Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Tract Toric 3-15x42 Review

I’m curious about the glass quality. How does it compare optically to say a Swarovski Z3?

I have an older Swarovski 3-18 on my 20 Vartarg. Ill have to put them side by side and let you know. The glass is very clear, true colors , and no chromatic aberration. My buddy loves Swarovski and thats pretty much all he hunts with. In the last few months he was purchased a few Tracts and is very pleased. They are too different animals and the Swarovski is hands down the top dog. No way would I say they are identical.

I'm becoming repetitive on this, but side by side for definition, brightness and low light my 3-15 Toric is the same as or slightly superior to my Zeiss HD5. My Sightron 3-16 STAC slightly edges them both. All are reliable.

I have a Zeiss 5-25x50 on my Ruger #1 in 6PPC. I have to say I like the glass but I'm not a fan of their plastic turret cap covers or the turrets themselves. Its a $1000 scope with way too many plastic parts. The turrets feel cheap and a poorly marked.

nuguy,

In my own optical tests of Swarovski Z3's and a 3-15x42 Tract Toric, done at night on an optical chart of my own design, the Tract beat the Z3's by a significant margin.

That said, there are differences in the optics of various Swarovski scopes. The Z3's have above-average optics but don't match the optics of Z5's.

I really like the couple of 2-10 and 3-15 Torics I have. Not many complaints. Like many new scopes the ocular is large enough that with low rings you can get interference with the bolt handle on some rifles. Also, I'm not much of a fan of the grey color, especially on a blue rifle, but at least they track and have good glass and eye relief with reasonable size.

This! If your 3-15 had something like the G2H reticle FFP and Illumination I'd buy it in a second. I know it would be more expensive, but the weight of the 4-20 is a struggling point for me.
A 3-15X50 G2H or similar in FFP Illuminated for $875. Perfect for me anyways.