The new TERRA lineup from Zeiss has certainly created plenty of "buzz", on the Fire and elsewhere. I just spent some range time with a new 3-9x scope and will give my first impressions.
But first, a couple of disclaimers:
NUMBER 1: I AM NOT a gunwriter. I don't play one on TV and I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last nite either. I didn't spend 100 hours shooting the scope on a variety of rifles. I didn't attempt to "shoot the box" with the scope. I didn't sink it 800 ft in Lake Michigan for a week. I didn't throw it into a Hawaiian volcano for a week. I didn't freeze it in a North Pole iceberg either. I'll leave that to the gunwriters.
NUMBER 2: I AM somewhat partial to Zeiss products already. I ran a research laboratory for a Fortune 100 company where we ran Zeiss light microscopes, Zeiss electon microscopes (both kinds), Zeiss morphometry instruments, plus Zeiss ultramicrotomes. Also Seimmens, Hitachi, Nikon and Olympus. The Zeiss stuff held their own with all of the top brands in this scientific field. And service was first class as well. With that said:
My son's BFF needs a BG rifle, a "mice to moose" kind of rifle. He located a very well taken care of, and very accurate, Sako AV .270 WIN which I helped him buy. The rifle needed a scope: he wanted to spend between $400-500 bucks. I told him to look at Leupold, Nikon and the new Zeiss Terra line. He picked the Zeiss Terra 3-9; Z plex reticle. I had my gunsmith mount and boresight the scope. There were no problems mounting it and it lined up very well on the Sako.
So I waited for a calm and clear morning and took the rig to the range. The scope comes in a robust polymer tube. Sturdy lens covers are included too. The OM is in English/German and is clear and concise.
The image was plenty bright and clear to my eyes. Focus was sharp and clean; I could read print on the targets at 100 yds easily. And there seemed to be plenty of eye relief present in this setup too.
The first group was high and to the left at 100 yds. I wanted to be hitting 2" high at 100, so I moved the windage and elevation dials the requisite number of clicks. The clicks were audible, and not too soft or hard, very positive in my hands. And the next 3-shot group nestled nicely ~ 2" above the bull.
Took that target back to 200 yds and fine tuned the zero for dead on at 200 yds. (Federal Premium,#P270E 150gr NPs). Tracking was excellent in this range test.
In summary, I think this scope compares very favorable with Leupold and Nikon scopes in this general price range that I'm familiar with. I have probably sighted-in 30 rifle/scope combinations for myself and various friends. This one may have been the easiest/ quickest of the whole lot. EVERYTHING worked just as it should.
My two coopers and now I'm broke!
NB
PS Looking forward to Terra reports from JB and other bona fide optics experts.
