually use the lower end scopes.

My most expensive being the Sightron STAC 4-20X50.
Love the scope! Wish it weighed less.
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Old November 1, 2018, 02:47 PM   #4
NoSecondBest
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I keep checking out the other brands and always come back to Leupold. Ninety percent of my scopes are Leupolds. I just can't find any fault with them. There are better scopes out there, but they cost three times as much and they aren't three times as good.
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Old November 1, 2018, 02:55 PM   #5
Brian Pfleuger
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I have some experience with all 3 brands but none of those models... I’ve never had a complaint with any of them. If I had to rate them in performance/$$ it would be Vortex, Sightron, Luepold, with Vortex and Sightron nearly tied, but in terms of “Damn that’s impressive”, it would be Sightron, Vortex, Leupold, with Sightron ahead by a wide margin.

Still, it’s picking nits. I wouldn’t be sad to find any of them in my Christmas stocking.
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Old November 1, 2018, 03:57 PM   #6
ms6852
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I have Sightrons on my hunting rifles and the glass is impressive for that money. Ultimately I chose Sightron over Leupold because Sightron had the reticle I like and gave me more elevation adjustments for target shooting at longer distances without having to use a 20 MOA rail. Regardless, what you choose should you ever need to send it for repairs from what I hear about Sightron is that their customer service is impressive and their warranty is hard to beat.
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Old November 1, 2018, 06:17 PM   #7
603Country
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I have Leupold VX3’s in 4.5-14 and 6.5-20, and Vortex Viper PST 4-16 and 6-24. Leupold glass is better, but the Vortex scopes are plenty good enough. If the OP is going to shoot out to 600, i’ll recommend an FFP turreted scope. When you get out past 300 yards or so, turrets are very useful.

If the OP was closer to central Texas, I have a Vortex Viper 6-24 PST FFP that’s boxed up and collecting dust.
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Old November 1, 2018, 08:03 PM   #8
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Meopta
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Old November 1, 2018, 08:04 PM   #9
Dano4734
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I know everyone loves Leupold and rightfully so but dang my burris scopes all work wonderful and never had any issue. Plus cheaper and a lifetime no questions asked policy on repair or replace
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Old November 1, 2018, 08:41 PM   #10
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Ditto on being a Leupold guy but I have 3 vortex scopes I like too !!
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Old November 2, 2018, 08:14 AM   #11
Bfglowkey
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For hunting, Leo's are well respected for thier ability in the hunting field. Low light clarity etc. For punching paper the sightron s3s are very impressive both turrents and glass quality. Vortex is the middle man with impressive customer service.
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Old November 2, 2018, 11:54 AM   #12
hounddawg
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I own 2 Sightrons currently and planning on buying at least one more before the end of the year for paper punching. I think they offer the best value for the dollar.

I have a nice Leopold VX 2 on a .22 sporter and the glass is spectacular and tracking is superb. I owned 1 Vortex and after sending it back twice for tracking issues I traded it, but I know a lot of people swear by them. I think I just received a lemon. All are good brands
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Old November 2, 2018, 12:20 PM   #13
Don Fischer
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If I have a preference in scope's it's Redfield but, I don't think they have what your looking for except with the Leupold name on them. I've never seen a Sightron and never owned a Vortex. I might get a Vortex someday simply because the good I've heard about them, no other reason. Something you'll notice about all product's is their the Monday product get's out every now and them. The difference is the customer service the different company's give. I think most company's give life time warranties now. Ever wonder why? I suspect under normal condition's today's scope's will last the average hunter a lifetime. Over the years I've had more Redfields than anything and swear by them. Any wonder, they always worked for me! I've got a very old Bushnell Banner that is never a problem but I think it may be better than the newer one's, just my though! I've had and have now old Weaver's. The one I have now is an old El Paso scope! I've had Tasco and have Nikon's now, love them. The only scope's I every had trouble with were the Tasco's and had a problem with one Bushnell. About any other scope I've never tried, I don't have much of an opinion. But I think looking at spending what your talking about spending, I would definitely consider the Leupold, I owned one once and it was a good scope! The reason is the track record over the year's with Leupold, hard to get past that! Everything else is a crap shoot, not a big crap shoot though as I don't think much of anyone make's a bad scope and stay's in business long. Leupold has more than stood the test of time! I do have a 4 1/2-14x Nikon on one rifle I like to fool with at long range but I don't do it much anymore. The thing I think is most important is ridicule's! My 4 1/2-1x is one of those BDC one's and I hate it. Other people love it! Go figure. All that garbage does for me is clutter the view and I much preferred adjusting the scope to using that junk. Now why would I get it in the first place? Well t was on sale for about $100 under normal price and I figured I could simply send it to Nikon for replacement, nope! They wanted me to take it back where I got it and trade it foe a scope with the right Ridicule. That store has never had the right one come in, 4 1/2-14x scope's are not big seller's where I live! Now had I paid more and got the Leupold I feel sure Leupold would have sent me the right scope!

So I'd say pick a scope with a good reputation over a long period of time and simply go for it. I don't think Sightron or Vortex or many other's have been around near as long as Leupold or have anywhere near the track record. I've only ever had one Leupold but no problem with it at all so this is not something I'm saying because I'm a Leupold fan, I simply think they have the track record to get what you want. On the other hand you could do just as well with something else but you won't know till you try it.

Met a guy while I was in Alaska that found a super destroyed Leupold in a river. He sent it to Leupold and told them where he found it and they sent him an up grade of that scope, free of charge. That said a lot to me!
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Old November 2, 2018, 03:30 PM   #14
gw44
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Ditto on the leopold man !!!
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Old November 2, 2018, 04:02 PM   #15
Nathan
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Leupold....you either love them or not. Lovers talk about light weight, good glass and warranty....ok, mostly warranty. Haters talk about tinted images and lower image quality for the price. It also has a rep for breaking under military use. What is Leupold’s reputation? Seriously? The only one i’ve used much loses 0 and has very average glass....yellowish tint. If it breaks, I could get another just like it! Heck pretty much any good optic maker will send you a new one. Who makes it right up front?

Vortex always gets the best bang for the buck vote. What they don’t get, but deserve is great reviews related to image quality. Vortex has best image quality in any class they compete in to my eyes. I’m not alone. I think it is the most popular PRS optic in the winners circle. Vortex BDC is great. Simple, but just complex enough. Don’t twist knobs hunting. The BDC is faster and is always 0’d.

Sightron is in a class like Vortex, but often just slightly off when I pick a scope, so they never make the cut. Image quality is good too.

Nikon...they too have great image quality...Vortex level or slightly better. Pretty good bdc, but I really want a crosshair on my bdc. An open dot is jus a bit unnerving, but shootable.
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Old November 2, 2018, 05:42 PM   #16
603Country
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I’ve sent scopes back to Leupold and to Vortex. Both had good customer service, but Leupold is above and beyond. Back in the 80’s I bought a used fixed 6 Leupold at a gun show and put it on a BAR 270. Used it for maybe 6 years and then sold gun and scope to a brother. 20 years later, he showed up and wanted me to sight it in. The scope rattled. Loose lens in there somewhere. I sent it to Leupold, who couldn’t fix it, so they sent me a new one. No questions about anything. Just sent the new scope. Can it get any better than that?

As for Leupold scopes breaking, I had a VXII 6-18 that had to go back to the shop, and that’s it. I have Vari-X III and a VX3 in 4.5-14, a 6.5-20, and a couple of really old 2-7’s. The old Vari-X III was bought new in the 80’s. I sent it in to have the reticle swapped out, and while Leupold had it they refreshed the innards.

My next scope will be a Leupold VX5 3-15x44 HD CDS with firedot.
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Old November 2, 2018, 05:47 PM   #17
Nathan
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Quote:
Can it get any better than that?
Well, my dad broke some $200 Vortex binos....probably abuse. Broke off where the strap attaches.

They sent him some Viper binos.....wow! I still would have preferred it not to break!
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Old December 2, 2018, 04:08 PM   #18
Chaparral
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I do not know this first hand, but I have heard and read from other shooters that Sightron is not as good in terms of "no question asked life time warranty" of their scopes. I too am a Leupold guy, but do own Vortex, older Redfields, older Weavers, and Burris. I even own 3 different Cabelas Covenants (dang nice scopes for the money IMHO) that have lifetime warranties. I have dealt with Leupold, Burris, and Vortex customer service and they were all 3 great. I personally have never owned a Sightron because of the stories I have heard about their warranties. And don't laugh, but I have some older Bushnell Banners and Tascos that have the fine duplex that I love. Older Japanese glass. Anyways, I know we are talking about Leupold, Vortex, and Sightron. Sorry for the rambling.

Last edited by Chaparral; December 2, 2018 at 04:17 PM.
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Old December 2, 2018, 04:55 PM   #19
std7mag
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I'll tell ya, i must treat my rifles and scopes with kit gloves.

I've never had anything happen that i needed to worry about a warrenty from any scope manufacturer other than Barska.
After attempting to deal with them, scope went in the trash can, won't even consider buying another item from them.

I've had Bushnell, Tasco, Simmons, Apollo, Redfield, Vortex, Sightron.

Actually i'm now waiting to hear from Sightron's custom shop for price on one for me.
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Old December 2, 2018, 11:53 PM   #20
J.G. Terry
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I got all sorts of scopes in the skunk works. Some good others not so good. Choice #1 has been Leupold for nearly fifty years. There is maybe a dozen Leupolds in the gun safe. What keeps me sold on Leupold is the warranty and reliability. Not long ago an older Leupold ws sent in after a visit to the Bubba Gunsmiths. That scope, despite dings, came back good as new on the inside. Also, I have a old VX1 3x7 on a Tikka. That old low end Leupold beats the hell out of similar current entry level scopes.
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Old December 3, 2018, 01:17 AM   #21
ms6852
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Ultimately if you are going to pick a scope make sure that it has enough internal adjustments to get you to the distance that you want if not not even a 20 moa rail may help.
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