Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Minox ZA-5 2-10x40 or ?

Cobbling together my first "do it all" rifle and I'm sort of stuck on optics. The rifle's main duties will be deer, elk, antelope, and occasionally coyotes.

For my $300 budget, are the open-box ZA-5s from Doug the best buy in the class? The availability of the #4 reticle is a huge bonus.

From what I've read, it seems like it's a little lighter than a Conquest and maybe a bit better optically than the Luepy 6x36.

Am I overlooking something else?

If you are thinking the #4 reticle in the Minox is the same as the Conquest, it's not. IMO, the #4 reticle on the Minox is junk. I thought it would be at least close to what the Conquest #4 reticle is when I bought my Minox with a #4 reticle. Optically the scope is fine. The reticle however, was a huge let down. The standard plex reticle is much better.

I liked the #4 reticle just fine on my Minox.

The spacing is wide but I had no trouble picking it out well into dark.

Good scopes. In some ways I like them better than a Conquest. The turret caps being aluminum rather than plastic is just one example.

No flies on my ZA-5. I like the #4 as well.

I thought it was a smokin deal.

Picked up an open box minoplex ZA 2x10 from cameraland...clear/bright...holds zero. Turret adjustment will zip thru the clicks too easily but I can live with it.

Thanks for the input gents. Unless there is something else i need to take a look at, I'm going to place an order tomorrow.

Just looked at cameraland's website and noticed they have the Conquest 3-9x40 for $300. I'd pick that over the ZA5 because I like their #20 better than the minoplex crosshairs.

Thanks for the input everyone. A ZA-5 from Doug is headed my way.

I have 2 Minox ZA-5 2-10 Thinking about trying the 3 X 9 X 40
Zeiss Conquest? Thoughts?

I think the 3x9 Conquests are some of the best optics for dollars spent today.

I had a ZA-5 2x10 I got in a package deal with a rifle and did not like it. I also have several ZA-3 3x9's, each of which I like a lot. The "3" has a much better eye box than the "5", at least in the 2x10. I believe you can find some other posts on here that express the same opinion. I was aware of those opinions when I bought the package the 2x10 came with, but reserved judgement until I could make an informed opinion. I did, and believe the detractors were correct. YMMV, of course.

I also picked up one of Cabela's "cheap" Conquest 3x9's to compare with the ZA-3's I have. I haven't had it out to the range yet, but I believe it will be in the Classifieds within the month. I prefer the Minox 3x9 from what I have seen so far.

Fedex dropped off my 2-10x40 today.
No earth shattering surprises. The scope is very clear and lighter than I was expecting.
As has been mentioned before, the eyebox is unforgiving at higher powers. It's a not a huge deal to me as I only intend on using 7x-10x when sighting in or practicing at long range. It could be a big deal to some though, and it is worthwhile knowing.
Eye relief is indeed long, which is nice.
Overall, I'm pleased with the scope.
Service from Cameraland was terrific as always.

I usually keep mine at around 5x when hunting, and find it very easy to get behind there. The brightness and clarity are very nice.