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Help a guy pick a scope

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whelen nut View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote whelen nut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Help a guy pick a scope
    Posted: July/04/2012 at 20:21
Good day all.

I just got my cz550 375H&H  today. She's a beauty. I also ordered Talley QD rings for her.

I have read the article where the conquest, minox and meopro are compared by Ilya with great interest. Interested in 3-9x40 scopes. 

I live in Canada and the minox and meopro are $399 up here with the conquest at $529. I can't order anything from the US so these are the prices I have to pay. The local sporting good store has the conquest but I would have to mail order the minox and the meopro so I can't go look at them all in the gun shop and looking at a wall 20 yards away isn't all that helpful anyways. 

I know that the minox had eye piece issues a while back and that the meopro has a "shot" eye relief compared to the others.

If you have a cz550 you know the action is huge and the gun has a longer LOP than I'm used to as well so I want to make sure that whatever scope I get will have enough tube space to mount it as well as give me enough eye relief to get a full sight picture at all magnification levels. 

I'm really looking for some advice here please.

Concerns I have:

Minox wonky eye piece, small/critical eye box
Meopro big fat eye piece, will it work with the talleys and the notoriously high bolt lift on the 550?
No worries with the conquest other than it's a good chunk more expensive than the others up here in Canada for some reason. 

I have also considered the leupold vx3 1.75-6 but it's even more expensive than the conquest and I just can't seem to get myself to pay more for a leupold than good scopes with german glass.

Thanks for any feedback. Much appreciated.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 300S&W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 08:45
 
  First off WELCOME to OT.
 
  I can't comment on the Minox or Meopro other than I REALLY LIKE the Minox Versa-Plex reticle. I have it in two Vortex Vipers.  I had a 1.75-6x  VXIII but couldn't deal with the large variation in eye relief when going from low X to high X so I got rid of it.
  Out of the scopes you've mentioned I'd go with the 3-9x40 Conquest with the #4 reticle although I do have a 4X Conquest with the Z plex and have no qualms with it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 09:12
I think the minox would be good to go.  Not heard any recent issues with them like when they first came out, pretty sure they redesigned the eyepiece. 
"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gappa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 10:38
dont buy a leupold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ordered one and it came with a canted reticle and horrible chromatic aberration, sent it back and the second had the same thing!!!
I remember when lupy used to be one of the best now they just plain suck in my opinion.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 10:41
Gappa, while I feel for you having a bad experience, don't write off a brand because of one experience.  I'm not a big Luepold fan but they seem to have a good product in some recent scope lineups, VXR's VX6.  Seems to be a step in the right direction. 
"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 10:55
Generally speaking, for situations where you need a lot of tube space, Leica scopes would be an itnersting option except they are a lot more expensive than what you are looking for.

Minox should be good to go as well owing to their rather long eyerelief.

ILya
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ernie Bishop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 10:57
I use a number of different brand LR scopes with probably more Leupold's than anything else. 
Well, my Sightron count is coming up too, but they have a ways to go before the catch up with my Leupold's.
That being said, having a couple of bad experiences with any scope company does not make them a terrible company.
Ernie



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gappa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 11:20
I have heard from more than 2 other sources their QC is really down. MANY canted reticles and poorly designed objective element sets.  I remember the old leupys I had were fantastic and that is why I went for them first when I got back into shooting recently. I mean how hard is it to get a reticle in a scope on the level??  In my opinion they have really let themselves go to $hit and are riding on their name they made for themselves back when they made really good stuff.
BTW when I got the scope and noticed the problem I called Leupold and I was treated like a piece of sh*t and the guy I talked to made it sound like it was my fault and the canted reticle was all in my imagination. He said quote "there is no way one of our scopes has a canted reticle"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sparky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 12:07
Originally posted by Gappa Gappa wrote:

I have heard from more than 2 other sources their QC is really down.


Out of thousands of scopes sold you have heard from two others of problems. That is statistically insignificant. And their CS is generally considered to be excellent. I own a number of Leupold scopes as well as a number of Swaro's and Nightforce scopes. No issues with any of them. But do not take my word for it a number of very well respected members of this forum have used Leupold's recently and if there were any problems with them they certainly would have mentioned it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sparky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 12:09
Originally posted by whelen nut whelen nut wrote:

I know that the minox had eye piece issues a while back



FYI That has been dealt with and is no longer an issue.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 12:36
This is my CZ550 in 375H&H.  No problems with eye relief/sight picture/"tube space"...
Rail is by USOptics, scope is 14CMR by Leatherwood.  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote whelen nut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 12:42
Thank you everyone for all the replies. I went to cabelas today to have a look at the minox 3-9x40 scope. I looked at several (3 different 3-9's with number 4, balistic reticle and normal duplex). EVERY single one of them had an eyepiece that would wobble several millimeters unless it was screwed in all the way very tightly. 

I asked the guy behind the counter and he said that's normal. I mentioned that I had read on the internet that this was an issue that was being corrected and shouldn't be happening. He said something to the effect that I shouldn't worry what optics forums say about these things. I didn't want to get into an argument with the guy so I asked to look at the 1.5-8x32 version he had there. Eye piece was rock solid. He didn't really know what to say to this other than that the wobbling eye piece on the 3-9's wouldn't be a problem...

I figured maybe the 3-9s they have in the display case are old ones they've had in there since who knows how long and if he could bring out one in a box from the back. He brought me a scope with a #4 reticle but it too had the wobbly eye piece (although not as bad as the others). He might have been getting annoyed at me at this point, didn't really care though. My dollars my choice. I told him to get me one more in a normal duplex (since I figured these where the most popular and that I had the best chance of getting a scope that had the eye piece issue fixed since they would constantly get new stock). Sure enough the scope from the back in the box had a rock solid eye piece. Doesn't matter how far I screw the adjustment piece out. It's solid. I really had to bite my lip not to make some comment to him so I just took the good scope and went on my way. 

It has nice eye relief, it's big enough to fit on my cz550, has a slim eye piece and looks pretty decent to boot. I'm happy with it and can't wait to go shooting. 

Researching something on the internet payed off for me once again. I have a good scope now and I knew better than to believe what the salesperson was telling me. 

Cheers
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trickster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 14:23
Be sure to keep us posted on the scope, and good luck with it! Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 14:41
Whelen,
I have several Conquests and 1 Minox (ZA5 1.5-8X32).  I have no first-hand experience with any Meopta scope other than handling them and looking through them inside stores/ gun shows, so I cannot comment on them either way, though I have enough experience with other Meopta products that my expectation is that their scopes are probably very nice as well.  Plus, I totally trust Ilya's evaluation of them.
 
For me, the choice between Conquest and Minox ZA5 is a toss-up.  It would depend on which models were being compared and what niche I wanted the rifle either is mounted on to fill.  Overall, I think Conquest is a tad better than Minox optically, simply because Conquest has more forgiving eye position, less field curvature, greater usable FOV, and better image quality at the edge of the field.  On the other hand, I think Minox has at least equivalent, if not slightly better resolution in the center field "sweet spot."  Minox is lighter and more compact with greater eye relief, so it would probably be my choice if I needed a scope for a lightweight "mountain rifle" chambered in something that produces moderate to heavy recoil.  It also has 5X zoom range, so it provides a little more versatility at varying shooting distances.  Although I do like the Minox Versa-Plex reticle, overall, I like Conquest's reticle selection better.  IMO Conquests as a whole tend to be way longer than they really should be for their power range, but there's undoubtedly valid optical design reasons for this, namely increased depth of field.

On the Minox wobbly eyepiece thing, I assume you're talking about the diopter (eyepiece focus) housing...is this correct?  If so, I too noticed it had a little more play in it than other scopes I compared it to, but this also exists to some degree in other scope brands with fast focus eyepieces as well.  Like you, I was initially concerned about this, and I'm mildly annoyed by it simply given the fact the scope should have been, and can be designed to have no play in the focus housing regardless of adjustment position.  From a functional standpoint, however, it doesn't really matter.  Despite appearances, POI doesn't shift if the housing is moved, since it's forward of the erector system and reticle assy.  There's really no harm in the housing having some play other than the fact it doesn't exactly inspire confidence and you'd think Minox would have a better design solution.

Both are great scopes... and I'm sure the Meopro is as well.

Ted


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 14:43
Great.  I couldn't have refrained from letting him know that the internet forums all say cabelas employees know nothing thoughWink  And I suspect you right about them being old stock pre eyepiece fix.
"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 14:44
Oh, and welcome to OT, whelen nut!
Ted


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JGRaider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 21:09
IMO, the Minox doesn't have enough of a track record proving it's worth, in actual field hunting conditions, for me to consider one right now.  It would be my last choice out of these three.  I understand the optics are great, but wobbly eyepieces don't cut it.   I've never had a hunter show up in camp with a Minox.  I think they're just too new on the scene to make a determination how tough they are.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stickbow46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 21:11
Geeez now we have Moderators advertizing for SWFA's  competition......10Lashes with a wet noodle [:}
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stickbow46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/05/2012 at 21:13
Forgot to mention,Welcome to the OT!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote whelen nut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/23/2012 at 13:50
Just a quick update:

I got the scope mounted on the 375 H&H, and took it to the range to get it sighted in. I fired 3 shots and on the third shot I noticed several black specs when I focused on the glass and not the reticle. When the reticle is in focus you can't see them, when you focus on the rear glass, you can see them. First I thought it was dirt but there is nothing on the outside of the rear lens. It's perfectly clean. I then focused on the inside of the scope and it seems there is a black coating on the inside of the scope. Reminds me of shotcrete, but obviously finer grain. So I'm guessing some of that stuff came loose under recoil and got stuck on the inside of the lens.

I am pretty pissed off to be honest. I frankly have no confidence in this product. I returned  the scope for a refund and will be buying a conquest.

Just wanted to share.

Cheers
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