Wife said okay to new scope for Christmas, but what one?

[cstilt]

Well, I believe the Simmons aetec on my 270 is about to bite the dust. Speaking to the wife, she gave the okay for a new scope in the 300-500 range. So I've thought and over thought the whole thing. I'm really interested in 3 scopes and wanted some opinions. Options are:
1. Zeiss conquest 3-9x40
2. Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44
3. Nikon Monarch 3-12x42

Being honest with myself, I'll likely never take a shot over 400 at game with this rifle. I would like to target shoot at 500 one day though. This rifle is pretty much deer only, mainly in woods with most shots under 200. Longest to date is 315.

Which would you go with? I'd like to be able to shoot 0-500 yards with accuracy. Low light performance is a must as well due to dusk and dawn in the timber. I've read a lot of reviews, but I value the opinion of the members here most.

Thanks,
Chris.

 

[300 ultra]

Zeiss 100%...

 

[bruce_ventura]

Yup. Zeiss. Better contrast. The Vortex may have a small advantage in brightness at dusk and dawn. The Zeiss will have much better contrast at all other times of the day. The Nikon falls in between the other two.

 

[cstilt]

Thanks for the help guys. I wasn't sure if I'd be handy capping myself with the zeiss because of the lower power, smaller objective and no parallax adjustment. I was wondering that for when I am able to shoot a little farther in practice.

Hopefully I'll find one to look through soon to help me decide. I figure no matter what I get, it'll be a dramatic difference.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[FEENIX]

Another vote for the Zeiss!

 

[JDJHNTR]

Out of the 3 choices, I'm on the Zeiss wagon.

But..........if I had 3-$500 to play with I'd personaly keep my eye out for a used Leupold VX3 3.5-10x50. They can be had in the $4-500 range.

 

[ol mike]

Zeiss..

You won't notice the lack of parallax adjustment- w/a good cheek weld paying attention to the wind and being able to see the target well through the fine resolution of the zeiss glass will benefit you more.

 

[bigbuck]

I have never owned or looked thru the Zeiss.
but my dad has several Nikon monarchs One on a 22-250 one on a ruger #1 in a 7mm mag. and one on a .243 also has one on a muzzle loader 50. cal . Every one of his scopes has lasted round after round they have made it through the grand kids there nick name is (Rock heads) if that tells you anything When rifle season is on which ever rifle h uses stays in the front passanger seat not in a case and bounced down several miles of dirt roads then across his rutted up hunting club . They stay set optics are clear and clicks are reliable. I have owned one Leupold VX-3 and now I own a NF 5.5-22x56 . I tell all my hunting buddies if I wanted the best scope for the money it would be a Nikon I have seen several put through the test and not one has failed my father thus far.

 

[Sako7STW]

I was and actually am in the same boat you are with buying a scope for my son earlier this year. I ended up with the Nikkon Monarch. I am very impressed with his scope. It has the BDC reticle that is pretty impressive. Optics I felt were better than my friends brand new Vortex Viper and not at all far from the Zeiss. For my son I decided on power and thus the Nikkon as the higher power Zeiss was beyond my budget. I am however so impressed with the Nikkon and the BDC it may very well end up on my next rifle.

 

[FEENIX]

Not knocking down Nikons because obviously there are many happy and satisfied end -users, including 2 of my hunting buddies, but below is an ad (1 of 2 pages) from an older catalog).

I've never seen a similar ad for the other 2 choices ... just saying!

 

[Korhil78]

Take a look at this on this website...see if it works for you.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f40/zeiss-conquest-4-5-14x50-102254/

or

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f40/zeiss-conquest-4-5-x-14-x-44-riflescope-102272/

I think these would serve you very well. They might even be willing to come down on their price if you ask.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Clarity and image resolution is entirely in the realm of the eye of the user for the most part so go look through all the respective models you are thinking about ar a good sportsmens/gun shop and then decide.

My choice was vortex weighing price versus utility. Yours may be different. I want and require a SF in a utility scope for the field, you may not.

Keep in mind that opinions of users are just that. Opinions. Your opinion needs to be based on personal experience, not the experience of others.

..............Just say'in

 

[deerhunter61]

I would go with Zeiss! I have had cheaper scopes, Tasco and BSA, and on the right rifles they perform ok...for plinking. As for better scopes, I have Leupold, Kahlas, Swarovski, and Zeiss Conquest. And for the money I will go with Zeiss.

Check out SWFA and their sample list. They have some of the best prices around. I have bought 8+ scopes and never have had any issues. They are professional and good to work with.

gun)

 

[bigbuck]

Not knocking down Nikons because obviously there are many happy and satisfied end -users, including 2 of my hunting buddies, but below is an ad (1 of 2 pages) from an older catalog).

I've never seen a similar ad for the other 2 choices ... just saying!

Dads going to go NUTZ when he sees this . He can get a SF for 300 bucks !gun)