Rifle Scopes zeiss HD-5
- Thread starter mosin46
- Start date
Just played with one at the local shop a couple days ago, I'm very impressed! The target turrets are awesome, zero stop and locking function. If I remember it was 17 moa per revolution or something. The one I was looking at was a 5-25x50 and was pretty heavy for a 1" tube, I think I may buy one for my 300wsm. Wish they would offer all there reticles with the target turrets though.
I have the 3-15 with duplex and Target Turrets. It is a very nice scope for the money. The turrets are 1/4 MOA and are very repeatable and track precisely. It has 18 MOA per turn and a total of 70 MOA (mine has 78 MOA) with a zero stop. But...the zero stop works in both directions so it limits up travel as well as down. Once zeroed you set the stop and then only have 16.5 MOA total travel between the stops. I have been using it with the zero stop removed and have not had any problems since you have to lift the turrets to spin them. I just ordered a 20 MOA base so I am hoping that will keep me under one whole turn from the bottom so I will have a mechanical zero stop. The way it is now I have 35 MOA down and 43 MOA up.
Overall a very good hunting scope.
Gary
Overall a very good hunting scope.
Gary
I don't know what the heck is going on with this....double tapped, then both posts were gone, now they're back. lol
Last edited:
3-15x42 with Rapid Z 600 reticle. The light weight and wide power range make it perfect for my yote buster. The entire rig with glass and bipod weighs 8.75 lbs unloaded...very portable/handy. Choosing a 1" tube scope is the only way I kept this build under 9 lbs. I sure didn't expect to get a 3-15x optic on there at that weight, so that was a big bonus.
Glass is comparable to, if not better than, Nightforce and Trijicons I have/had. No experience with $2,000 scopes to compare it to, but I'd say the majority of money spent on this scope was on the glass (no illumination, fancy turrets, etc.).
Last edited:
I didn't care for how big the eyepiece was on the HD5 especially on a bolt gun. Wouldn't make a diff on the big 60mm 5-25, but on the smaller objectives it'll get in the way of the bolt handle on some rifles if you wanted to mount it low to the bore. Also I'm not crazy about there zero stop feature once engaged you only get 16.5 MOA up till you hit the stop so you long range guys are going to be mad. You can take the screw out, but hey we're paying for this feature it ought to work for more than 16.5 MOA up...seems like a waste.
+1 Agree, but the 6.5-20 Zeiss conquest is also popular with the bench/target guys. 16.5 MOA barely gets you past 600 yards in a 308. Seeing how its German engineered you think they could have solved the situation for both groups...I also didn't like them not having any sunshades for them in the works yet.
The HD5 is a great scope, and I don't think you could do better for $1,000, so long as it has all the features you want/need. Yeah, you can get more features on a scope for $1,000, but it's going to cost you in glass quality and weight.
I was torn between this and the Trijicon 5-20x. The HD5 won out because it was a more appropriate power range (Trijicon jumps from 2.5-10x to 5-20x), and it weighs 9 oz less (BIG difference when you're swinging it around to shoot). Glass wise, I think it's a toss up (I own a 3-9x Trijicon).
I'm still going to get that Trijicon, but it's going on a 308.
You gotta remember, it's a hunting scope....with a picture of a big, beautiful elk on the box.
That's not to say guys don't like them for target shooting, but I think there are clearly better options for that application. 600 yards with a .308 will be more than enough distance for most hunters. Adding a 10 or 20 MOA base is always an option too.And they could build it on a 30mm tube to get more adjustment range, but then it starts getting heavy....no bueno for a compact line of hunting scopes.
My friend wants one. How will the RapidZ-800 reticle work with a Wby 30-378? Or is it like the NF reticles that they have a different part # matched w/different calibers, bullet weight, etc? He's not going ultra long, just a hunting rig, looking at 800m max.
Just got the scoop from Zeiss' website, should have gone there prior to posting previous. Kind of cool how they do it, a little different than others, similar to NF, not quite what I expected, but should be pretty close. As you say, the only true way know for sure is with rounds down range. Any good distributors?
Just a little update - my Zeiss Conquest HD5 (3-15x42) is not holding zero. It was mounted correctly (I used to be the "scope mounting guy" in my dad's gun shop) and it's certainly not me....groups are tight as ever, but both the windage and elevation will be 2-3" off from the last time I fired the rifle. At first it was just the windage, and it gets WINDY out here, so I blamed it on wind. Once the elevation started moving on me, I knew we had a problem. It's not happening gradually, either. I would readjust turrets back to zero, shoot a few more rounds dead-on, and then it would move on me again.
This was my first Zeiss scope, and I'm pretty disappointed. For $975, there shouldn't be any question if it can hold zero...and if you've ever dealt with that before, you know how frustrating it is. That was a lot of time and ammo ($$$) wasted.
This was my first Zeiss scope, and I'm pretty disappointed. For $975, there shouldn't be any question if it can hold zero...and if you've ever dealt with that before, you know how frustrating it is. That was a lot of time and ammo ($$$) wasted.
Last edited:
It's the AR that I posted a photo of above. I was shooting relatively light .223 loads (77 grain black hills blue box). As disappointed as I am, I think I'm probably going to try another Zeiss HD5....there's not a whole lot of options out there in 3-15x that light in weight, or with that caliber of glass for the money.
By the way, I don't think the rifle broke it...it was coming out of zero by just toting the rifle around. Shooting, of course, would knock it out of zero too, but it wasn't only happening while I was shooting.
Last edited:
let us know the outcome and especially if it gets made right by zeiss,selller or dealer. shouldn't happen. maybe you just have my usual luck.
SWFA at first told me to send it to Zeiss, which apparently takes about 10-12 weeks. After raising a little hell (this scope is brand new and never worked), they called Zeiss and the Zeiss rep said they would send a brand new replacement out immediately. SWFA also told me they would let me swap the scope out with something different, if I wish to do so.
At this point, I don't know what I'm going to do. Like I said, there aren't a lot of good options in the 3-15x magnification range, and certainly not that light/inexpensive.
Does anybody have any other experiences with the 5-25? I'm considering upgrading my 4.5-14x44 to the new HD5 5-25x50.
