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Advice on New Hunting Scope

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    Posted: June/05/2019 at 19:10
I'm looking for a scope for a new hunting rifle.  I'd like a light, fairly compact scope with a 1" tube.  I think the 3-9 range would work for the kind of hunting I'm planning with it--some close-cover areas, but also open spaces. I'm interested in learning what might be the best scope, within these parameters, for my purposes.  I'm not fond of scopes with gigantic objective bells; I'd like to keep that measurement under 2", and I don't want illumination.

I've seen a Swarovski 3-9X36 at a local gun shop, and it seems like a nice scope.  However, are there some others that I should be considering?  I think that what  I'm most interested in is bright, clear optical quality (I guess everyone is interested in that!Big Smile)  I'm prepared to pay what it takes to get the best within my specifications.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/05/2019 at 19:20
That little swaro you lissted is IMO the best 3-9x basic hunting scope on the market. I love mine.  You won’t find anything better
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/05/2019 at 21:02
Originally posted by supertool73 supertool73 wrote:

That little swaro you lissted is IMO the best 3-9x basic hunting scope on the market. I love mine.  You won’t find anything better
Agreed
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote South Pender Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/05/2019 at 21:35
That's good info, guys, thanks.  There are a couple of Zeiss scopes available here:

1. Zeiss Conquest HD5 2-10x42

2. Zeiss Conquest HD5 3-15x42.

The 2-10x42 is pretty close in size to the Swarovski 3-9X36, but has a better low end at 2 power.  It is about 5.5 oz. heavier than the Swarovski and about 1 inch longer.  It has an objective bell diameter of 2.0",  so is as big as I want to go.

Anyone here have experience with these Zeiss Conquest HD scopes?  How would the Zeiss 2-10x42 compare optically (clarity, brightness, etc.) with the Swarovski 3-9x36?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bugsNbows Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/06/2019 at 05:44
[QUOTE=supertool73]That little swaro you lissted is IMO the best 3-9x basic hunting scope on the market. I love mine.  You won’t find anything better [/QUOTE 

This ^^^. I have two and they have been trouble free for years.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/06/2019 at 11:33
For a basic 1" hunting scope, depending on your budget and FOV requriements, I really like three of the currently available options that are int his size/mag range.  In order of increasing price:

Meopta MeoPro 3-9x40
Vortex Razor HD LH 2-10x40
Swarovski Z3 3-9x36

If you want to go even smaller and lighter, consider SWFA SS 2.5-10x32 and Vortex Razor HD LH 1.5-8x32

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote South Pender Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/06/2019 at 14:57
Originally posted by koshkin koshkin wrote:

For a basic 1" hunting scope, depending on your budget and FOV requriements, I really like three of the currently available options that are int his size/mag range.  In order of increasing price:

Meopta MeoPro 3-9x40
Vortex Razor HD LH 2-10x40
Swarovski Z3 3-9x36

ILya
Again very helpful; thanks.  Interestingly, here in Canada, the price gradient is a little different, with the Vortex Razor HD LH 2-10x40 varying wildly in price from one supplier to another.  The Vortex Canada website gives a MSRP of $1429 Cdn., or about $1070 USD.  Scanning the various retail suppliers, prices vary between a low of about $582 USD and a high of about $1170 USD, with an average of about $813 USD.

The Swarovski 3-9x36, on the other hand, varies in price from a low of about $598 USD to a high of $643 USD, with the vast majority of retailers pricing them at the $643 USD mark.

This would seem to suggest a somewhat different business arrangement involving the maker and retailer between Vortex and Swarovski.  Swarovski would seem to have pretty tight control over retail pricing, whereas Vortex seems to have almost no control.  The other thing I've noticed is that the Swarovski prices have remained pretty stable over the past few years, whereas the Vortex prices (at least on their Razor HD LH range) have declined quite sharply, with these scopes going for far less now than even a couple of years ago.  This latter phenomenon would suggest difficulty in selling them for the earlier higher prices, due perhaps to potential buyers not finding them all that good, although I guess other factors could come into play here.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/06/2019 at 18:16
That is a big difference.

Here it is fairly consistent.

ILya
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote saltydog235 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/07/2019 at 13:52
I love my S&B Stratos 1.5-8X43 sitting on a Sako 85 BC I have. #4 ill reticle and FFP, about as good as it gets to me but it is 30mm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cebe45 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/13/2019 at 03:38
The one thing to remember when considering the price and quality of a rifle scope, yes, there is a direct correlation, is this. Better scopes buy you time in the field. That is, a high-quality riflescope will function better in low-light conditions than a cheaply built scope, allowing you to shoot effectively earlier in the morning and later in the evening. Staring through scopes inside of your favorite big box sporting goods store will rarely show you the differences that you’re paying for.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cebe45 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/13/2019 at 03:42
Imagine an old-fashioned speedometer in a car, where the needle sits in front of a fixed circular face printed with numbers. Now picture that speedometer when viewed from the passenger’s seat. From there, it’s hard to get an accurate reading on the needle’s position. While this isn’t a perfect analogy, it helps explain a vexing problem that many people have with a  riflescope. Scopes with a fixed focus (that is, any scope without an adjustable objective or an adjustable parallax knob) are prefocused at the factory.

Edited by SVT_Tactical - June/17/2019 at 08:23
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote South Pender Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/14/2019 at 16:22
I've been giving this some thought over the past week and am now wondering whether I should consider a 30 mm. scope. I'm not keen to add  bulk, but one 30 mm. model that is still reasonably compact is the Swarovski Z6 (non-illuminated) 1.7-10x42. 

This scope is 12.64" long (so about a half-inch longer than the Z3 3-9x36) and weighs 16.6 oz. (4.6 oz. more than the Z3).  Its objective bell OD is 1.89, so not too huge (the Z3's is 1.65").

I've searched for reviews of this scope and found an excellent one by helo18 right here on the Optics Talk forum.  However, helo18's review is 10 years old by now, so I'm wondering whether anything has been changed on this scope over that time period.  The one complaint helo18 had about the scope was that the plex reticle was too thin.

In another review, the writer indicated that this scope does not have HD or ED lenses, but rather just regular glass ones.  Does anyone know whether this is the case?  I would have thought that such top-of-the-line lenses would be used in a scope of this quality.

The price is more than twice that of the Swarovski 3-9x36 here in Canada, where I can get one for the Cdn. equivalent of about $1535 USD.

The one thing I really like about this scope is the FOV at low power (75 ft. at 100 yds.), which makes it a pretty versatile hunting scope.

What do you guys think? 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote South Pender Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/14/2019 at 17:13
Originally posted by Cebe45 Cebe45 wrote:

Imagine an old-fashioned speedometer in a car, where the needle sits in front of a fixed circular face printed with numbers. Now picture that speedometer when viewed from the passenger’s seat. From there, it’s hard to get an accurate reading on the needle’s position. While this isn’t a perfect analogy, it helps explain a vexing problem that many people have with a riflescope. Scopes with a fixed focus (that is, any scope without an adjustable objective or an adjustable parallax knob) are prefocused at the factory.
Yes, I get that about parallax error.  I have parallax adjustment (either side or AO) on all of my target and benchrest scopes, but didn't think this was really needed on a scope to be used solely for hunting.

I've looked up parallax error as a function of lens diameter and found that with a 42 mm. objective lens and the scope set up to be parallax-free at 100 m. (as is true for the fixed-range-parallax Swarovski scopes), parallax error at 300 yds. is about 1.45" and at 400 yds., about 2.2".

With what seems to me to be a more sensible parallax-free range of 150 yds. (as with Leupold scopes), parallax error (again with a 42 mm. objective lens) at 300 yds. is .83" and at 400 yds., 1.38", and is completely negligible at 100 and 200 yds. (around .25" at both ranges).

So, at least in the second case, really insufficient error to be a factor in any hunting situation, and this is probably true also for the 100 m. parallax-free setting.  I wonder why Swarovski chose 100 m. as their parallax-free range.  Using 150 yds. or meters would seem to be a far better compromise.


Edited by SVT_Tactical - June/17/2019 at 08:24
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/14/2019 at 17:17
Z6 is still an excellent scope. If you can swing the price, go for it.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cbm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/17/2019 at 11:35
The Schmidt and Bender Klassik 3-12x42 30mm tube checks most of the boxes for me.
 
They have ffp reticles, the immuminated reticles are awesome but the non-illuminated are much thicker and just as good for low light hunting. Paper punching, the illuminated may be the better choice as they are much thinner reticles. The power range is great and in keeping things simple(does not have parralax adjustment). They are built like a tank and weigh 19 oz. Low light performance is as good as you can get in a 42mm scope and the glass is awesome !
 
Also, the older Swarovski PV 2.5-10x42's are nice scope if you can find a good used one. They have ffp reticles , built tough, and only weigh about 13 oz. 
 
Also, the S&B Klassik fixed power scopes are super nice. I have a 6x42 1" tube with A7 reticle that is a fantastic hunting scope. Does 90% extremely well, but every once in a while you need some extra magnification. They are only 16 oz and are as good as it gets in a fixed power IMO !
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