Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold vs. Minox vs. Swaro

Swarovski is the clear winner between the three, but some will not agree because the xtra few hundred dollars will make them quiver and tear up.

I see you added Trijicon into the list and I would place it 2nd behind Swarovski. My 3-9x40 Accupoint is impressive during low light hours.

It looks like the swaro z3 is considerably less in 2011 than they were in 2010.

At MidwayUSA the z3 3-9x36 is $749 and the 3-10x42 is $839. Almost $300 less than the prior year. Not sure what to make of that.

Didn't like eye relief/picture via the Z3 at all and I'm pretty damn certain a couple hundred dollars have never caused me to tear up.

Local dealer claims the lower prices are to get some of the Zeiss Conquest market.

Doug is killing me with those Minox specials. I may have to try one for $289.

Don't let a few hundred dollars cause you to quiver.........

Once I decide what I want, a couple of hundred won't deter me. Even though it was $600 off, the scope on my 223 was still $400 more than the Z3 Swaros slg888 thinks I'm afraid of.

See what I mean.

A couple of years ago I upgraded all my glass from leupold to swaro because I could afford to. I'm now in the process of downgrading from swaro back to leupold because I can. Enough said...

I offer my swaro after I had trouble holding zero. Had a few leuys go wonky but I have had a bunch that were fine too. Zeiss, minox, leuy, 4200.......all seem to be great values in their price.

At the gunstore recently so took 3 scopes out side and spent 20 minutes looking through them; a 3-9 Z3 Swaro, a 3.5-10 VX3,and a 1.7-10 Z6..

The Z6 won hands down and apologies to the "Swaro has better optics crowd", but I couldn't see it till the Z6 came up to bat...

The Leup was every bit the equal of the Z3, or at least there was not enough difference that I could see it.

Bought a Minox ZA3, and wasn't impressed at all. I know it is not the ZA5 like you mentioned in the original post, but...


The windage and elevation controls felt cheap. The windage dial had play in it. The power adjust ring seems too stiff, and probably worse in cold weather. And, there is a lot of "black donut" effect when viewing through it. Kind of like you would see with the older Nikons.

Even my older VX-III 2.5-8's have great daytime optics. Where I see the Conquests and my AV being significantly better is in very low light, using my right eyeball. I know that sounds a bit smartassy but I do think it bears remembering that as far as rifle scopes and evaluating them and so on, people are using their own eyes, which differ GREATLY... and not even both eyes!!

I'd really like to own one of the new VX3's and wring it out. Bob- you have any yet? I know you've been buying Conquest 4x's and S&B's lately....

Jeff I have one 4X Conquest and one S&B. I have had a VX3 for two seasons now....it ain't half bad when it gets dim,actually pretty good. But neither the Z3 or the VX3are like a Summit,which is without a doubt the best 1" I have seen..

It was not exactly bright here at 3:30 yesterday....just bleak winter weather with a storm coming in.

I would like to have both those scopes(Z3 and VX3) and give them a thorough go on a pair of rifles. They were more alike than the Z6,which was a completely different animal.

It's at last light where the rubber hits the road- again, for my right eye. Right at that point where my brain starts shorting out and basically hallucinating what I'm seeing through the Leupold into wierd stuff, I'm still resolving things with my Conquests and AV, and for several more minutes.

If that makes sense. Right about when I'm becoming unable to resolve through a scope is an interesting time. My brain will take the shapes and colors it's seeing, that it can no longer process, and turn them into odd things. Surreal.

Have you tried the VX3 yet? I noticed pretty quickly it seemed a lot better than the earlier Leup variables;more contrast and a "brighter" picture in low light.

I have both Z3(3-10x42) & VX3(4.5-14x40). Low light the Z3 wins hands down IMO. My 1.7-10x42 Z6's are even better. The only scope that competed with my Z6 is the 3-12x42 S&B which I no longer own.

I have never owned a Zeiss, so I cannot compare it to my others. I agree with Jeff-O that people using there "own eyes" can differ from others.

I'd throw Kahles into the mix, bought a couple of 2-7's and a couple of 3-9's when they were being closed out.
I also have Swaro 3-9AV, 3-9Z3; 3-9 Conquests and 2.5-8 leupolds no doubt in my mind the kahles optics are the pick of the bunch definitely brightest in low light.

Kahles scopes are very nice.

Kahles is the nicest scope I have used. Just wish I would have bought more of them before they hit the $2k mark in the newer models.