Rifle Scopes ziess scopes

[corey4]

i went to gander mountain to check out some scopes for my 308 5R. my original intent was to walk out with a nikon monarch. i looked thru that and liked it. i hated the leupold. so i asked the guy what the big deal was on the ziess, and why it was $900.

oh.....my.....god.....what a difference. now i wish he never showed it to me.

are these tough scopes? it will be used for hunting, but mostly range work.

now that i am in the market for a $1000 scope, (i didn't want to be, sorry nikon $450 monarch) what are the other options?

 

[jimmykm21]

Re: ziess scopes

I have the 4.5 - 14 x 50 conquest Zeiss mildot.
The clarity of the glass is the best I have ever owned in a scope.
I haven't owned a S&B or any other very high end optic to compare it too. I have looked through and shot a Vortex PST priced about the same as my Zeiss. The Zeiss blows it away if your first concern is clarity
in your scope.

As for toughness in the scope for hunting use. I never had a problem with mine in the field.
Other options in a mid priced scopes $1000 to $1500 if your concern is clarity.
Don't look through an IOR
You look through one of those either ,chances are you will buy that or stick with a Zeiss. Both have amazing glass in their scopes.

 

[Xdguy]

Re: ziess scopes

I traded a Zeiss conquest for the new SS hd. I traded the zeiss because it had the rapid Z reticle which was pretty much worthless. I also wanted first focal plane, matching turrets and reticle and more travel. I had abzolutely zero complaints with the glass.

OP, if you do go with the Zeiss, don't let them sell you anything other than a milldot reticle. Personally though, I think you would be happier in the long run with matching reticle/turrets. There are several decent quality first focal plane scopes in that price range.

 

[corey4]

Re: ziess scopes

what do you guys mean by matching reticles and turrets? i know what each one is, but i don't know what you mean buy matching.

i am new to the high end rifle and scope thing. i thought a nikon monarch was high quality and expensive. boy was i wrong.

i'm not sure i liked the reticles on the ziess. it was this:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/837188/...0-reticle-matte

the reticles just seemed to have too much going on for my limited knowledge.

 

[bama110]

Re: ziess scopes

Matching turret and reticle is the way to go

 

[jimmykm21]

Re: ziess scopes

http://www.8541tactical.com/turrets.php

This will explain it much better than me trying to type it out.

 

[Gray]

Re: ziess scopes



I too have owned the 4.5-14x50 Zeiss Conquest with the target turrets and It is the brightest scope I have owned, EVEN BETTER than my S&B PMII. The durability is great as I have had it on everything from a 7 RM to a 22 LR. The only thing to be careful with are the screws that hold the turrets on. They are normal flathead screws ( which I like), but they are soft so you have to use a high quality machined flathead bit of the oppropriate size so you will not mar them up.

 

[BCP]

Re: ziess scopes

Matching means a reticule like a mildot and adjustments marked in mils, or a reticule in MOA and turrets marked in MOA. Another feature tactical shooters like is first focal plane, meaning the reticule always stays the same size in relation to the target.

The advantage of a FFP, MIL-MIL type scope is that if you are using the reticule to dial corrections you never have to worry about the magnification power or doing math. If you need two mils, you dial two. A SFP, MIL-MOA scope like the zeiss conquest means that 1) to know how much you need to dial the reticule has to be at whatever power it is calibrated for and 2) you will have to multiply by 3.43 to get the proper amount of MOA adjustment needed to coincide with the mil reticule.

Another topic is shooting style. Some like to dial, others like to hold and reticule choices reflect this.

Example, I was shooting at 600 yards and needed 4.5 mils to get on target. I dialed that much elevation and then half a mil for wind and shot for score. Second string, I used the reticule markings to hold 4.5mils above and half to the right and did my second string.

Some reticules you'll see will look 'complicated,' ie like a christmas tree. Those reticules are designed for holding. Reticules that are more traditional like a simple mildot are more for dialing. Now there's nothing about a 'christmas tree' reticule that says you can't dial your shots with it and you can certainly hold over with a plain jane mildot. But if you're going to hold over the christmas tree comes in handy as it more elevation and windage holds while the regular mildot doesn't have all the 'confusing' stuff.

If you hold your shots a first focal plane reticule is a must have. You don't want to hold what you think is 4.5 mils and overshoot or undershoot because your scope is on the 'wrong' power.

If I had 1k to spend on optics for a rem 5r 308 I would buy a super sniper HD 10X or a weaver 3-15 first focal plane tactical w/new reticule. Both of those are made in Japan, have simple mildot reticules, mil knobs and can be bought right now. The Vortex PST lineup is another good one but I don't know how available they are at the moment.

I would avoid single focal plane scopes with knobs that don't match the reticule. So the Conquest would be out for me. I like them for purely hunting though, as in a 3-9 zeroed at 200 etc.