Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Swarovski Z6 durability??

I hunted with the X5 3.5x18 this year and was very happy with it. I know it's a much heavier scope but none of the issues mentioned above. It was mounted on a smokeless muzzleloader that has heavy recoil, I shot it a bunch creating a drop chart and no scope issues.

Best of Luck.

The X5 is a totally different scope. And the extra 10 ounces show it. Totally different, and better, brass erector system and much thicker tube walls.

Never owned a Z6, but have owned numerous z5s amd z3s. Never had a failure to date. Have had many rounds down range on very light, hard kicking rifles. I wouldnt have any issue buying more. Great glass and very light

Have 2 Z6s. A 2-12x50 and a 2.5-15x44. Mounted on multiple rifles over the years. 7mm-08 to 300 win mag. Always torqued to 20#. No ringmarks on tubes. Mountain backpack hunts for sheep, caribou, and elk where I busted my ass on boulders or scree. Horseback, 4 wheeler, UTV, supercub rides, lots of baggage handlers tossing my Pelican case around. Never any trouble.

I used to say the same things. With multiple Z3’s, a Z5, and multiple Z6’s in the stable. Recoil was never an issue. Rarely is it with most scopes. Ability to withstand recoil does not translate into ability to withstand impacts and still function properly. Recoil is longitudinal force. Not from a side angle, like what occurs during falls or drops. Just an FYI.

I hope you continue to have success with them. Just consider yourself warned.

[quote=SDHNTR]
I used to say the same things. With multiple Z3’s, a Z5, and multiple Z6’s in the stable. Recoil was never an issue. Rarely is it with most scopes. Ability to withstand recoil does not translate into ability to withstand impacts and still function properly. Recoil is longitudinal force. Not from a side angle, like what occurs during falls or drops. Just an FYI.

SDHNTR,
Want to be clear.
So all of your Swarovski Z3’s, Z5’s and Z6’s failed?
Your one instance with a Z6 which sounds like you improperly packaged and shipped in a inferior case , with packing peanuts, and a cardboard box without removing the bolt from the action? Instead of shipping your scoped rifle in something like a Pelican 1750 case with your bolt removed. Who knows what the shipping gorilla’s did to your cheap shipping case? Doesn’t sound like a Swarovski scope problem to me? Tell us about all of your other Swarovski Z3, Z5,and Z6 scope failures . You must be the most unlucky Swarovski scope owner in the world.
NWT

Far from it. I’m not alone here. Just google Swarovski scope failures and you’ll probably find nearly as much reading material on the subject as you would if you searched the same for Leupold or Vortex.

To answer your question, I had about a 40% failure rate out of the Swaros I owned. 3 of the 7 I owned puked in one way or another.

A Z3 wouldn’t hold zero. Groups bounced all over the place. A swap out to an SHV stopped the wandering and consequently tightened the group up substantially. Same gun, same load, drastically better results. 2 others were fine, but I didn’t own them long.

A Z5 wouldn’t track and RTZ properly. Dial it up and it was anybody’s guess where it would end up when you twisted back to “zero.”

Then the Z6 was the last straw. FWIW, I didn’t pack and ship it. My gunsmith did, who ships probably hundreds of guns annually. It was well packed actually. He was shocked. I will admit it was probably a fluke that it broke during shipping, but their own CS rep admitted the same break is not uncommon from falls. In the end, it wasn’t even the fact that it sheared off so much that bothered me. It was the revealing of the weak, thin plastic internals that caused me to loose confidence. My kids Chinese built play toys are more robust. Plastic (and I’m not talking a high tensile strength polymer) has no place as the main backbone of a turret system. To be fair, the other Z6 I owned never gave me any trouble, but I didn’t trust it, or any of the other Z series anymore. They found new homes.

I’m not posting this to hurt feelings. Some of you treat this like I’m calling your baby ugly! Just take it as information. Emotional brand loyalty baffles me. I’m just posting my experience. Would you knowingly buy a $2200 Swarovski if you knew up front the turret internals were made of plastic? The Z6, 3-18x50, is a physically big scope. 15”! How do you think they keep that sucker at just 21 oz? Something has to give. Plastic internals and a paper thin tube. Anything else of comparable size is several ounces heavier. Think about it. It’s not titanium!

I do still love their binos and spotters. Own several of those. Their glass is wonderful!

My Z3s have been outstanding but they are on “set it and forget it” rifles. No dialing of any kind. I am
Not easy on scopes but I do try to protect them as mush as possible when hunting.

I had lots of problems with the Z3 4-12x50 and AV 4-12x50 , all had to be returned for a "stronger" spring . Heaviest recoil rifle they sat on was a 300WSM

Z5 I own 2.4-12x50 has been stellar and it has been on a few magnums with zero issues. All set and forget situations as well.

Z6 is overrated junk. I would take a Meopta R2 over it any day of the week.

Had 2 Z3 go wonky in under 200 shots. Both on a 7.25 lbs 338 win mag.

Had another member here go into great detail about how their internal adjustment would be compromised if more than 2-3 moa was used. This was due to their spring arrangement. Don't recall specifically the details, but sounded like it was a known by Swaro issue. That was 10 years ago or so, so they've quite possibly gotten better since then?

The glass was, of course, superb. The high resolution really helped me see that the POI was wondering from POA.

SD is absolutely right in his assessment of reliable scopes and weight. I like to carry less weight as much as the next guy, but, IME , the weight that's cut out of scopes to make them lighter is weight that needs to be in there. These days I just schlep the extra few ounces and quit worrying about it. You constantly see people make a huge deal over a few more ounces of scope, but it's just not that impactful in actual carry and use.

Had a Swaro A 3.5-10x lose erector and scatter shots all over the place while shooting a mule deer. 2 other hunting buddies had the same result with their 4-12x IIRC. No mo' Swaro scopes for me.

You sound like some of the diehard Leupold guys. I owned four different z5 5-25X52. Finally the forth one I kept and installed. A week before heading for a sheep hunt the turret started messing up. I was able to get it to stay put at 300 yards. The guide put me on a sheep. I ranged it at 240 yards. Another came out and laid down beside the first. The week prior I would have taken the shot on the one I wanted. I told the guide I needed to get closer because I didn't trust the scope. We moved around and I got the shot at 60 yards. I sent it in for service. The note in the return package told they replaced the erector. It happened once more and the note that accompanied it again told me the erector was replaced. I sold it on line with full discloser.

Another time a friend who owned a couple Swarovskis and other expensive scopes brought some to check on my optics chart and antlers in low light. Both of us concluded the glass in his z6 5-30X50 was not near as good as my z5 or Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50. He sold it the next week. He said, "I always knew that one wasn't very good."

Since I am a slow learner I think my next scope will be a Swarovski z8i 3.5-28X50. I should probably get three and keep the best one.

You are either still sort of young or lack experience carrying something more than a light rifle for very far. Or maybe you just sling it over your shoulder and don't sweat the weight. The only time my rifle is slung over my shoulder is when I am glassing. The rest of the time it is in one hand or the other as I walk around the woods.

Not young, and spend a lot of time carrying a rifle in my hand. Do a lot of still hunting and snow tracking. Also hunt mountainous areas in the western states that are steep and include a lot of miles in and out on foot. Pretty much all of my hunting is on large sections of public land that generally requires walking in quite a way for access. Have also done back pack hunts.

I'll add that, for the context of this discussion, given the size and capabilities of the scopes that have been mentioned most frequently in this thread, I was referring to all around to long range centric big game rigs with which you expect to take longer shots and, thus, would rely on a higher degree of precision. For still hunting and tracking, I generally carry svelte levers or a 7600 carbine, and they are topped with trim, light, straight tubed scopes. Certainly, if you predominately take shots at moving game in heavy cover, for which you rely on a rifle that comes up quickly like a bird gun, a case could be made to factor in scope weight and handling more than for a general use big game rifle. For rifles that might be used for longer shots, I'll carry the weight of a reliable scope. I'm not saying that you should swap your 12 ounce scope out for 34 ounce hunk of sewer pipe, but the weight differences between a lot of scopes that are commonly discussed in these types of threads is generally 5-7 or so ounces, and, to me, 5-7 ounces is just not that big of a deal to carry around. It's not keeping me from climbing the next hill or walking an extra mile.

Starbuck,

Compared to me, you're a brute. I paid about $150 to take seven ounces out of my barrel on my Mark V six lug Weatherby. I probably paid a couple grand to purchase a Pierce titanium action to save a few ounces on my last rifle. I chose a twenty-five ounce March scope over a cheaper but heavier brand to save more "5-7 ounces". I use Talley aluminum rings to save another ounce or two over other rings. The muzzle brake is titanium to save another ounce.

Perhaps I OCD.

I have dozens of Swarovski Z-3, Z-5 and Z-6 scopes. Years of use and NO failures.

However my truck only gets 16 MPG and everyone else gets 22...

I am 6'2" and of fairly stout build. Could loose more around the tum than what I could loose by not even carrying a rifle, so figure I can't really get too bent out of shape if I have to schlep an extra pound or two in the rifle

I went through a phase of sacrificing to the weight gods. Some things work great lightened up; unfortunately, I found out the hard way that scopes aren't one of them. Likewise, I find I shoot best with a rifle weighing 8 lbs or better all up.

Shrapnel, how do you like the Z5 5-25x52 P BT?

I have a couple, but still prefer the 3.5-18X44. The overall size and magnification on those is nearly perfect for what I want in a large scope. I’m not a fan of 50mm and larger objectives…

Never had 1 problem at all? Never had to send one in for any reason?