Zeiss
 

Dammit! I was all set to drop 5 Franklin' s on a Vari-X III. Then I went to the Sportsman' s Warehouse in Kennewick. I oogled over the Leupold I wanted, then the Nikon for kicks. He pushed a Burris scope into my hands and it was fine too.

Then he handed me a Zeiss....

Now, I' ve never even dreamed of spending that kind of money for a scope. Heck, spending anything over a couple hundred bucks seems ridiculous to me. I started looking at the Cabela' s Alaskan Guide scopes and thought that was the ticket. I have a Nikon 3-9x40 and it' s a very bright scope but I want something with more power.

It all started last October. I had a herd in my scope 250 yards away but wasn' t quite light enough nor did I have enough power to positively ID the only legal bull us Washington hunters can shoot with a general permit, a Spike bull. I was 75% certain but that' s not enough to be sure. Since that was my 8th season of Elk hunting and I still hadn' t ever notched my tag I was eager. But I just couldn' t tell.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!! My brother-in-law, who was only about 100 yards away from the Elk, and who had his son spotting for him with 7x40 binos, let loose with his .270. Well, I guess I was right.

Anyway, that' s how this all started. Now with one of Carl' s Conquest scopes filling my retina with all that beautiful flourescent lighting from the store my eye fell in love. Sure the Nikons are bright, the Leupolds are great, heck, even the Swaroski is a great scope. But that Zeiss...my eye was in heaven!!!

Just wanted to share with you all. I' m just a normal Joe that reads all the hunting mags and I always take it with a grain of salt when the writers talk about the really good optics and how it' s worth it. Today, I became a believer.

If you have any input on those scopes I' d love to hear it. Thanks.

Power

RE: Zeiss
 

Same thing happened to me,was a loyal Vari X lll man and went to buy another and decided to put the leupold and a conquest on the comparator and compare.That was the beginning of replacing all my scopes with conquests!Saving now for my fourth one,no end in sight!

woods

RE: Zeiss
 

I know exactly what you mean guys. I too was a loyal Leupold man until I got a conquest for Christmas. Man is that thing awsome! I put it on a Browning Stainless Stalker in .300wsm. (it' s one sweet shooting gun) Can' t wait till hunting season! Now I want to put Zeiss on all my other rifles just can' t afford it.

RE: Zeiss
 

I plan to mount a 3-9X40 Conquest on a muzzleloader. Good shooting.

RE: Zeiss
 

I have owned 3 Vari x III and always been very pleased with them. However I am not a brand pusher by any means, as I have 3 Bushnell Elites, 1 Vari x III and Burris Sign Series, all have performed flawlessly and in real field conditions haven' t cost me a shot. Last fall I looked through a Conquest and went wow!!!!!! Since then I have been planning on topping my 7 mag with a 3.5 x 10 x 44. My only concern was are they as durable and reliable as the Vari x III. I live in the north and have had some scopes not up to the task, my fear was this may be another. I had heard some horror stories about this scope with: POI shift, tracking and not being suitable for a Mag rifle, which led me to put the brakes on purchasing. I believe those have subsided and possibly it was a bad run on the line. Woodseye was one hunter that had experienced a problem with the Conquest, but it appears he feels pretty confident with the scope, so my mind is back on adding a zeiss to my cabinet;).

Power, I think you' d be very pleased with either. While the Zeiss is clearer and brighter due to the lens coatings used in europe, not many can argue with the Vari X III track record in the field, weight and eye relief(100% honest my Vari X III lets me see my target past legal time so I doubt it would ever cost you a shot in the field in those low light situations). BTW, in my checking the price is darn near the same for both scopes, given that it would pretty hard to say no to the Conquest. Zeiss has a name of quality optics, so I say let your eye do the talking!

RE: Zeiss
 

I have been buying Vari-xIII' s my entire life and just picked up a 3x9x40 conquest to put on a 7 rem mag... Great optics but it is also heavier,longer OAL and has a longer mounting tube(negative in my book) on the rifle it is mounted on. The quick focus makes no difference to me because I am the one focusing it and i need to do that only once in a great while. I have a new 338 that needs a scope but I will probably go 1.75x6 Leupold because Leupolds are a proven scope and can take a beating and not sure of a Zeiss in that regard as well as most of the European scopes, thats why I mounted a conquest on the 7 mag even a Tasco can handle that recoil.

RE: Zeiss
 

My 3.5-10X44 is working well on my 7mm mag. Just getting some new loads worked up to really make it worth it' s $$$. Lovin my Zeiss so far:D:D

RE: Zeiss
 

Thanks Skeeter! I always enjoy your feedback especially.

From what I' ve heard the reticle is actually etched on the glass so you never have to worry about the crosshairs breaking or twisting due to recoil. Lifetime warranty and a name that is known around the world I figured I can' t go wrong. Still don' t have the scratch to purchase yet so I guess I' ll know for sure when I actually plop down the money. Either way I doubt I' ll be disappointed. I do like the adj. knob for parallex on the side of the turret though. Seems like a better place for it. I also like the rubber ring on the eye piece as I..../me blushes....tend to crowd the scope at times and go home slightly bloody from the range, even with a rubber eyecup on my Nikon. Hopefully the new scope has more eye relief so that won' t happen (as much). ;)

RE: Zeiss
 

Power, if your looking for more eye relief than the Loopy might be your scope it has 3.6-4.6 vs the Conquest with fixed 3.5 in the eye relief department. While I haven' t had a chance to play with the Conquest enough to notice the difference, my experience has always been the Varix III has the best eye relief in it' s class.

Maybe woodseye who has experience and tested both can shed some more light on the eye relief comparision in real time to help you with your desicion. I believe the nikon 3x9x40 has the same fixed 3.5 eye relief, but not sure.

Hey just wanted to confuse and add some more FUD (Fear, Uncertainity and Doubt), GOOD LUCK;):D!

RE: Zeiss
 

The 3x9 has 4" of constant ER and the rest have 3 1/2" .Measuring my 3.5x10' s from scope to eye is actually 3 3/4" or slightly more than advertised.The Leupold will have more ER at low powers but will be about like the Zeiss at higher magnification.I do prefer the constant ER as it don' t have you moving your face up and down the stock slightly with power changes as you set for ER and its the same at all powers.Leupold offers this but only on the more $ LPS model.My Zeiss scopes are holding up perfect on all my guns and I have a 6 3/4# 300WSM that pushes 180gr bullets with some fairly stiff recoil.One bad one from the factory and they dealt with it quick and to my satisfaction.I' m getting ready to sell off my 4.5x14x40 AO Vari X lll to buy a Conquest 4.5x14x44 with side AO.They just have too many great features that when combined with the superior optics make them my scope of choice and the best in their price range out there.

woods

RE: Zeiss
 

I own a Swarvoski 4x12x50 and it is a great scope,but after looking at the conquest i can honestly say that the Zeiss will be my next scope. They are great scopes!

Oh yeah i still love my Swarovski.............

RE: Zeiss
 

See I knew Woodseye would come to the rescue with real time data:)!

RE: Zeiss
 

You guys are awesome! Not just a bunch of dribble saying, " Buy a Bushnell $20 scope! It' s the best ever ' cause I said so!" but real facts and honest opinion.

I always try to buy optics to last a lifetime, now that I' m a little older and don' t lose/break things all the time like when I was younger. I' m determined to keep the price of the scope less than the rifle but this one will be close ;)

RE: Zeiss
 

FWIW, that scope lasted 20 rounds for me on a Guide Gun. I think a lot of scope reliablity is the luck of the draw.

RE: Zeiss
 

I will add that I have both a 3x9x40 Conquest and a 3.5x10x44mm Conquest. I feel like they are the best 2 scopes that I have. Both are noticably brighter and crisper than my Vari X III scopes.

I think one of the problems with the Leupold Vari X III series is the reticle. The standard duplex is rather fine, which causes the shooter to lose ther reticle earlier in the day that they should. The Leupold Heavy duplex is just too darn heavy for me. Zeiss' ZPlex reticle is in between and a perfect compromize for target shooting, mid-day hunting, and low light hunting conditions.

RE: Zeiss
 

The guy at the shop mentioned something about the crosshairs on the Vari-X III. They changed it so the normal crosshair from last year is the fine this year. The heavy of old is the normal now.

I like the idea of the crosshairs being etched on the glass. Seems the best way to keep that risk to a minimum.

RE: Zeiss
 

I wise man told me once you are best to spend as much on a scope as the rifle you top it with. Might be a bit much, but basically as much scope as you can realistically afford. I always weigh how much I use the combo and what it' s intend use will be. For a main stay biggame rifle I want to not cut any corners, but for a gun that lives mostly in the cabinet and see' s the odd varmit hunt then I will lower the bar.

You have set the bar at the conquest/vari x III level for price and models, only look at scope that compare directly with them and pick the one you truly feel the best about...in the end I guarantee you' ll be happy. (Most offer lifetime warranties, so if their is troubles a head they will fix them...as a fall back).

I will tell you many have discouraged me from buying certain equipment in the past, but if I am truly following what I want, feel and believe than I have been always pleased with my desicion. The only time I haven' t been happy is when I have let others talk me out of what I wanted for what they felt was the best.

Good Luck and enjoy your Zeiss;):D

RE: Zeiss
 

I' m sure I will. Just need to make sure I get the right rings for it too. The guy at D & R sports tells me to call him and he' ll put together a package when it' s time to order. Just need to round up the funds and I' ll be ready to order.

I' ve had the same experience as you skeeter. When I get what I truley believe is the best I' m always happy. The only time I' ve not is when I' ve not bought a better, more expensive item that was worth the extra money.

Got any suggestions on a good pair of 10x40 binos?

RE: Zeiss
 

Well, I did it. I called up D & R Sports (www.dnrsports.com) and ordered it Friday.

Just curious, you that have ordered from them, how long does it take? I ordered Friday morning and they still haven' t processed my order and sent me tracking numbers. By my watch currently it' s Tuesday around 5 pm. Seems like they should have had it in the mail by now.

Just curious....

RE: Zeiss
 

They have the best and lowest prices and the poorest service.I have had them take up to a week to get a scope out and on its way.Sometimes you never recieve tracking info as the scope finially comes on its own.Longest they ever tied me up with excuses and double talk was 16 days,still I like saving the extra money so I have put up with it thus far.

woods

RE: Zeiss
 

Zeiss make quality scopes,that' s for sure! As for D&R I live 20 miles from them and get even better deals face to face...:D

RE: Zeiss
 

GTbuzz...sorry to hear that you had a problem with a VarixIII on your gun and it lasted only 20 rounds before going south. Was it mounted correctly, did you turn the scope in the rings to mount the dovetail sights I don' t know , I don' t think it is the luck of the draw...Tasco and simmons would fit that category, but I find it pretty hard to believe that one would fail just basing it on the history I have had with all types of Leupold scopes. If you speak to any custom gun builder of any repute ask them what brand of scope they put on a heavy recoiling rifle. I wouldn' t even dream of putting a Zeiss of any kind of a 338... I have a Zeiss conquest 3x9x40 which is optically a bit brighter than a varixIII and I would not dare put it on that 338 because it is not proven and my Leupolds are. I also owned a Zeiss Diavari 3x9x36 I am not going to book an expensive Elk Hunt somewhere and have unproven equipment on my rifle. Now ask me the same question a couple of years from now after the Conquest has been banged around a bit and we' ll see if I have a different answer.

RE: Zeiss
 

All scope makers build an occasional dud including Leupold.I wouldn' t be afraid to bolt any premium scope on a heavy kicker to see if it holds up,life is too short to wait for a scope to be proven.The good scopes all carry excellant warranties and the makers will replace with another if you manage to break one.I know of several 458' s and large caliber weatherbys that have Conquests on them and they are holding up well.

woods

RE: Zeiss
 

oldelkhunter, I am well aware of the proper way to mount a scope. This scope was mounted in a set of Talley Rings and Bases. When I took the scope off the rifle, there were ZERO ring marks whatsoever. I don' t think there was a problem with mounting the scope.

I only posted this to say that all brands of scopes will have a certain percentage of failure. I just happened to be the lucky guy that got a defective Leupold.

RE: Zeiss
 

Woodseye and GTBuzz, Better Hunters than I and great gunsmiths have depended on Leupold and its quality for many years. It is by no accident that it is recommended by some of the best gunmakers and used by some of the best hunters in this country. Their reputation is Justly deserved. Just because a company comes out with slightly better optics does not mean it is a better scope. The faults I find with the Zeiss (3x9x40) a.) tube is a tad long and b) it is 4 0z heavier than a comparable Leupold.. There is almost 5 1/2" of eye relief with the 1.75x6. Please tell me where I can get a Zeiss that matches that and weighs 10 1/2 ounces. Zeiss has been making fine optics for many years catering to the Euopean market(night hunting) and you will seldom see a rifle more powerful than those in say the 6.5x55/ 270/06/7 rem mag class in use whereas statewide we are magnum crazy. They have not sold enough Conquests and mounted them on enough heavy magnums for the real reliability to show. I have heard about Conquests and read about them and followed articles on every hunting related website and I broke down and bought one, except with the faults i described above it is an excellent scope but very unproven. It will go on my day whitetail hunts and never out of distance of a UPS shipping outlet and that is the extent of it.. for the rugged hunts the Leupold goes along...they have never let me down.

RE: Zeiss
 

I love all this talk about scopes it reminds me about comparing parts on how to make your car go faster as I use to work on cars a lot. I had a Leupold Vari-X II on my 270 Win and once I set it I never had to make a adjustment in six years. Last year while I sneaking up on some large deer that turned out to be a bunch of does I set my gun down in some rocks with the bipod down but somehow the gun fell over but after checking it it was still zeroed right on. I just ordered a 270 WSM a couple of weeks ago and will be picking it up on Thursday. This time I will be putting on a Zeiss conquest not that I was unhappy with my Leupold but wanted to try something new and in my case the Zeiss is only 12.6 inches long compared to the Leupold 12.5 inches on the Vari-X III I would of bought. The Zeiss weighs one ounce more and I could get both for about the same price.

RE: Zeiss
 

After about 600 rounds on a .300 Weatherby, 2 very wet hunting seasons and hundreds of miles bouncing around in a hard plastic scabbard on my ATV, I have had zero problems with my Zeiss Conquest 3-9X40. I also own a 4.5-14X44 and am quite pleased with it also. There will definitely be more Conquests in my future.

RE: Zeiss
 

Sounds like the usually Zeiss/Leupold Pissing match.

Let me add some fuel to the fire:

After 30+ years and probably owning close to 100 Leupold scopes in all kinds of configurations never had one let me down. I can' t say that about other scopes I have also owned and some were the so called " High End German Scopes" .

RE: Zeiss
 

I ignored the first couple posts but you seem to want to debate this so here ya go.I find your Tasco comment to be below your usual post level,guess you want to make everyone think the Conquest can' t take some recoil?Post above says 600 rounds from a 300 weatherby,I know of someone with 1500 rounds of 338 also over on HA.
Sounds like you' re the only one trying to get a pissing match going in a post about Zeiss scopes by " adding fuel to the fire" and acting like Leupolds never break or fail(what is all this talk about Leupolds warranty and quick repair service if no one ever needs to use it cause they never fail?).Conquests are as sturdy as a Leupold and all you can find to pick at about them is a long tube that makes mounting on a long action easier with out offset rings and or bases and a couple oz' s of weight! If 3 1/2-4" of eye relief isn' t enough for you somethings wrong.I can name you a dozen areas where the conquest has it all over the Leupold.I just bought a 3.5x10x50 Leupold and it wouldn' t even fit in the rings of my 110 Savage,wish they took a page out of Conquests book and made the tube long enough to mount it without dumb looking off-set mounts.If your nervous to carry yours OK but most of us buy a scope to use and hunt with, and if it breaks then we worry about it,carry two guns or use QR mounts if its that big of a concern.Zeiss Conquests are running right at 1% failure rate right now and they are selling thousands and thousands of them every year,where are all these failures some act like they' re having since we aren' t seeing or hearing about them on any forums?Talk to Mark at D&R or Chris at SWFA or Bear Basin or Gary Wink at Winks sporting goods,these guys are all selling over 1000 per year each and they all say to a man that the Conquest is one of their lowest returned scopes.And a lot of those Conquests being sold over here are going on magnums and ultra mags not european calibers.I' ve seen more posts on Leupold failures in the last six months than ever before and way more than Conquest failures.To be biased is one thing(we all are to some extent look at me,I like Conquests ;))but to be blind to the fact that your brand can even fail is unrealistic and sounds more like blind denial.Buzz is a sharp cookie on guns and scopes and shoots sub-one inch groups more than any poster I know of and he knows how to mount a scope as good as you or I.If he says a Leupold took a dump on him you can take it to the bank and be sure it wasn' t something he did wrong.If you like Leupold thats great but to act like they make the only rugged scope is simply not true,and throwing fuel on a fire will usually just make flames [:o]Leupold makes a fine scope(I own several)but Conquest has come out of nowhere and is giving Leupold their first real serious competition in a field they have had to their self for some time and their older design is in need of some upgrades and updates to keep them competitive with the similiar priced Conquests.More and more Leupold users are comparing and finding this out all the time.Find some " real" complaints to make about the Conquest(the 3.5x10x44 is shorter and brighter yet than the 3x9)Every poster I' ve seen on this forum that compared the two brands picked Conquest every time Hmmmmmmmm???????? Wonder Why?Its just them and the two scopes they are comparing and yet their eyes are telling them something I guess.Why would guys like me,Buzz,and Solitary already own multiple Conquests and still buy more if they are really so weak and failure prone?Why haven' t guys that shoot a lot like us shot them to pieces and had scope failures by now?I doubt I' ll live long enough to shoot any of my Conquests to death [X(]Your a nice man and have a lot of good advice to give on hunting and shooting but you seem to want to rain on the parade everytime there is a Conquest post and turn it into a debate or pissing contest about Leupold vs Conquest.I like them both but I can see the advantages each has over the other and I can live with that without all the blind loyalty.

Regards woods

RE: Zeiss
 

No pissing match here. Did you see Leupold mentioned anywhere in my post? I' ve reported my experience and that' s all I' ll say.

RE: Zeiss
 

No pissing contest from me either. I suppose you wanted to start one when you asked if I used the tube to set the rings. Like anybody that buys a $400 scope would do that?

I don' t dislike Leupold at all. In fact I have MORE Leupold' s than all other brands combined. However, they are in fact far from the only game in town for midpriced optics anymore. They can and do break also. You have been extremely fortunate if you have used 100 of them in harsh conditions with nary a failure. I am glad you are happy with your Leupold' s. I am happy with my Leupolds, Elite 4200s, and Zeiss scopes too.

RE: Zeiss
 

Woodseye, Oooooh I touched a raw nerve not having a nice day I guess...Guess i can' t voice my opinion and go against Zeiss' s main cheerleader. How bout this little fact I happen to own one buddy boy and have owned more of their 1" and 30 mm tubes than I care to think about. I for one don' t see this big deal about it over a Leupold pure and simple. Having a Leupold on my rifle has not ever cost me one big game animal and having a Zeiss,Swarovski,Schmidt and Bender ever gained me an animal. I think the Zeiss will be slightly better in twilight especially with aging eyes and thats why it is slated for eastern whitetail hunting and the comparism ends there. Goodness Gracious Zeiss does not even make a 1.5 x 6 anything ? They make 3 usable 1" tube scopes. The 30mm models are better but who wants to spend 1400 dollars on a scope that is only marginally better. I could care less what a retailer says about so and so product , they are in it for the money ...the real test starts and ends with those that use them and what gets mounted on the finest rifles. No custom gunsmith worth his salt is going to put a failure prone scope on a very expensive rifle and then have to hear a client gripe about it. As for retailers they could care less about what they sell and please don' t tell me otherwise. Etched crosshairs my ..... You drop names and try to impress me I won' t stoop to your level and do likewise. You have been around at other sites and heard what other Gunmakers, Gunwriters and other experienced individuals have said about this subject. It needs no repeating here. No scope is beyond failure, I just haven' t had one(Leupold) go south and I have owned pretty darn close to or maybe over 100 of these puppies in all configs... As far as Tascos go I have seen some that can take unbelievable recoil and others that don' t work after a 222 fires off under them. GTBuzz I have seen more people turn scopes in their rings then you have hair on your head I can guarantee that. Since I don' t know you I just brought it up as a potential cause of your problem.

RE: Zeiss
 

Thanks for the feedback, even the " pissing-match" stuff. Guess everyone has their opinion on what is the best. Not trying to start up a heated debate, just looking for hands-on experience from the experienced members here. Good to know so many of you have first hand knowledge about a lot of this stuff. I haven' t been hunting that long (only 20+ years) but I do read a lot and talk to a lot of people about hunting and shooting and I' m like a spongue, I just drink up all the info I can.

BTW, I' m waiting for my 4.5-14x44 Conquest to arrive any day from D&R. Wish they' d sent me tracking numbers but I can wait for it to arrive (soon I hope).

Everyone have a safe and fun 3-day Memorial Day weekend.

RE: Zeiss
 

I have owned several of each-leupold,ziess and swarovski.I have had no failures with any of them but I have no doubt that the ziess and swarovski' s are brighter at the first and last few minutes of legal hunting.Since that is when I tend to find the biggest bucks,I want every advantage that I can get at a reasonable price.If a brighter scope gets me one more trophy in my career it will have been worth it.I have hesitated and lost an opportunity or two in the past because I was not totally confident due to light conditions (it was during legal hunting hours)and I am hoping that the bit of extra light transmission that the swarovski' s give me prevents this from happening again.

RE: Zeiss
 

Nah no raw nerves,you just threw some fuel on the fire and got some more warmth thats all.I don' t " throw names around" to impress, I gave you people to call if you want to verify Conquests failure record.I' d sooner have an etched reticle over a wire one that flexes and weighs more and don' t always stay black in reflected light.I' ll ignore your posts if you like when you want to start pissing matches,that way you can state your opinions with no differing opinions ;)No pissing matches for me just facts that I invite you to disprove.[&:]


You really state the case for Conquest quite well and I agree with you 100%.Twilight is when I see the most mature bucks also.

woods