Review: Sightron SI-Hunter 3-9×32 rimfire rifle scope

Designed and engineered specifically for the .22 LR caliber, the Sightron SI-Hunter 3-9×32 riflescope is a serious target for hunters looking to target vermin or small game with greater precision. It’s affordable too.

There is still some confusion about the differences between .22 specific scopes and centerfire scopes, and which scope type is best for a .22 rimfire rifle.

In my opinion, the Sightron SI-Hunter 3-9×32 meets all the necessary criteria for a rimfire riflescope that is used exclusively for small game hunting.

First off, it’s scaled. Many manufacturers have no sense of proportion. The scopes are not tailored to the sleek, sleek lines of your average rimfire sportsman used for plinking, casual shooting, and small game hunting.

With a length of 28 cm and a weight of 330 grams, the Sightron SIH is perfectly matched to a small caliber rifle.

The eye relief is a generous 91 mm. Its field of view at 100 m is about 11 m at 3x magnification and 4 m at 9x magnification.

It is waterproof, fogproof, shockproof and features fully multi-coated lenses. The crosshairs are in the second level.

The Sightron features a 1-inch main tube with a 32mm lens. At the lowest power (3x) it has an exit pupil of 10.66mm, which reduces to 3.5mm at 9x.

A scope with an exit pupil of around 3.0mm will provide sufficient brightness when used in full sunlight on an open target area. However, when used for hunting in low light or at dawn or dusk, the image would be darker than what your eye would see.

This is because your eye’s pupil would have dilated to let in more light than the scope can transmit.

However, Sightron’s Zact-7 Revcoat lens coatings maximize light transmission for best-in-class low-light performance.

A scope designed for use on a rimfire rifle should be set to be parallax free at 50 yards (46 m), which is equivalent to the Sightron SI rimfire 3-9×32.

With a typical centerfire scope, parallax is not an issue. For example, a typical 4x riflescope set parallax-free at 150 meters has a maximum parallax error of 5mm at 200m, 14mm at 300m and 32mm at 500m. For the hunter firing a 300m shot at a deer this poses no problem.

If the same scope were mounted on a .22 LR-Sporter for small game hunting, its maximum parallax error would be 10mm at 50m and 12mm at 25m (probably the average distance for .22 shots fired at rabbits) . Simply put, the smaller the target and the closer you shoot, the more of a problem parallax focus error and zero focus can become, especially when choosing a centerfire scope for your .22 rimfire scope.

The Sightron features ¼ MOA click adjustments, so one click shifts the point of impact by nearly 3.5mm at 50m. One turn of the windage and elevation scales is enough for 15 MOA, and full travel is 70 MOA.

To keep it affordable, the Sightron lacks an illuminated reticle, zero-reset turrets, or BDC, all of which would increase the price. But does the average small game hunter need these improvements? I do not think so.

However, as with other SI-H riflescopes, I would have preferred an eyepiece with fast focusing.

The point-blank range is about 70 m for the standard .22 LR velocity rifle, and about 80 m for the high-velocity rifle. The Sightron 3-9×32 allows the shooter to see small targets more clearly and aim precisely enough to use a small Bridging distance to get kills at 150 yards.

Having worked with the Sightron SIH 3-9×32 I am impressed with its robust design, overall quality and optical clarity.

The Sightron SI-Hunter series is available in seven different models with different reticles, including a duplex reticle. All but the 3-9×32 are parallax corrected at 100 yards.

They are made in the Philippines and I would rate Sightron’s SIH series higher than entry level – maybe second or mid-level.

Priced at around $395, the new 3-9×32 is one of the most solid offerings in the rimfire world.

Sightron is distributed by Herron Security & Sport.