Looking for a set and forget (no dialing) light weight scope in the 2-8 3-9 power range. Narrowed down to these two scopes any others I should be looking at?

I have both, both great and you can't go wrong. The Swarovski is my favorite scope and would be my first choice.
If you can find a vortex razor LH 1.5-8 it is fantastic as well. I like it just about as much as the Swarovski.

I hated that vortex discontinued that scope I really like it.

I have a LNIB Leupold 2.5x8 posted in classifieds.

Check it out.

Both are great little scopes. The only way you can get the 2.5-8 now is with a cds elevation turret. The Leupold 2-7 with the hunt plex reticle is worth looking at too. I really like it for a light weight.

Saw that but not buying till this spring. Just planing out my build right now.

What are you going to have built?

Light-ish weight 30-06. Going back and forth on if I’ll build on a Husqvarna 1640, Tikka or Kimber

Also looking at colt CLRs

Ok, then the Z3 3x9 would be my choice between the two.

Just my opinion, build on the Husky action.

The Trijicon Accupoint 3-9x40 gets great feedback and it weighs 12-13 ounces.

More tube on the Z3 than the VX3i. That might be a factor mounting on a long action. The VX3i barely fit on my M77 .30-06. Very little wiggle room fore and aft.

In my experience the 2.5x8 is too short for me on a long action. I would need a rail type base on a long action.

I have both and prefer the Z3, better optics and can be had with the wonderful 4a reticle.

Agreed. As good a scope as it is, it is short for a long action. It will [probably] span a long action with normal rings, but it will end up where it ends up with next to no room for back and forth adjustment for eye relief. Even on a short action, extended bases or rings, or a pic rails, may be desirable to get it where you want it. On a long action, you WILL need a rail, or extended bases or rings to get it where you want it.

That said, Leopold's various VX-3 in 2.5-8 have always been great. I've switched out several Burris scopes for VX-3HDs and now have several in 2.5-8 and 3.5-10. I have no complaints at all. I don't really care for the CDS-ZL knob on top, but it's not obtrusive and I have just set mine to forget.

I've never used a Z3, but looking at the dimension, the 3-9 is actually 1/2" shorter than the Leopold VX-3HD 2.5-8. So, I 'm not sure it will span a long action any better than the 2.5-8.

Of course, the way rings mount on a Tikka it may be a non-issue with that rifle, I don't know. But these shorter scopes can present an overcome-able challenge on more traditional open receiver long actions.

I have a couple of 2.5-8’s on Rem long action 700’s and 721’s (300 H & H).
If I had to choose, I’d rather have a Boone and Crockett reticle over the CDS. Even better, the B&C AND the CDS for playing at the range.

All of this^^^


When time permits dialing can come in handy for hunting too. But for hunting, if I have to choose between a ballistic reticle or dialing, the ballistic reticle is what I want.

Burris Zee rings and Weaver #40 mount neatly resolves that dilemma for M700's, can't remember the mount number for my M77's.

This. No contest glass wise and agree about 4a.

Both good scopes but give me the Z3 with that wonderful 4A reticle.

Both are good, but the leupold isnt even remotely in the same class, glass wise. Swaro glass is amazing. Ive owned many of both and it isnt even close

If you can look at the 2 and compare before you buy. I did a couple years ago and at that time preferred the Leupold. It was sharper to me. I did buy a Z3 a couple months ago and love the optics on it. It was better than the first one I looked at. A friend has said you actually need to look through them because one may be good and the other not. I read that afterward on another thread (maybe on here) too.

I happen to have both currently. The Z3 I bought new from Cameraland last fall. The 2.5-8x36 is a VX-III that I bought new about 14 or 15 years ago and it has been on several different rifles...mostly long action model 70's and Ruger #1's. I think there was a short action M700 in there at one point too. Currently, each are mounted on Ruger #1's which can have eye relief issues with a variety of scopes.

The Leupold 2.5-8x36 has very generous eye relief on the lower half of its power range...4+ inches. On the upper end, the eye relief decreases but it is still okay. On my Number 1's, I do have to cheek crawl just a tad to get a good sight picture with the scope turned up to 8x. It has been a while since I have had it on my M70's and can't remember if I had this issue. On a M70, I did have it mounted with Talley light weights, I just had to turn them in facing each other so that the mounting length wasn't an issue. The duplex reticle is good. Not what I would call "great" for hunting in twilight hours, but okay....and worlds better than the wide duplex Leupold uses in many of their offerings. Zeroing, I still experience some of the random adjustments and have to fire a few extra to get it right where I want it zeroed, but once set, I have never had an issue with it losing zero.

The Swaro 3-9x36 has much more consistent eye relief though it has a slight decrease at 3x and again at 9X. Not significant, but enough to notice if you have an eye relief critical setup (such as a Ruger #1 without offset rings). The eye relief is not nearly as generous as the Leupold on the lower power range but they are practically the same on their upper magnification ranges. The 4A reticle that Swaro uses in their Z3 models is FANTASTIC for hunting in twilight hours. Bold posts that come in close enough to see in the waning moments of light, but a fine enough center section for more precise shots in good light. So far, this scope has only been on one rifle and sight in was short and sweet. A quick bore sight yielded a first shot that was only a few clicks off. Slight adjustment followed by a few groups to check and everything was good so I can't really comment on how reliable and precise the adjustments are on this scope. But I do know that the handful of times I have checked it over the last year, zero has been good.

I agree that the glass is good on the Z3, but I don't know how much you are gaining when comparing 36mm objectives. They are not in the same league as my larger objective scopes where I feel you can better discern differences in glass performance.

No contest. Have owned and hunted with both...to my eyes the Leupold 2.5-8x36 isn't in the same class as the Z3. I prefer the European style eye box to the locking ring fast focus of the Leupold...If you do go with the Z3 be sure to get the model with the 4a reticle. That reticle is great.

I used Leups for about 47 years and have tried a few others but was sold on Leups. Then a few yrs back I started having to screw the eyepiece back to focus better and this went on until I ran out of threads. I was seeing double crosshairs so if I used my readers the crosshairs were focused but the target wasn't. Eye dr said all I really needed was readers so prescription glasses wouldn't be much help but lasiks might help. So I went down to Cabelas and started looking through other brands and found that the Swarovski Z3 in 3-9 x 36 or 3.5-10x40 would focus great for me with a lot of adjustment left. I've now replaced 4 Leups with Swaro with one more to go. My sons were more than happy to take my hand-me-downs. A bonus was the Swaro has a noticeable clearer and sharper image.

So long story short....Leups are good but Swaro is better.

I really appreciate the good reports on the Z3. I've looked at them but not pulled the trigger on one yet because reviews are few and far between. Since Leupold has gone to hell I've been looking for something to replace them in this weight and size class. That 4a reticle looks spectacular for woods deer hunting.

I don't agree with that. I own three Z3 3-9x36 and a bunch of Loopy 2.5-8x36. Comparing the Z3 to the VX3i there is an advantage to the Z3 but it is not that wide to my eyes. The Z3 will have a little bit better light transmission on dusk but the Leupold is very close behind. I'd say the Loopy is at least 95% the brightness of the Z3 but only 66% of the price.

What generation are your Leupolds, Vari-X, VX-III, VX-3, VX3I?

^^^ THIS

They are VX-III, VX-3, VX3i. But see in my post I compared the VX3i model to the Z3. I'd like to compare the 3HD Loopy but I don't have one. I really like the little Swaro Z3 scope. I think it is a fantastic small size hunting scope, especially with the #4 reticle, which my three have. But with all optics, there comes a point where a small gain in brightness (performance) comes with a much higher gain in price. To my mind, the VX3/VX3i Leupold line seem to be right at that point of offering very good optics at an affordable price. They are much better than the cheap rubbish lines but compare quite favourably to the higher end optics. I really like my Z3s but I also like my Leupolds.

I have several of both scopes and if you want the BEST scope buy the Z3 but if you want the best scope for the money get the VX3-HD, you really cant go wrong here as they are both fine rifle scopes....Good luck...Hb

Pretty much agree.
I own every generation of the Leup 2.5-8 and owned two Z3 3-9's--sold one to finance a new stock. If there is a difference in glass I would give a slight (very slight) nod to the Z3. Although the Z3 has a good eyebox it's not as good as the Leupolds, especially at the highest magnification. Plus the Swaro is $200+ more.

Any of the generations. I've owned them all. My daughters rifles wear VX-3is and they work for her. They do not remotely compare once the sun goes down to my eyes. Swaro Z3 increased that by 15 min easily. Its very noticeable. I use Z5s now and cant go back honestly. They spoil my eyes, but everyone sees things differently

Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40. You won’t notice the weight difference.

This, best 3~9x40 there is IMO!

Were they made by Meopta?

Had several Leupold 2.5 X 8 my last B&C reticle Leupold would not adjust correctly enough to zero scope even after it came back from Leupold so it went down the road.
I still have one that still works as it should so I leave it alone.

Not sure what you've mounted them on, but I have/and have had 2.5-8's on a lot of long actions without using a rail. Some long actions will fit them with standard mounts, some require an extended front or rear mount. Talley LW extended rear was just the ticket on really long actions such as the 700 and 110. Looked nice and didn't intrude over the action opening; unfortunately, I experienced some failures with Talley LW so I no longer use them. Likewise, Warne makes extended fronts in several lengths. All Warne products I've used through the years have been great. The DD mounts can be had in configurations that allow shorter ring spacing. If you really want a 2.5-8, you can figure a nice looking way to get it on there.

At one point I had 14 2.5-8 in service. I still like their eye relief, non critical eyebox, looks, size and x range for most hunting situations I find myself in. But, like the Talley LW, had some issues with Leupold's, and now I've kinda lost the faith. Still use a lot of the 2.5-8's, but haven't been buying more in awhile.

I had 1of the Swaro's in reference. Had it on an unbraked Weathery ULW in 300. Lost zero after about 300 rounds. To be fair, that rifle has killed a couple scopes through the years. Did some research and found that I was far from the only guy to experience the same troubles, so didn't bother messing with more. Was great glass for sure, but glass quality is down on the hierarchy of importance on a rifle scope.

If you are entertaining a Tikka, use the Sportsmatch rings - that have been recommended on 24HCF for years
- directly to the integral rail, and a 2.5-8 will fit and look great on there. Also, unless you want it twisted different than a factory barrel, there's really no need to do any custom work on the factory metal. Every Tikka I own or have spent time with groups and functions fantastically. I've never had trouble with the plastic, but I have upgraded to MT bottom metal and magazines on the Tikkas I own. Overall I've found the Tikkas to be quite rugged and capable of very tight groups with a lot of different loads. I viewed them as an entry level rifle for years, so I was late to the party with them, but I'm glad I decided to try a couple.

https://www.leupold.com/vx-5hd-2-10x42-duplex-riflescope

I have two 2.5-8x36s on two long action Rugers and one on a Sako long action. All seem to fit OK for me.

Z3

iI have had both models as well, Z3, VX3, concerning the mounting length on the 2.5-8 Leupy, I have several mounted on rifles in the safe, 3 of them are on full length Magnum rifle actions. It has been my favorite hunting scope for many years for all around use on a hunting or stalking rifle. They are both excellent for the intended purpose, if you can swing it, get the Swaro, its a great scope. If funds are an issue, get the VX3, you really can't go wrong either way. Low weight, reliable, high speed, low drag.