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Swarovski Z3 line |
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Marine24
Optics Journeyman Joined: June/07/2010 Location: Monument, CO Status: Offline Points: 687 |
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Posted: April/30/2014 at 08:53 |
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Recently I was fortunate enough to pick up a Swarovski Z3 3-9x36 for my 17HMR rifle and I am very impressed. Swarovski has typically been a brand I've been able to admire from a distance given its price point, but this one was only slightly more expensive than other scopes I was looking at and previous comments on this forum convinced me it was worth the expense.
The optics on the Z3 are amazing. The clarity and crisp contrast is excellent and rivals or beats any of my other optics, to include the Steiner Tactical and SWFA SS HD line. At dusk, I was able to scan a tree line about 400 meters away and easily distinguish items 30 feet in from the treeline. Pretty good for a scope with a 36mm objective. Parallax for the Z3 is fixed to 100 meters for the plex/4A reticles and 200 meters on the BRX/BRH reticles. This is one characteristic that I'm not a fan of. It would be nice to have a side focus capability, but you have to step up to their Z5 line for that. Downside of buying this Z3 is the marked difference compared to my Zeiss Conquests that are on my other hunting rifles. I compared a Z3 with the Zeiss HD line and the better optical quality is very evident. While I understand it is subjective, but what competitors does the Z3 line have in both optical quality and price? Edited by Marine24 - April/30/2014 at 09:20 |
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supertool73
Optics God Superstool Joined: January/03/2008 Status: Offline Points: 11814 |
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Swaro makes great scopes. Every time I look through mine I get the wow factor. I would love to get the exact one you have for my .243.
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Marine24
Optics Journeyman Joined: June/07/2010 Location: Monument, CO Status: Offline Points: 687 |
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That would be a sweet addition. I have a 257 Wby that I would love to put another Z3 with the BRH reticle on, but need to wait for another affordable deal to come along. Come on Samplelist.
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Bitterroot Bulls
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: May/07/2009 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 3416 |
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What are your concerns about the parallax setting?
Meopta Meostar scopes are similar in both areas, IMO.
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-Matt
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Marine24
Optics Journeyman Joined: June/07/2010 Location: Monument, CO Status: Offline Points: 687 |
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I have the crazy notion of putting one of their BRX/BRH reticle scopes on a rimfire rifle, but understand the practical need on my 257 Wby or my other hunting rifles is nil.
I'm curious about using the holdover points on that reticle for ranges beyond 50 yards on a 22LR.
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Bitterroot Bulls
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: May/07/2009 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 3416 |
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Oh I see. The BRH would be neat to use for rimfire holdover. I guess a step up to the Z5 is the only option, as I don't think Swarovski will change the parallax setting for you. The Z3s are really nice scopes, and even though they aren't cheap, still provide a lot of value. |
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-Matt
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Tip69
Optics Master Extraordinaire Tip Stick Joined: September/27/2005 Location: Nebraska Status: Offline Points: 4155 |
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I'm not an expert on parallax... but isn't that more of a problem when you use zoom ranges higher than 9x? do you really need to zoom up to 9x when only looking at 50 yds or less?
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take em!
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Marine24
Optics Journeyman Joined: June/07/2010 Location: Monument, CO Status: Offline Points: 687 |
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When you are shooting 3/8" circles, you can use all the help you can get. I see guys running Weaver T36s at the matches with a fair number of 16X and above in the mix. These are obviously dedicated bench rimfires, but can't imagine trying to use a 36X scope. Maybe that is why they have 2 oz triggers.
With the optical quality of the Z3 glass, I'm curious how well I can do with the 3-9x scope at 50 and 100 yards. Doubt I'll be underpowered compared to a Mueller APX at 16X.
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Marine24
Optics Journeyman Joined: June/07/2010 Location: Monument, CO Status: Offline Points: 687 |
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Just picked up a Meopta Meostar R1 for my 257 Weatherby. Looking forward to see how it compares with my Z3.
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Maverick2
Optics Apprentice Joined: December/30/2013 Location: N. Idaho Status: Offline Points: 176 |
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Out of curiosity, which R1 and reticle did you go with? |
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Marine24
Optics Journeyman Joined: June/07/2010 Location: Monument, CO Status: Offline Points: 687 |
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I went with their older R1 model 4-12x with the plex reticle.
I debated about going with the McWhorter HV reticle, which is like a BDC reticle but I typically keep my shots inside of 350 yards. It is the 3x erector vs the newer 4x in the R1 line, but I'm okay with that. With the optical quality in their glass, having to dial up the magnification isn't necessary.
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coyote95
Optics Master Joined: January/24/2009 Location: michigan Status: Offline Points: 1196 |
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I really like my meostar r1's. The #4 ret works great for hunting. The only thing I wish is that they were a little lighter
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Marine24
Optics Journeyman Joined: June/07/2010 Location: Monument, CO Status: Offline Points: 687 |
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Hopefully it will be a wash for me. The rifle currently has a Nikon Monarch 4-16x42 that weighs in at 18oz, which is the same as the Meopta I picked up.
My Weatherby Mark V isn't particularly light anyway even with the B&C Medalist stock and 26" barrel. Keep waiting for another Z3 to show up on the SampleList that will help me drop about a 1/2 pound on the rifle.
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