Leupold VS. Sightron VS. Weaver???

R

Redrock

Steve Grosvenor
Reading recent posts about POI shift With every scope except maybe one...Which of the Three scopes listed would be the best choice and why?
This will be for Score shooting on top of a 700 action for 100-200yd competition, in the 30br caliber. I guess i'm asking is one likely to shift less than the other? or are differances limited to lens coatings...and glass quality etc..and shift will be similar no matter which brand you purchase.

Sorry for the question...just confused?:confused:
 
Well, one of the problems with reading this forum is that it would have you believe scopes, by and large, are not too good but the reality is that most of them are pretty good. The"new" Leupold comps are probably the best of the three mentioned and very reliable.
 
Leupold? I know there a great name...

The Leupold does cost the most of the three but it is still in the budget (if I sell off a couple things) and I do believe that you do get what you pay for and I don't know of anything that is both good AND cheap...that being said just wondering what makes the Leupold Comp $500.00 better? Or is it simply just manufacturing cost in the US that increase the cost of this scope by $500.00 over the other two mentioned? Thanks for the reply Tim.
 
I have never seen a Sightron or Weaver with the optical quality of the Leupold and I've owned many of them all. There is magnification and then there is resolution. Magnification without clarity and resolution is useless.
 
Alothough optical quality is always a good thing, it seems to me that if one had to choose between acceptable optics and no POI shift and great optics and less solid POI, that the former would be the way to go. A lot depends on one's budget. At the top is a March. Next down is probably a frozen Leupold used with an external adjustable mount. What comes next on the list is more controversial. Not too long ago, some very good shooters chose to go with with the previous generation of Sightrons with nylon set screws installed opposite each turret. Tests of of scopes have shown that some move, and some do not (even within the same make and model). I have been thinking of buying a Hood scope checker and having one of my B&Ls frozen just so that I can have a way to evaluate scopes for POI shift.
 
So to sum up?

If it is not a March, to be competitive, buy a scope x, y, or z have it frozen and have external adjustment mounts? If that is the case it would make sense to buy one of the lesser dollar amount scopes and take the $500.00 differance and invest in "Supertuning". Be it lesser optical quality it would still equal a more competitive package?

Great information, thank you.
 
Scope Checker

FBecigneul said:
Not every scope that is called bad actually is bad. Benchrest shooters tend to be super critical of their equipment. Some even blame their equipment when the fault isn't the equipment at all. Hard to believe isn't it? A short story. I have a Hood Scope Checker and invited a good shooter, who I know, to send his "bad" scope to me after he had some questionable shots. I mounted the scope checker and his "bad" scope and one of my good Leupolds on the rifle. I commenced to shoot some very good groups looking through my scope and observed that his crosshairs hadn't moved at all. I shot some more good groups while looking through his scope. I sent the scope and the targets back to him and a miracle must have taken place. He put his "bad" scope back on his rifle and commenced to clean house with it. Confidence in your equipment seldom, well never, appears on the equipment list but I feel it makes a big difference. He may have also had a loose mount and with the exchanging of scopes, that got tightened down.
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<<<< Yes, In many instances................. I agree and have found the same myself to be true..... Hood scope checker is INVALUABLE!!!!!!!!!!! :)

PM sent to ya Redrock,
cale
 
So??

The Leupold is worth the extra 500.00 (in your opinion of course)? Or as far as tracking goes(which seems more important) the Sightron Weaver just as good as the Leupold?

Thanks.
 
I've got a Leupold 40X and a March 40X.

The Leupold went on a varmint rifle for a short time and within a couple of hundred shots had an issue. The erector tube was sticking and the groups opened up by about 0.30. Lucky it as a problem big enough to be obvious rather than a small issue that was hard to spot.

The Leupold was fixed and is probably 100% now, that said it sits in the wardrobe and the March is on my rifle. Confidence.

I'd weigh up how serious you want to get, how much you can spend and be realistic about what you are likely to end up with in the long term. If you will be serious and know you will ultimately want a rock soild set up get a Leupold and have it frozen and put in a set of adjustable mounts or just dig deep and buy a March.

If you are not going to get to serious but do want a nice scope buy a Leupold and take your chances. Most are probably fine, I'd like to think I was just unlucky to have had one Leupold LCS and had a problem.

I had a brief encounter with a new T36 Weaver and was not impressed at all. It may have been solid in the adjustments (??) but not much about the scope endeared it to me. I made sure there were no ring marks and returned it and put the money into the March, best decision I ever made.

Buy the best you can afford and cry once. Nobody ever regretted buying quality. Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten ............

Just my thoughts.
 
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George has a point.

But ......... do you want two great rifles and two average scopes or one great rifle and one great scope ??

Like I said above, I'd do some soul searching and try and decide where you realistically believe you will end up in this game. If just getting your feet wet at the moment and see how you get on, the Weaver is probably the perfect choice.
 
Leupold vs Sightron

20 plus years ago I swore the lowest end scope I would ever buy would be a Leupold. Three years ago I bought a Sightron 24 X because Allen Orr at Sightron gave me a deal. I have been surprisingly pleased. I bought a Gene Davis 3X lens and this scope has served me well on my F-TR rifle. Sightron has beefed up their Erector tube spring, screws, and changed the scope from a 1/8MOA to a 1/4MOA. They are offereing several different reticles along with a couple other changes. I am looknig at their 8.5 to 32 Power target scope. I really want a NightForce but the lottery has not come trough yet.

Rustystud
 
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Bryce, I have a March scope but must admit that having had many other scopes die on me at the most inopportune moments that I cannot say that I totally trust any scope 100%. That may change over time but they're like wimmen so far as I'm concerned. I've grown sour on them as well. :(
 
Redrock....

Go with a Weaver 36x or a Sightron 36x and don't look back...I have had all of them Weaver, Sightron and Leupold on my Remington based 30BR used for score shooting, and the Weaver/Sightron both shot as well as the Leupold..there is some difference in optical quality, but not enough to cause dropped points or missed Xs...You are worrying too much...Spend that extra money on some "great" brass made by Ron Hoen...and some "great" bullets by BIB or Cheek....;)
 
I disagree with the statement that all one has to do is get a scope that doesn't shift poi and forget about the optical quality.

There are days when seeing bullet holes at 200 yards in the mirage and certain lighting angles is tough. Even with a top of the line scope it can be tough sometimes. So what good is it going to do you to have a solid scope and bad optics so you can't see where your last shot went? Not to mention a bad optical quality scope fatigues eyes quicker and we look through scopes all day long for days on end.

I think you need a clear, bright, high resolution scope that you trust for competitive shooting. It has often been said that the weak link in our chain of benchrest is the scope itself. So why cut corners on this area? Buy a good one once and forget about the money. You can't spend it on anything better.
 
good point

Point taken on the optics vs POI shift, and there are some very good replies. Being new and not been on the "line" for 20years more or less i'm just trying to draw from the experience of those that have, not so much worrying to much just don't have the oprotunity to look through these scopes myself, hence the question. Just asking for others personal experience with these scopes good or bad. I'm leaning towards either the Sightron(better warranty) or the Weaver now as for the last post, does that statement suggest that neither the sightron or the weaver have optics capable of seeing holes at 200yds in not so perfect conditions? If that is the case then the Leupold is lookin pretty good...what say ye Sightron/Weaver owners?
 
If you can't see...

a 30 caliber bullet hole at 200 yards with a Sightron or Weaver, you have serious eye problems...I shoot in Texas where heat and mirage are the "norm" at any shoot from June to October...I believe anyone using scare tactics about not seeing 30 caliber bullet holes is trying to steer you towards their choice of optics:mad:
You are using a Remington action on a score shooting gun..Why put a $5,000 saddle on a $500 horse...when a Sightron or Weaver will work fine..:D
 
It sounds like you are just about to get your feet wet in this great sport. I have looked through weavers and Sightrons that were as good if not better optically than the Leupold. This is not the norm per my experiences. I don't want to knock anybody's stuff but I find the tracking generally to be better than the Leupold in both the Weaver and Sightron but generally not the glass. If just starting out, I would recommend the weaver but this depends on available funds. If money is not too big of an issue, I agree with George, the first thing I would look into is a custom action and the March. Keep in mind that there are lots of all of these(other than the March..yet) being used to regularly win matches. I want to buy a March but am concerned about long term service issues. it's just alot of money to put out for something so new with many long term unknowns. If shooting HV, the nightforce is an excellent scope IMO, much better than the loopy,weaver or sightron IMO. Point is... If you can afford to...don't skimp on anything.Not the scope,the action,the barrel oranything else. If money is tight, like mine, I would go with the weaver and you can move up if you decide that this game is something that you really want to pursue. Just keep in mind that inferior equipment will usually not win at a registered match and that if this is already something that you truly believe that you will stick with, the learning curve is drastically improved with a setup that leaves nothing on the table. You can't hold off for a condition with a gun that simply won't shoot where it should. these are my observations and your mileage may vary---Mike Ezell
 
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Redrock

I have taken apart 36x Leupolds, Sightrons, Weavers, B&l's, and a couple of cheapos. You want to here the truth. There is not a "hill of beans" difference in the Weaver, Sightron, or B&l. They are what I call the "universal Japanese" design, that being a ball and gimble joint that acts as the pivot for the erector tube.
I have seen some that had gimble joints so loose that there was no way it could hold POA. Others have had loose turrets due to gaskets taking a "set", a few have had loose lenses.
I personally think the best glass is in the originol 36x Leupolds if you do not want to spend $900+. I have looked throuigh a LOT of Weavers, some are very clear, others simply terrible.
You want some advice. Get a locked scope with a set of proven External Adjustable Mounts, (after you lock a Weaver or Leupold, they are more or less equal), or save your money and buy a March.
Several shooters seem to be saying that this whole scope thing is overplayed. Well, waste about half a shooting season trying to get things working, when all along it was a bad scope, and you will see that scope problems can make you life miserable.........jackie
 
eww1350 said:
a 30 caliber bullet hole at 200 yards with a Sightron or Weaver, you have serious eye problems...I shoot in Texas where heat and mirage are the "norm" at any shoot from June to October...I believe anyone using scare tactics about not seeing 30 caliber bullet holes is trying to steer you towards their choice of optics:mad:
You are using a Remington action on a score shooting gun..Why put a $5,000 saddle on a $500 horse...when a Sightron or Weaver will work fine..:D
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Not trying to use scare tactics, simply pointing out that better glass has better resolution and that will help in trying to see 6mm bullet holes. I didn't know we were talking about a 30 cal. Even so, my other points still stand true.

Btw, if you think Sightrons and Weavers are as clear as a Leupold, than obviously you have different eyes than me. I have never heard anyone around these parts say that Sightrons are clearer. Usually the owners of them buy them because they have the mentality that "they're good enough" and "I can buy some extra stuff with the money I save". I normally don't hear anyone say that they bought them because they were the best scope ever made and if they could only have one scope it would be a Sightron or a Weaver. I have shot through all three and there is no comparison to my eye. But I'll be honest, my Leupold 36x was made around '85 and the new Leupold Comp's make it look like a Sightron! I guess you know what is my next purchase....with some external mounts of course!
 
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