Rifle Scopes Leupold vs Zeiss... or others

[uppercut11]

I am looking at getting a new rifle scope in a 3-18x50 that is still reasonably lightweight. Would love to have one in 3-24 power, but nobody seems to make that combination. Right now I am looking at:

Leupold VX-6HD 3-18x50 at 22.8 oz.
Zeiss Conquest V6 3-18x50 at 22.2 oz.

I am hoping to get recommendations on one of these vs the other and also if there are others that I am not aware of that I should be considering. I really like that leupold scope caps that actually screw in, but I had a VX-3 that did not track well so that has me concerned with the Leupold. I know Zeiss is known for high quality optics, but I am completely unfamiliar with their rifle scopes.

Main application is hunting. Any help is appreciated.

 

[inspcalahan]

While I've typically had all NF's on my work guns, over my 40 years of hunting, I seem to always have a Leupold on it. My experience with Zeiss is limited. I've had two, a Conquest and the other an older 1-8 hunting setup with a small tube. They were plenty fine but for whatever reason, I didn't hang on to them.

All of my hunting rigs run Leupold's of one size or another. I've just always been completely happy with the light transmission, clarity, durability and size/weight for what it gives in return. For hunting guns, I've even "fancied" up a few with their custom scope dials matched to that rifle and my preferred load/etc. These are hunting rifles that get hauled up mountains, taken 30 miles back and get rained on the entire time.

Leupold likely isn't the top of the pile for tactical purposes, although they certainly hold their own but, for hunting I believe they are the best. I just ordered a Leupold 3.6-18x44 illuminate reticle in fact, that will be going on a cross over rifle doing mostly hunting work. It's way more scope than I need for hunting, as are most in the safe, but I can, so I did.

Real world - there isn't hardly a hunt you could go on, that a plain jane Leupold 3x9 for a few hundred bucks wouldn't get the job done. Everything above and beyond that is because you can, and if you can, you should. It's the enjoyment of the "better" toy.

I know that doesn't really compare the two you referenced. The coffee just made me start typing my fondness for Leupold on hunting rifles.

 

[Mark @ Exo]

I'm personally not a fan of 50mm objectives for a hunting rifle (just preference), so my experience has been with the Leupold VX-5 in the 3-15x44, the Zeiss V4 4-16x44, and the Vortex LHT 3-15x44. Those three scopes are fairly comparable in weight and price. There's things I like about each one more than the other two. If you made me choose just one though, I'd go Zeiss.

 

[uppercut11]

This became a somewhat moot point after some more research. The VX-6HD has an electronic scope level that makes it illegal to hunt with in Idaho. I am looking at the VX-5HD 4-20x52 now as the comparison to the Zeiss. Is the VX-5HD a big step down in quality from the VX-6HD or is it just the 6x vs 5x multiplier on the zoom?

 

[beetroot]

This became a somewhat moot point after some more research. The VX-6HD has an electronic scope level that makes it illegal to hunt with in Idaho. I am looking at the VX-5HD 4-20x52 now as the comparison to the Zeiss. Is the VX-5HD a big step down in quality from the VX-6HD or is it just the 6x vs 5x multiplier on the zoom?

Glass is the same, the VX5hd just has a few less features and less reticle options.
The VX5hd is better value for money if you don't need exposed windage, 6x zoom or illuminated reticles (firedot is an option)

 

[uppercut11]

Glass is the same, the VX5hd just has a few less features and less reticle options.
The VX5hd is better value for money if you don't need exposed windage, 6x zoom or illuminated reticles (firedot is an option)

Thanks beetroot. Good chance I will go that route.

 

[GUNNER10]

While I've typically had all NF's on my work guns, over my 40 years of hunting, I seem to always have a Leupold on it. My experience with Zeiss is limited. I've had two, a Conquest and the other an older 1-8 hunting setup with a small tube. They were plenty fine but for whatever reason, I didn't hang on to them.

All of my hunting rigs run Leupold's of one size or another. I've just always been completely happy with the light transmission, clarity, durability and size/weight for what it gives in return. For hunting guns, I've even "fancied" up a few with their custom scope dials matched to that rifle and my preferred load/etc. These are hunting rifles that get hauled up mountains, taken 30 miles back and get rained on the entire time.

Leupold likely isn't the top of the pile for tactical purposes, although they certainly hold their own but, for hunting I believe they are the best. I just ordered a Leupold 3.6-18x44 illuminate reticle in fact, that will be going on a cross over rifle doing mostly hunting work. It's way more scope than I need for hunting, as are most in the safe, but I can, so I did.

Real world - there isn't hardly a hunt you could go on, that a plain jane Leupold 3x9 for a few hundred bucks wouldn't get the job done. Everything above and beyond that is because you can, and if you can, you should. It's the enjoyment of the "better" toy.

I know that doesn't really compare the two you referenced. The coffee just made me start typing my fondness for Leupold on hunting rifles.

While not a hunter, this is sound advice.

What I would add is while I think that I think optics you mentioned are pretty close in performance, I would strongly urge leupold as its an American product. While we can not possibly buy American in all aspects of out lives, such as electroncs, I think in the areas in which a comparable American product exist, we should.

With that being said, If you are a veteran or LE, both Zeiss and Leupold offer excellent discount programs.

Both optics should suit you well