Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics zeiss diavari 3-9x36

anyone have one of these? ive seen a couple recently here and there that sold for decent prices. am thinking of getting one next time i see a used one pop up. good eye relief and glass? or would i be just as good buying a 3-9x42 meopta?

I'm not that impressed by their eye relief, and I find their optics overrated by their fans. They are a bit heavy for their size as well.

Expect the euro homers to be along soon to disagree.

I have one that was on a used rifle I bought. Sold the rifle, kept the scope. It is comparable to the now discontinued 3-9X40 Conquest. The eye relief is a little shorter, as is the scope.
Weight is about the same too. I can't tell that the 36mm objective gives up anything to the 40mm lense on the Conquest. It works well in low light.

If you like the Conquest, can live with a little less eye relief and if the price is right you'll like it.

shouldnt the diavari glass be a little better than the conquest?

Not sure how different the glass is but I have a 3X9X36 Diavari MC made in USA. It was the predecessor to the Conquest. There is also a 3X9X36 Diavari made in Germany. I have no idea how much difference there is between them except that the German model is a shorter tube and sometimes difficult even on a short action.

Mine is a good scope that I paid $350 for. I like smaller lighter scopes in general, so I'll keep it, but I would not pay $500 for one.

The early "West German" Diavaris were not heavy, they are quite short and optically superior to most scopes at the time and still optically superior to most scopes today. At that time lead was still being used in the lenses and you can't argue the quality even though the early Diavari scopes are now 30 years old...

yea im not referring to the MC one. the one i saw didnt say MC or T. but it said made in germany. then i saw another that said T and also made in germany.

You can't go wrong on any German Zeiss under $500.

I had a 4x version of the same scope and agree they were and are still optically and mechanically superior to most scopes today. They're way better than a Conquest as regards quality. Made in Germany with a 1" tube for the U.S. market. They're also not very heavy.

The main tube with turret housings was machined out of one piece Duralumin. The scopes themselves went through extensive quality control tests. Each scope was given 1,000 shocks simulating twice the recoil level of a .458 Win Mag. Each reticle adjustment was wound to it's extremities 100 times and then tested to see if the P.O.I. had changed. If it had changed the scope didn't pass. Each scope was placed in a vacuum chamber and subjected to a heavy shower of water for 24 hours. A large part of the cost was in the QC. They're superb scopes with good light gathering ability.

The latest of the Diavaris were made in America, the earliest in "West Germany" and anything after 1990 was made in "Germany". The earliest were with the older leaded glass before the environmental changes with leaded glass. These scopes are very clear and bright, easily ahead of their time in the optical department.

T* and T*P were later changes in the coatings of the lenses, some say that the T*P were best, but the early West German are damn good. Eye relief is short with them but not critical. The compactness of the scope is remarkable and the 36mm will easil out-perform many of 42mm and larger objectives.

man. i shoulda jumped on it. hopefully another will show up

If I could only predict the stock market as well.

I bought mine new in 1989 and it has "Made in West Germany" on it. It's had a hard life but still optically and mechanically perfect. I've shot coal black boars on moonless nights with it. It never let me down in many hundreds of hours of hunting in sometimes very rugged terrain and weather conditions.

My Davari is probably 20 years old. Comparing it to a 4-5 year old Conquest it is about the same to my eye. If the 2 scopes were from about the same era, then the Davari should be better.

Went back and read the entire thread and learned a few things I didn't know. Mine is West German made, so older than I thought.

I have both, I'd pick the Meopta.

Here's an American made Diavari 3-9x36.



Here's a Diatal C 10x36, W. German and I have a German Diatal C 4x32.



IMO, they'll hang in there with the Conquest.

DF

Farmer, that is one of only a very few scopes I covert.

You see them occasionally on the used market, sometimes on Ebay.

It is one fine glass, for sure. I like the way it looks on this classic 722 in older Redfield rings/bases. I skip line checkered that gun 50 yrs. ago as a teenager when that style checkering was in fashion. It has a 14 twist Hart in .22-204 and sizzles light weight bullets into little bitty groups...

DF

I like that they are good quality , light weight compact scopes. That's something we seem to have very little of these days.

I personally found them to be over rated as I found the eye relief and eye box to be lacking.