Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Tell me about Minox ZE5 series scopes

I am contemplating buying a Minox ze5.2 m 1-5x24/ir4. These are supposed to be German made as opposed to the ZX series which are made in China. The price difference on this particular scope is about $400 where I am at. This scope fits my illuminated reticle, power and weight requirements and I can also use it on my driven game rifles, if I so desire. I am looking for any input on reliability, tracking and glass clarity. Thanks, RJ

I have the ZE5i 3-15x56 w/ #4-a reticle and like it a lot. Without delving deeply into technical details: It has nice contrast, good edge-to-edge sharpness, excellent resolution and an illumination system that adjusts dimly enough for use in poor lighting or moonlight. So far, mine has tracked perfectly and maintained zero. I've used it on a couple of Contender rifles and have taken hogs, raccoons and coyotes in moonlight ranging from soft and diffused to bright, full moon along with a hog 50 minutes after sundown.

The transmission rate is more than adequate, and for the full-moon coyote, I was able to have the magnification turned up to nearly 14x to make the 150+ yard shot. In another instance, there was a coyote in soft moonlight that had a coloration very similar to the frozen/browned winter grass here. But even under those difficult conditions, the ZE5i afforded me ample contrast and detail to pick out the coyote and place a bullet neatly through the vitals.

My primary complaint would be that the design and placement of the side focus and illumination makes for a bit of awkward adjustment, particularly if one is wearing gloves or has issues like neuropathy, RA or other problems with the hands. But that's quite minor considering all of the positive attributes this scope offers.

From a purely optical standpoint, the Minox ZE5i 3-15x56 deserves mention among the renown alpha scopes. Its low-light performance must be seen to be fully appreciated. It's certainly the best scope I've seen from Minox.

As to the ZX5, I am not aware that these were made in China (some of the entry-level Minox models are). I was told the ZX5 series was assembled here in the US save for a few that were produced in Germany early on. The 2-10x50 with illuminated 4-a reticle I had was actually stamped "Germany."

Bobby,
Thanks very much for the detailed report. This was the kind of info on Minox scopes that I was looking for. RJ

Oh. Very nice carbine you have there!