Minox ZA-5 review

Let us know how you like your new one.

I am just about done testing that scope and I am very impressed so far. 

ILya

The write-up is still in the queue.  It is a nice scope.  For the record though, the 3-15x42 is the one scope in Minox' line-up that I do not like.  It really needs side-focus.

ILya

I do not put a "stamp of approval" on reliability or durability of a scope.  I make recommendations based on things I can test.  I can test optical quality.  I can test mechanical precision and repeatability (where appropriate), such as turret operation, etc.

In order to make any sort of an authoritative statement on reliability and durability, I would have to have access to the statistical data on a large number of scopes.  The fact that the specific scope that I tested has held up well or broke in use is statistically insignificant and has very little bearing on how that particular scope model will show up in the future.

As a matter of fact, if a scope held up fine, then it tells me exactly nothing.  If something broke, then I can send it back to the manufacturer and ask them to do FA and share the results with me.  That still does not tell me anything about reliability of the scope line.  However, it does tell me if the manufacturer knows how to find and correct problems, hence shortly after a product line has been released into the market, they will likely find and correct all of the design flaws.

Any scope I test goes through the normal use and abuse: I put a lot of things on my 338LM with a funky recoil cycle, generally fire a fair number of rounds with different calibers (likely more than a typical hunter does in a couple of years), and use the various controls to excess.  Scopes get dropped, kicked around the parking lot (wrapped in a towel) and basically are subject to whatever abuse I choose to dish out on that particular day.

However, all of that is intended for finding design flaws, not for making long reaching conclusions on scope reliability.

ILya