Opinions on Zeiss

T

Tangentabacus

New member
Today I picked up a Zeiss 4.5-14x50 with target style turrets and a sun shade for $500. Will be in the mail in the next few days. When I saw the price I just had to jump on it (and return my Vortex HS-T that I just got).

Any opinions on this scope? Any good to know information regarding use and abuse?

P.S. not sure if this is the right place to talk about this. Sorry in advanced if it isn't.
 
Zeiss is good glass, you won't be disappointed. I own a 3X9 and have a cousin who has a 4.5X14. He's had his well over a decade and it's still one of his favorites.

Not sure what you mean when you say "abuse" but our scopes have taken normal use as good as any others we have, which include Leupold, Burris, and old Redfields.
 
Zeiss is a premium brand & will be a good choice for a high quality unit, both optically & mechanically.

That doesn't mean it can be used as a tent peg hammer though.:D
 
You being in Alaska I'm glad you clarified that :D My vision of Alaska is that of a rough, hard place....and one I wish I could live in! (Yea I know, to much TV)

Like I said my cousin has been using his for over 10 years and the occasional bump has not had any effect on it. I've had my Zeiss for a few years now and have not had to readjust zero except when I changed loads.
 
What didn't you like about the Viper HS-T? I was thinking of one of those for my next scope. Was it just the good deal on the Zeiss that swayed you?
 
Yeah the Zeiss was cheaper than my HS-T and more along the lines of what I was wanting. Zeiss was a 6-20x50 where the HS-T was a 4-16x44 and I wanted to practice punching paper at about 1,000 yards. Plus Vortex said my scope may not get to me until JUNE :eek:

After some serious deliberation I decided I couldn't wait and canceled my order and began my quest for new glass when I stumbled across this crazy deal. My only complaint is that it's got the Z-Plex reticle which is basically simple cross hairs. I kinda wish it was mil-dot but I am kinda thinking it's okay since I'll rarely use it for anything other than paper punching though if I did I think I'd still be able to hunt well with it.

I was able to hunt down a Remington 700 AAC-SD locally that I plan on putting this scope on top of if anyone is wondering.
 
Shouldn't be concerned with your Zeiss purchase....nice scopes and one of better brands to buy.

LOL, know a fellow range member who traded in about 10 Leupold scopes to buy enough Zeiss Conquest scopes to replace the Leupolds on his favorite rifles. He was irritated with the optics in his Leupolds. As one of our private shooting club board of directors, he'd viewed thru too many brands of scopes on range members rifles that cost a lot less than his Leupolds, yet the optics in them were equal to, if not better than his Leupolds........so, he decided on buying Zeiss scopes....LOL, he couldn't afford anymore Swarvoski scopes.
 
I think it's safe to say that anything more than a 1:1 (same price as your rifle) ratio with your scopes and you're spending way too much money. And even then it's probably too much.

With today's manufacturing standards and how everything is automatic the hand made scope is no more, and those that are left are priced at such an astronomical number that very few can afford them. The market is really aimed at companies who mass produce and price for a profit margin. I guess that what I'm saying is that unless you're dropping a couple grand into a scope there's a very blurred grey area of what is good and what's not good that isn't ALWAYS defined by how much you pay...
 
Zeiss with the RapidZ reticle is awesome glass that compares very favorably to Schmidt&Bender/Swarovski and Steiner.Their have been some screaming deals on their older models as they are coming out with a new line of scopes.
I no longer buy Leupold as I can get the above mentioned scopes for the same money and better reticle selection than Leupold with better glass.
 
I unfortunately got the simple z-plex reticle but from what I understand you can get them changed out for a nominal fee... I'm just going to get better with my rifle and see what it's going to take to swap out reticles down the road maybe.
 
Great glass,Very clear and track second to none. Shooting 1000 yards,I myself would have gone with much more power. Min- 32 or 36 power. The price you paid????--- Any more for sale at that price?:D Awesome scopes and you got a real good price on it.
 
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I kinda doubt it's a knock off of any sort. The place I got it from will return my order if for some reason I'm not happy (optics planet).

I was able to score the deal because of a sale, clearance, coupon, open box deal all together. My order came out to a little more than $500 including a 20MOA mount.

I'm really excited... The only other scope I've ever purchased was a Centerpoint at Wal-Mart on my old SPS Varmint in .308. HUGE UPGRADE
 
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You'll love the Zeiss, I replaced a VXII on my Sako with a 4.5-14 Conquest, much brighter, higher resolution, less defraction & more contrast. When I was younger & had 10/20 vision, I probably would'nt appreciated the difference as much, but those days are behind me as I approach 60 , the difference in poor light or difficult backgrounds is significant.
 
Zeiss optics (unless we're talking about Zeiss Jena which was a cheap, stolen, Russian knockoff like the Makarov pistol and its cartridge) is premier glass -- there is generally nothing better on the planet.
 
I haven't gotten it in my hands yet but so far my only complaint is that I wish they'd implement better reticles... I'm not in love with the z-plex, but was able to test out a nightforce this weekend and really like how that feels when looking down the scope. I also wish it was FFP but my dollars are only so many. Another gripe of mine is that for a scope of this caliber they have a pretty poor warranty. I've always been a fan of Vortex for that one reason.

SPEAKING of which... I heard there's a way to upgrade the turrets?
 
I like my Zeiss stuff, but when you compare a Conquest to a current generation VX-3 Leupold, there is little difference between them... I own both...

Now the VX-6... Its like looking through a Swarovski... :D
 
IMHO-- you can't compare anything to NightForce. Nothing Comes close to them.
Saving all winter for a 15-55 NF for my F class rifle.
 
You can compare a lot to Night Force. I have three night force scopes. In my humble opinion, they are on par with my Leupold target scopes and sub par to Meopta's new offerings.
 
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