Rifle Scopes TT vs ZCO turrets

TT for no tool re-zero
ZCO for locking turrets….or get the NLE

I find the way the markings at the zero are drawn on the TT to be error-inducing but practice would solve that.

Otherwise, it’s do you like your diamonds princess cut or marquis?

The TT reticle is “smaller” and thus harder to see at lower magnifications. But the ZCO is starting to have a bit of a reputation for parallax knob issues. But you ask about turrets so disregard?

I have a couple of ZCO scopes and my friend has a TT. I prefer ZCO, for me the eye box is better and I like the reticle better.
Cant go wrong with either

Got my TT about 4 years ago. Great optic.
Picked up my ZCO 2 years ago. Great optic
Enjoy the process.

Can’t go wrong with either man! You want the Ferrari red or yellow? I’ve owned both…. and sold all my ZCO’s for more TT’s… to me I’m not much of a reticle snob, but the tool-less zero and the “diesel idling” sound of a TT turret spinning is unrivaled.

As for glass and parallax…. I couldn’t tell a difference between the two, except that the ZCO has a more warm/yellow tint to it…. Comparing a ZCO/TT to a scopes like Kahles/Leupold/etc is EXTREMELY noticeable. I was shocked comparing my 318i and markhd to them.

Tangent all day. Have a couple of both. Tool less zero is an awesome feature also the clicks feel better on the TT. The locking turrets on the ZCO is really pointless. Also there’s an empty space between the hash marks on the turret and the arrow telling you what your on. Not a big deal but sometimes you gotta really focus when your adjusting elevation on the clock

BB KoncepZ said:

So I’m lookin to pickup a TT or ZCO for a long range hunting rig/ELR shooting. It will serve double duty.
I don’t have experience with either. Like both gen3xr reticle and mpct3x reticle. So basically I need someone to school me on the difference in their turret options. Thx

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Not quite sure what you mean with schooling you on turret options, it’s hard to explain to you how something “feels”, you have to experience it. For me, ZCO is designed better from an ergonomic standpoint, turrets are easier to read and are lower profile, TT has the best “clicks” in the business only recently being rivaled by Schmidt DT II+ and March’s new locking generation turrets. But both turrets will get you to where you want to go so it’s more about whether or not the other features will help you even more. ZCO offers locking turrets but TT does not; however, I am not a huge fan of the up/down loch mechanism and prefer the off/on lever of Schmidt DT II+ and March locking turrets. I like HenrytheAce’s idling diesel analogy, you really need to experience TT turrets to fully understand the pure joy of spinning them. Personally, I think the reticle is more important than how a turret feels as long as it’s repeatable and accurate.

Send @MOUNTIC a note, Jake has a lot of experience with both and is a great Hide dealer.

TT turrets feel better. TT support is better. TT parallax is better. TT turret zero mechanism is better.

ZCO support is second to none, so not sure what you are smoking.

TT has better turrets (can't understate how nice these are)
ZCO has better parallax, with actual markings
ZCO has a thicker reticle so you can shoot at lower power and actually see your marks. For PRS, I like the ZCO MUCH better, but for ELR, could see how people like the TT.
ZCO has better FOV & more Elevation travel.
ZCO reticles are much nicer and quicker with the circles IMO.

I owned both side by side and ended up selling the tangent to buy a second ZCO.
I know guys who did the opposite.

Only real way to know is spend some time behind both. Everyone eyes and preferences are different. If you buy either, buy them used so if you sell or trade, you won't take a bath on it. TT does not hold their price as well as ZCO with the insane $5K retail now.

DeathBeforeDismount said:

ZCO support is second to none, so not sure what you are smoking.

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I had to pay to ship back to ZCO 50% of the time. Armament sent me a call tag unprompted.

90% of companies require you to pay shipping back. BFD.

Also, a large percentage of shit getting sent back works fine, its user error and ignorance, so it helps keep wasted efforts down.

DeathBeforeDismount said:

90% of companies require you to pay shipping back. BFD.

Also, a large percentage of shit getting sent back works fine, its user error and ignorance, so it helps keep wasted efforts down.

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yeah, BFD. I expect multi-thousand dollar optics to not have missed QC on their way to me.

Your expectations and reality are not the same. Every company has issues and most don't pay for shipping for returns, especially on something Heavy/expensive to insure.

People bitch and cry about the dumbest shit.

Both are excellent scopes. I somewhat prefer TT, but a lot of it is personal preference. The biggest advantages ZCO has are eyebox and daytime resolution.
TT has better contrast which really helps in fading light. It also has a bit more depth of field which, together with the microcontrast, seems to help see through the mirage a bit better.
With every design there is a tug of war between contrast and resolution. ZCO leans a bit more toward resolution. TT leans a bit more toward contrast.
FOV is actually wider on the TT than ZCO when on the same magnification. I've had a chance to measure them side-by-side. The FOV in ZCO specs is slightly overstated. I thought they would have updated that by now, but I just checked and it is the same.
With turrets, ZCO has a nice locking turret. TT has better feel to me (and seemingly to most). The feel of TT turrets is just hypnotic.
Optical performance toward the edge of the adjustment range is a bit more consistent with TT, but both are pretty good in that regard. Probably the best I have seen to date.
ZCO is a shorter scope, so if you plan to ever put a clip-on in front of one, it can be important.
I expect both companies to stand behind their products well, but I have not had a chance to use it.
I have a fair amount of mileage with scopes from both brands and own two TTs.
Reticles are in the eye of the beholder. ZCO reticles do not work especially well for the way I shoot, which is the biggest reason I have not yet picked up a 4-20x50 ZCO.
I like to use the tree for corrections at moderate distances and dial at longer distances. With ZCO reticles, the tree essentially starts 2mrad away from center, which does not really work for me.

ILya

I’ve had both

Area’s where TT excel:
1. parallax
- parallax free from 220-infinity
basically you won’t be touching the
parallax knob, unless you are zeroing
2. turrets
- clicks are precise, audible, and perfect size/height
(you can see them while on the gun)
3. Field of view and depth of field
- only thing that comes close is the minox or the premier

ZCO does everything else the same if not maybe a little better

but i’ve yet to see a ZCO user complain about a TT

Own both (5 ZCOs owned total, 2 TTs) - they both work. Flip a coin. They're both amazing.

Pick a reticle and be happy.

I have both. Choose based on reticles and feature preferences. Pretty much everything has been covered by others.

BB KoncepZ said:

So I’m lookin to pickup a TT or ZCO for a long range hunting rig/ELR shooting. It will serve double duty.
I don’t have experience with either. Like both gen3xr reticle and mpct3x reticle. So basically I need someone to school me on the difference in their turret options. Thx

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@BB KoncepZ sounds like you need both to compare for yourself, I’ll get one of each on the way to you today

“Two scopes enter, one scope leaves!!!”

How does the NLE turrets compare to TT turrets? Better or worse than the normal locking turrets of the ZCO?

The NLE is the same as far as clicks IMO. The only difference is you have infinite spots to lock turret down. With the Locking turret, you always fall on a mil mark, which IMO, makes it easier to zero without having to perfectly align it.

TT turrets are a work of art and are as easy as it gets to zero and the clicks are amazing.

A ZCO tube with TT turrets would be perfection IMO.

I would rate TT> NLE ZCO> ZCO as far as turrets go for your options

I've owned four different ZCO's, one of which was the NLE version and three different tangents. Tangent turrets are hands down the best with the close rival being the Schmidt DTII+ turrets. I prefer the tangent over the ZCO in most if not all categories. Both are very easy to get behind and at the end of the day, pick a reticle you like and go with that. If it's a tremor reticle for some weird reason, go tangent hands down.

Greatly preferred the TT turrets when I had one compared to the ZCO I had for a short time. I have a S&B with the DT II+ turret which I have read on hear that they are right there with TT turrets. Yet to mess around with them though.

cjs88 said:

I have a S&B with the DT II+ turret which I have read on hear that they are right there with TT turrets.

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They’re very similar, I played with one @GBMaryland has. There’s a lot going on with those turrets and Schmidt kinda dumb prices now, but they feel pretty damn good. Not better than Theta, but on par.

I like the new turrets on the Schmidts…. I have two of the DT 2+, and one of the prior low height locking turrets.

Having owned a couple of both, I'd buy another TT over a ZCO.

TT turrets are just works of art. ZCO are good but not TT perfection.

Toolless zero, speaks for itself. I found the ZCO to be a pain when things didn't line up perfectly. Then you'd finally get the turret to slide into place and the zero hash wouldn't align with the witness mark.

Both my ZCOs had parallax knob issues in one piece mounts. The TT is also more forgiving in the parallax department.

GBMaryland said:

I like the new turrets on the Schmidts…. I have two of the DT 2+, and one of the prior low height locking turrets.

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I agree. Messed with them last night and they are awesome. Pretty cool how you can turn on/off the MTC with the locking mechanism. Definitely TT> S&B DT II+ > ZCO in terms of turrets.

BB KoncepZ said:

So I’m lookin to pickup a TT or ZCO for a long range hunting rig/ELR shooting. It will serve double duty.
I don’t have experience with either. Like both gen3xr reticle and mpct3x reticle. So basically I need someone to school me on the difference in their turret options. Thx

Click to expand...

This has been covered by me and others before lol.

I have owned both as as far as audible and tactile feel 100% the TT also the “tool less zero” function works really well. If locking turret it’s your thing ZCO would be the best choice since getting locking turrets on the TT will cost you extra, I think the only thing ZCO has on TT turrets is the number size.