I am going to be in the market for a new rifle scope soon. It will primarily be used for hunting situations up to 400 yards, but most of the time will be much less than that. It is going to be going on a light weight Browning X Bolt Stainless Stalker 300 WSM so needless to say eye relief needs to be pretty good. I am a life long hunter and have a couple of older model Leupold Vari-x 2's sitting on my guns right now. I have never had any issues whatsoever with the Leupy's and could not be happier. I would just like some opinions on the models mentioned above.
Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 or Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44
- Thread starter ttheel
- Start date
603Country
New member
I'm amazed that you don't have at least 50 replies by now. I think what you'll hear from others are that both scopes are excellent quality and that you'll be happy with either. I have mostly Leupolds, but am using my Dad's 3x9 Zeiss Conquest lately. I really can't see any difference at all between my best quality Leupolds and the Zeiss. I think your best approach is to look through both of those great scopes and you decide which one to buy. You won't be sorry with either, though if you get the Leupold you may eventually wonder just how good that Zeiss would have been. Maybe that's why you should buy the Zeiss and then you'll know. Yup, that's my opinion. Buy the Zeiss.
I'd go Leupold in this case. They are less expensive, although you can get a Zeiss in 3-9X40 right now for about $120 less than the Leupold. If you wanted to go that way it would be a tough decision. A 3.5-10X44 Zeiss will not be discounted.
The 3.5-10X44 Zeiss is about $730
A 3.5-10X40 Leupold is about $479
A 3-9X40 Zeiss is on sale for as little as $359
The Zeiss has better than average eye relief, but the Leupold still beats it by a bunch at low powers. The Zeiss is very slightly clearer.
But if you want lightweight the Leupold is 4 oz lighter and 2" shorter. A better combination an a trim lightweight rifle.
The 3.5-10X44 Zeiss is about $730
A 3.5-10X40 Leupold is about $479
A 3-9X40 Zeiss is on sale for as little as $359
The Zeiss has better than average eye relief, but the Leupold still beats it by a bunch at low powers. The Zeiss is very slightly clearer.
But if you want lightweight the Leupold is 4 oz lighter and 2" shorter. A better combination an a trim lightweight rifle.
phil mcwilliam
New member
I actually carried out a little experiment a few months ago & compared a Leupold VX3 3.5-10X50, Zeiss 4.5-14x50 & Kahles 2.5-10x50, with all scopes set & focused to 10x. I commenced my comparison during daylight hours & continued into the night, noting all scopes clarity under different light conditions.
Not a lot between all 3 scopes during daylight hours & the slight difference only became noticeable when trying to read signs 200 yards away.
The Zeiss conquest, although not the most expensive scope in my comparison was the clearest in trying to read signs 200 yards away. The Kahles & Zeiss were brighter than the Leupold during my night comparison, with Kahles & Zeiss being able to pick objects in the shadows of a moonlight night.
I actually own 4 different Leupold scopes & I'm more than happy with them & definately won't be going to change them, but my little comparison did give Zeiss the edge.
That said, I prefer a 2.5-10x50 scope for hunting because some of the terrain I hunt is close quarters where I prefer the lowest setting I can get, yet I've never felt hampered by 10x as a maximum on a variable.
Not a lot between all 3 scopes during daylight hours & the slight difference only became noticeable when trying to read signs 200 yards away.
The Zeiss conquest, although not the most expensive scope in my comparison was the clearest in trying to read signs 200 yards away. The Kahles & Zeiss were brighter than the Leupold during my night comparison, with Kahles & Zeiss being able to pick objects in the shadows of a moonlight night.
I actually own 4 different Leupold scopes & I'm more than happy with them & definately won't be going to change them, but my little comparison did give Zeiss the edge.
That said, I prefer a 2.5-10x50 scope for hunting because some of the terrain I hunt is close quarters where I prefer the lowest setting I can get, yet I've never felt hampered by 10x as a maximum on a variable.
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