Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Help with scope choice: Swaro Z3 vs VX6 vs Zeiss HD5 vs Sightron SIII

Putting a new scope on a Finnlight I just picked up. I want to get something with good quality that I will be happy with for a while. My options are: Swaro Z3 vs VX6 vs Zeiss HD5 vs Sightron SIII. I would welcome feedback on any of these that you have had. Please elaborate on your thoughts, as "this one is my fav" or "I'm a Leupold guy" isn't that helpful:)

My hunting takes place in farm country, so long(ish) shots are frequently encountered and I shoot at my range out to 300.

You mention a light rifle for farm country.

When I hunt a farm were I carry the rifle I might choose from my Kimber Montanas in 7mm WSM or 270 WSM.

Each has a Leupold 4.51-14X on them.

My light rifle has a Swarovski z5 5-25X52 for a total weight of 6lb 13oz. It has the best low light of any scope in its weight class and next to the best during daylight. By having 25X on the top end I don't carry a spotting scope to verify what I find with the binoculars.

270 WSM 7 lb, 10 oz.

VX-6 is a wonderful scope, sorta big and bulky for a light rifle. The Z3 3-9 is very nice, trim and light. The others mentioned may be larger and bulkier than this Z3.

Guess it depends on what you want the package to be like and how easy to pack around.

DF

You can't go wrong with Swaro or Zeiss. I am a big fan of Zeiss and have the conquest amounted on my .308 and on the .243. A lot of bang for the $.

I'd go with the Z3 or HD5. I have an HD5 3-15x42 on my 30-06 and really like it. There seem to be some good deals second hand with these as well.

Eric

Don't discount a VX-3 3.5-10x40 CDS.

DF

On your particular setup I would go with the z3. The leupold and zeiss are slightly better scopes but they are way bulkier. I bought a new 4x12-50 z3 on ebay the other day for $802 with shipping.

Amongst the choices you noted, I'd opt for the Z3. I just wouldn't want the bulk of the other noted options on fairly light rifle.

The optics of the VX-6 2-12 are as good as 'acopes get.

Add the ability to dial down to 2 and up to 12X ...

Bulky - not so much.

Close to the VX-6 for me on a game rifle is the Leupold VX-3 3.5-10 X 40 with CDS.

Out of all those choices, I'd get the (only) one that has Lotu-Tec.

Z3 for weight and quality

Don't have any Sightron experience. Out of the scopes u listed I would go with the Leupy just for their warranty. Since I work in the business I hate it when customers get upset that Zeiss and Swarovski sometimes charge for repairs. If it's a real warranty issue they are great but if you broke it, being charged is quite common. It's not crazy money but usually it's something. Leupold doesn't care if you dropped it out a plane and then dragged it for 100miles behind your truck. It gets fixed fast and without charges.

I just got a 40 year old vari-xII back from warranty service. - wow does it look great. New everything inside the old tube.

Sightrons have been terrific for me and are a lot of bang for the buck, both mine get beaten to crap by my son and nephews and their freinds and hold zero and look clear.

But when I am serious about hunting I use Zeiss. If I had more money to spend though id get the Z3. The lighter. Weight and sharper optical clarity are about as good as it gets for hunting.

Just picked up a used Sendero with a 3.5-10 x44 SIII and I'm very impressed with that scope.

I agree. The z3 is a wonderful scope. I have one on my Montana. Very light and optics are top notch.

Have not looked at a SIII but was am in the same boat as far as the rest are concerned. I will included the standard this is my opinion not fact. Having said that let's get to it. My platform is heavy so scope weight isn't a factor for me. I found the hd5 to be beautiful but to me it has a slight fishbowl effect that I did not care for. The z3 was excellent but I wish it had a side focus. The vx6 was excellent aswell but not as bright as the z3. For me I'm trying to decide what mag range I really want. The 3-18 vx-6 is versitle beyond need but the z3 4-12 is optically better. So in summery best of luck, I don't think you have a bad choice with any of them.

z5 3-18 would be my choice.

Z5 3-18 BT with custom turret. Pretty sleek for a big scope.

Not on the OP's list, but a neat option, although more pricey than the Z3. I really like this one.

DF