Hi, I know the Zeiss verus Leupold has been discuses to death in the past but I am stuck as to what to do.

I just purchases a Tikka T3 lite in 308 and will be using it to hunt locally in California.. so probably close to mid range shooting.

I've read several reviews on the Zeiss 3-9x40 and how great it is, but it has been discontinued for whatever reason and has been around for some time now.
They have them on sale for $329 at europtics.

On the other hand there is the new Leupold vx-r 3-9x40 that has the illuminated reticle and free ballistic turret.
thats around $500 I believe.

My plan is to spend around $500 on a scope. And im wondering if I should get the older Zeiss on sale, or grab the newer Leupold for more money and is that money really worth it? has the glass on the Middle range Leupolds caught up to Zeiss?

Thanks!

I have both and either would be fine. The illuminated reticle is nice for animals with black / dark colored fur. The Zeiss glass is a bit better, but not by much (for my vision anyway). You may also wish to check out Vortex, Sightron, Minox and Meopta as they all have good stuff. Go over to SWFA and check their site. They also have the SampleList which has trade-ins, discontinued models, floor samples, etc. Good prices there. Good luck.

optics on the zeiss are great, and so are the Leupolds, but the turrets internel part of it on the zeiss is plastic, reports of them cracking. I own one older zeiss from 1986 excellent scope, but all other scopes I own are Leupolds and I'm so happy with them

As the proud owner of 4 Conquests, I believe they offer the best value in a scope at any price point. That being said, I also own a couple Leupy's and feel that they are in the same category as the Conquests. Two good choices, no wrong answer here.

I don't know exactly what the problem is but a couple of the guys at my club have recently had issues with their older model conquests and replaced them with other brands before heading off to Africa this season. These guys were very happy with the Conquests when they first bought them and recommended them to everyone, but now they have changed their tune.

A top level German scope for $400? If it sounds too good to be true...

The high end Zeiss scopes are excellent, but for under $1,000 I would stick with the reliable Leupold.

got the Zeiss... price is too good to pass up and all the positive feedback from so many sites.. Its my first scope, so next one i'll probably invest more and check out some other brands.. like Leupold! Thanks everyone for the feedback

I have both scopes and the Conquest is larger and a little heavier.

It requires a little more room for the bolt handle to clear the Conquests larger ocular.

On light rifles I favor Leupolds, on magnums the Zeiss.

Never heard of this one so i called Zeiss. They say it ain't so.

I am late to this discussion but ... I have several different brands and "classes" of scopes and have been through too many others to mention. In my opinion, Ziess and Leupold both offer excellent value throughout their entire line. Their top end scopes are superb and their bottom end scopes are dang good for the $$$. I am a big fan of the Conquest.

Both are excellent scopes in their price range. The best way to decide is for YOU personally to look through both side by side and buy the 1 that looks best for you.