Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50 #6 reticle

Who has one ? How good is the #6 reticle in lowlight?

Thanks in advance for the replies

I was interested in this scope some time ago and read somewhere that it has some tunneling on low power. I would be interested if anyone can confirm or deny that while discussing this scope.

I have this scope with the #6 reticle - actually, I bought it for my wife as an anniversary present - and have used it regularly for the last 2 years. The reason I borrow her setup is because I hunt a field for mule deer where the bucks tend to come out very late in the day. In BC we are permitted to shoot 1 hour after sunset and the bucks are typically coming out no sooner than 45 to 50 minutes after sunset. The setup works very well - 2 seasons ago I shot a buck at 58 minutes after sunset. There is absolutely no way I could have done that with the 2-12x42 VX6 that sits on my rifle. The thick parts of the reticle show up quite well - especially if you are in a field where the background is a bit lighter. The optics are great too. All in all I am satisfied, although sometimes I wish I would have gone with the 3-12x56. The reason is that I hunt in a 4 point season and it can be quite difficult - or impossible - to confirm the buck you are looking at has 4 points. Yes, of course I glass with binoculars, but transitioning to scope where there are numerous deer that are moving can be a problem. In fact I passed on a buck because of this 3 evenings ago. After watching two come in and finally confirming that the one on the right was a 4 point I raised my rifle. This spooked the doe that was staring at me from ~20 yards and caused them all to scurry off to about 100 yards. At that point I couldn't confirm I was looking at the 4 point and then *poof*, like Keyser Söze they were gone. Could I have shot him? Absolutely. To give you some context of the lighting conditions, I couldn't make the deer out at 100 yards with the naked eye. I had 5 minutes of legal shooting time left.

@R H - what do you mean by tunneling? That the black around the sight picture increases as you decrease power? I have not noticed this and as such I don't think it is a problem. I'll take a look when I get home.

Thanks for the feedback. I have heard that the tunneling is at the lowest range, if you turn the scope up to 3x it disappears. I legally can hunt for 30 minutes after sunset 30 minutes before sunrise. There used to be a real loose interpretation on that but the F&G finally clarified it . The deer are real finnicky and come out the last possible minute of course. I have a Zeiss Victory FL 8x56 bino for picking them out but when I put them down and pickup the rifle and look at a field full of deer I need a good scope to sort thru them as well, not to mention a visible reticle. I have been going back and forth on the #6 vs #60 FWIW.

Thanks once again

That scope will serve you extremely well for 30 min before to 30 min after -- and the reticle will be visible. I am not as familiar with the 2.5-10x as with the 3-12x but did have one for a short while (the vendor inadvertently sent me a 2.5-10 instead of the 3-12x and I had it for a 3-day weekend).

I did not notice any tunneling at all, though I admit most checking of scopes for me is at higher powers. While I tend to find some fault with all scopes, the HT 2.5-10x50 is one I'd call "optically brilliant" as the contrast levels and resolution allow a vivid early-morning/late-day sight picture, much like the Leica ERi series. Because of the fact we have hogs here, I'd personally prefer the #60 reticle, but for deer hunting, the #6 will serve you admirably. However, once you try the #60 reticle, you'll not want to go back to a standard reticle anymore.

I don't have that exact scope, but I have the 3X12 with the #6. The #6 is fantastic in low light...it's even better if you get the lit one. If you plan to hunt right up until you cant see then I would highly suggest you go with the lit reticle. You can dial the brightness right down to almost nothing, so it wont hurt your low light adjusted eyes to look at. Just be sure and mark the knob where it is best for you by testing it in your back yard one evening. A red Sharpy works good.
I see some "tunneling" in mine on the lowest setting, if by tunneling you mean how the very outer edge is not in perfect focus. The scope has plenty of eye relief and I always set mine for the eye relief to be correct at the highest power which is where I do 99.9% of my shooting anyway. When the eye relief is set on the highest power then you will have the most change in eye relief going back to lowest power and you could notice this. I guess you could call that tunneling too. I have owned and hunted with them all and I will say this, the Zeiss Victory HT can only be outdone with full blown night vision, period, end of story. Only one other will hang in there with the Victory HT...Leica.

I was hoping you would chime in. I like the lit reticle as well, harder to find and more expensive. Bobby how would you compare this with the DL 3-12x50 with a # 60?

I really like the discontinued Duralyt and Conquest DL series, especially the 3-12x50s. The #60 reticle is the same as that used in the Victory HTs. The glass treads very closely on the heels of the Victory, and in terms of transmission, edge-to-edge sharpness & color rendition gives up precious little to the more expensive HTs. I do believe Zeiss nixed those simply because they were cutting into their sales of higher-end optics.

The illumination adjustment can be a bit awkward for some as it is on the ocular, but I had no issues with that.

Bobby thanks for that bit of insight. I have looked at those as well . I own one with the #6 reticle as well. I have not been able to compare it with an HT

60 minutes after sunset is a huge difference compared to 30 minutes after sunset. I say you will have absolutely no problem with the 2.5-10x50 HT and #6 reticle in that instance in fairly open terrain.

Actually, the Schmidt Bender Polar does edge out the Victory HT. It's not by leaps and bounds, but in terms of transmission alone and resultant perceived image brightness, the 3-12x54 Polar is ahead of the 3-12x56 Zeiss -- and any other conventional hunting scope as well. At least that's my conclusion after spending countless hours behind both for the better part of the past year.

You are right about Leica glass: it is exceptional and highlyunder-appreciated because far too many don't consider that name when thinking of alpha class hunting scopes.

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Do agree with Mr. Tomek on the Leica--wish I had a Polar on hand to compare...:)

Clark, have a HT and it doesn't tunnel as I understand tunneling. At the low end it certainly shows aberration on the outer edge of the glass which disappears as you crank it up. According to Zeiss CS (I asked) as the power cranks up you are using relatively more of the center. The short version is that it is by design to maximize other attributes.

Fortunately, the crosshair is still found in the center...

Ended up buying the Zeiss , price was too good to pass up

Congrats on the new glass. Am anxious to hear how you like it.