Sightron Scope Reviews

Sightron is one of those brands that is kind of what I call a fringe brand. They don’t have near the brand recognition as some of the older US-based brands like Leupold or Nikon, but they have developed a following since they hit the market. Before we get into scope specifics, let’s talk history:

Based in Youngsville, NC, Sightron was founded in 1993. Not many people know this, but Sightron is a Japanese-owned company. The Japanese parent company specializes in optical lenses, and many of its lens designs are used by top microscope brands across the world. Sightron has been in business for 20+ years, but that number pales compared to some of the better-known scope brands who have been around 100+ years.

Despite their relatively short “lifespan” in the rifle scope industry, Sightron has quickly evolved into a player in the mid to high-performance riflescope market. This evolution occurred even though Sightron is not commonly found for sale in any of the major big-box hunting/fishing brands like Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, etc. Their growth is driven through two avenues:

1. The small independent firearms dealers who understand the performance to value associated with the brand
2. Customer referrals within specialty shooting sports like Benchrest, long-range, and Silhouette.

Let’s talk about a few other aspects of the brand, and then we’ll get into discussing the actual models.

Warranty

Although Sightron calls their warranty a “Limited Lifetime Warranty,” it’s not all that limited (IMHO). If something goes wrong with the product, you just send it back to Sightron with a note detailing the problem. No proof of purchase, receipts. Within reason, they will either repair or replace it. Please note the “within reason” qualifier. The warranty doesn’t cover damage or theft. It’s not the absolute best warranty I’ve ever seen in the scope industry, but it’s a pretty good one.

Although I’ve owned/own a few different Sightron scope models over the years, I’ve only engaged their warranty service once. I had an older Sightron SII 3.5 X 10, and the turret adjustments stopped making positive clicks during the sight-in process.

I followed the directions on the Sightron website and sent it in under warranty. Three weeks later, the scope was returned to me with a nice note from Sightron support saying that they had repaired the issue and then put the item through their normal quality control testing process that each scope goes through before being shipped out. Overall, I was delighted with the experience, and I can’t honestly say that about every scope warranty situation I’ve encountered.

Reticles

Over the years, the reticles that Sightron offers have evolved to the point that they have a reticle for almost every potential shooting scenario. From the basic duplex all the way to up to dialing MOA or MIL-based reticles, Sightron has it covered.

The brand has become very popular in the long-range shooting world. It offers exciting long-range reticle options, including MOA reticles with different sized MOA dots or hashes based on the scope magnification power.

Power Ranges

If you start shopping the Sightron line of scopes, it won’t take you long to figure out that they have a comprehensive line of available power magnification ranges, including a few long-range and bench rest models that top out at a whopping 10-50X60. Yes, that a 30mm scope with a power range of 10 to 50 with a 60mm ocular bell.

I have a customer who uses a version of that very model to shoot the heads off match sticks with a precision .22 at 50 yards. If you can think of a power magnification range, Sightron probably offers it or something very close to it.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at each of the different Sightron scope families:

• SIH Hunter Series Review (Click this link to read a full review of this scope series)
• SIH Field Target Series Review (Click this link to read a full review of this scope series)
• SII Series Review (Click this link to read a full review of this scope series)
• SII Big Sky Series Review (Click this link to read a full review of this scope series)
• STAC Series Review (Click this link to read a full review of this scope series)
• SIII Series Review (Click this link to read a full review of this scope series)
• SV Series Review (Click this link to read a full review of this scope series)

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to look through some exceptionally good glass with names like Nightforce, Schmidt & Bender, Zeiss, and Swarovski on it. That being said, I think the optics on the SIII and the SV scope models are very close in quality to some of those brands. Not exactly the same, mind you, but darn close.

The impressive part is the SIII models cost half (or in some cases more than half) as much as some of those brands. Keep in mind, I’m not affiliated with Sightron in any way, but I was and am impressed with some of the stuff they produce, especially given the price.

FAQS

Here are some common questions that I’ve seen about the Sightron line of scopes: