Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Zeiss Conquest 6.5-20 vs Vortex Viper PST 6-24

Which one would you choose for a long range target scope? Is one clearly better than the other optically and mechanically. Does one have an advantage over the other due to reticle type?

599.00 @ Cameraland. Pretty good deal. I have enjoyed my Conquest scopes. I would personally go for the Conquest.

PST. No question.

For optically quality the Zeiss no question.
For more features (if you need them) the Vortex.

Conquests sure are nice to look through, but they just don't last. Sending off another one tomorrow to get repaired. Killed 2 out of the 3 I have owned. Mine were 3-9's though.

Never owned a Vortex, but there are quite a few failures on the PST line reported on The 'Hide. Sounds like the Razor is the real deal though.

Geez...w/reports liked these I'm feeling better about owning 3 minox w/impending doom...lol!,

Sometimes I think you could break a ball bearing using a rubber hammer in a sandbox.

I wonder what the failure rate is on Zeiss scopes? I have 9 of them, never had an issue, and haven't any friends that have had one fail yet.

Dc223 - what is the problem, and what were they mounted on?

First thing people need to realize is that I shoot a lot. I just don't think average scopes were meant to be shot every weekend.

The first scope the parallax went haywire and I was getting reticle movement all over the target at 300yds. I sent it back and Zeiss sent me a new scope.

Fast forward...the second scope lasted probably 250 rounds and now it is doing the same thing, but even worse. I am all over the target at 200yds, and cannot hit dick further out.

Both scopes were mounted on a 243 using Burris Signature rings.

Doesn't really matter, I have moved on to Nightforce.

Dogcatcher, and more experienced guys:

I don't shoot that much, and wonder if repeated recoil from a lower hitting round (.243) is worse than less frequent recoil from a heavy hitter?
Playing devil's advocate, is 1 shot every weekend worse than a barrage spree once a month?

I have a 7mmRM and has been shot with a 3-9x Conquest atop, wondering when it/if will happen.
The .243 has a Vortex, and 15 shots down the tube so far.
I don't turn turrets, and none of my scopes have parallax adjustment, but was thinking about a 6.5-20x Vortex Viper, vs. the Conquest for the .243.
food for thought?

Shoot Formidilosis a PM and ask him what he thinks of Vortex scopes.

I'm not sure of the answer. I do believe that the average scope will be lucky to see 10 rounds a year. So someone owns the scope for 10 years without a problem and thinks it is the best scope ever. Those turrets may only get turned one time in those 10 years. Most people I know hit the range a week before the season to verify if they are "on."

I do spin turrets and do believe this is part of the demise. I do have a Conquest on my 338 and it is still going, but it has only been spun a few weekends.

I have been extremely impressed with the PST's that I've owned and used. From dialing 1000's of MOA worth on the turrets, to shooting hundreds if not thousands of rounds, to one getting knocked over, and then run over with an ATV with 8" diameter log in tow by mistake, etc, and they've never failed me, both in terms of RTZ, holding zero, and the turrets adjusting exactly as they should.

I know others have reported failures with the PST line, but I've had no reason to complain with the couple that I've put some miles on before upgrading to the Razor.

"Others are happy to hit the rock, or maybe the dark spot on the rock. I wanna head shoot the mite clinging to the pubes on the left nut of the fly that's sitting on the black spot on the rock." - Jordan Smith

Jordan,

I run across your posts fairly often and I always get a chuckle out of your signature line. The chuckle does not come from me doubting you can do that very thing, because I believe you can. I appreciate the inspiration that went into the wording of the signature.

I wonder if spinning the turrets has something to do with the conquests going bad, I shot several I owned much more than a few rounds a year and never had a problem with them.

I'm convinced that if you really want to get into spinning the crap out of turrets, get a Nightforce, Bushy HDMR, or SS something or other. If you're an occasional twister (like myself), most of the regular hunting scopes (VX3, Conquest, 4200, etc) aren't much different that one another in regards to reliability of turrets/movements/repeatability, etc.

Hah, well to give credit where credit is due- I can't remember who it was or on which forum I saw it posted, but someone else originally coined the phrase and gave me permission to use it as my sig

10-4, the SWFA SS scopes say "50 cal MG OK", I am not sure this really means anything when your firing a 25 pound rifle.

The Vortex Viper PST has gained a good rep among long range shooters that depend on their turrets. I purchased a PST for my brother and it's been a great scope. I have Conquest's on a couple rifles but they are not set up for long range use, and I don't intend to spin the dials on them. Glass on both is great but the PST turrets are set up for long range use, the conquest's are normal hunting dials, good for adjusting to sight in, but probably not what you'd want if you intend to dial in for wind and elevation as you would shooting multiple targets at long range under differing conditions.