Rifle Scopes Leupold MK8 vs Minox ZP5?

[TacT-MecH]

I've decided to sell my Leupold MK8 3.5-25x56 and have had my eye on Minox Zp5 5-25x56 with the Mr4 reticle. For those that have the Minox, have you had any issues, complaints, qualms? I've heard about 1 or 2 issues with illumination. But not much else.
Would I be better off looking at a Kahles 525 with SKMR3?
Please share your experiences with the Minox and other optics you have compared it with. I'm really interested to hear about the usual stuff (tracking, durability, glass).
I feel the MK8 glass is pretty damn good. Will I be disappointed moving away from it?

I should also add, I've considered Nightforce or a used Schmidt but the choice of reticles is somewhat unappealing.

 

[LawnMM]

Have a ZP5 MR4, no regrets, glass is awesome, tracks properly, would buy again any day

 

[TacT-MecH]

@lawnthank you for the response. Have you compared it to any other similarly price optics?

 

[hk dave]

I own both and regularly shoot with both.

Optically the Minox is better. The Leupold exhibits a small touch of CA. There is NONE on the Minox.

Mechanical tracking is a wash. Per what I’ve heard and read from others the Leupold is perfect.

The Leupold obviously has more range however and interesting factor is that the image you see on the Minox seems to be larger, or at least more edge to edge to the outside of the ocular housing.

I really like the new C turrets on the Leupold. I’m a fan of how it locks up. Having said that, also really like the turrets on the Minox.

Have MR4 on the Minox, H59 on the Leupold. That’s a personal preference thing and I prefer the MR4.

Size and weight wise they’re similar.

Leupold warranty is better.

Both are spectacular examples of some of the best riflescopes on earth.

 

[TacT-MecH]

@hk dave Thank you! That's exactly the kind of response I was looking for. MK8 information is pretty limited. I could find very little when I was researching it.
I have 2 complaints about my MK8 (admittedly one of them is petty).
1) The turrets don't "feel" like I think they should. Maybe not "mushy" but certainly not Schmidt. But I do like how easy it is to set the zero stop.
2) My MK8 has the H58 reticle. While I find it usable, its thick horizontal/ vertical cross section isn't my favorite. On paper, I definitely like the MR4.

 

[LawnMM]

Have a NF also, have looked through Kahles, Scmidt, etc, it's too shelf glass if you can pick up the difference between it and other 3k scopes your eyes are better than mine.

 

[hk dave]

@hk dave Thank you! That's exactly the kind of response I was looking for. MK8 information is pretty limited. I could find very little when I was researching it.
I have 2 complaints about my MK8 (admittedly one of them is petty).
1) The turrets don't "feel" like I think they should. Maybe not "mushy" but certainly not Schmidt. But I do like how easy it is to set the zero stop.
2) My MK8 has the H58 reticle. While I find it usable, its thick horizontal/ vertical cross section isn't my favorite. On paper, I definitely like the MR4.

Do you have the B type turrets? I’ve never played with them myself so I’m not familiar with how they are except with what I’ve read. The C turrets are great. They feel great. Every click is tacticle and there’s no doubt where you are. They’re very similar to the NF 4-16 F1 turrets.

My MK8 has the H59. I prefer the MR4 but the H59 does just fine on my gas guns.

 

[TacT-MecH]

My shooting buddies have ATACRs (both 5-25 and 7-35) and they are great.

Do you have the B type turrets? I’ve never played with them myself so I’m not familiar with how they are except with what I’ve read. The C turrets are great. They feel great. Every click is tacticle and there’s no doubt where you are. They’re very similar to the NF 4-16 F1 turrets.

My MK8 has the H59. I prefer the MR4 but the H59 does just fine on my gas guns.

I'm unsure which type turrets they are. I know they are the "pinch-to-turn" variant... Almost impossible to turn by accident

 

[charnicus]

I love my ZP5. No issues to report and I prefer the MR4 over SKMR3 as I have a k624i. Turrets are tight to turn but for a scope lacking locking turrets I think it’s a great feature. Glass is every bit as good as the rest, specifically compared to the k624i, Razor AMG, ATACR, and PMii.

 

[hk dave]

My shooting buddies have ATACRs (both 5-25 and 7-35) and they are great.


I'm unsure which type turrets they are. I know they are the "pinch-to-turn" variant... Almost impossible to turn by accident

Those would be the B turrets or M5B2. They also do M5C2 turrets. In my opinion the C variant is excellent.

 

[Glassaholic]

I've had the Kahles SKMR3 and I have the Minox ZP5 with MR4, I prefer the MR4 and here's why, I view the Christmas tree reticle as a backup to turret failure, as such I want that tree to be as "minimal" as possible so it doesn't obstruct my view. I've had the Tremor3 and thought it was unique for what it was but bugged me to always see those lines and dots. The SKMR3 has solid horizontal stadia lines in the tree while the MR4 has dots, I prefer the dots. Also, the SKMR3 has a very tiny dot, some prefer this but I like larger dots as I can see them better especially in high contrast situations. The MR4 is my favorite reticle right now and has been for some time.

Based on feedback from a few I know on the Hide who own or have owned the K525i it sounds like the Minox is the "better" scope optically while some may prefer the Kahles turrets slightly. I've never had an issue with my ZP5 turrets but others have, seems like all the newer models made within the past couple of years have better turrets than older models so something to keep in mind if you intend to buy used.

I'm always looking for my next "favorite" scope and I've had the ZP5 since 2016 and haven't found anything within its price point that I like better. Also, the ZP5 is one of the "lighter" 5-25 scopes on the market which was icing on the cake for me as I prefer lighter scopes since all mine double as hunting/long range optics. For a pure comp gun weight would not matter much to me so YMMV.

Warranty between Minox and Kahles is probably a wash. The Nightforce has poor FOV at the bottom but actually picks up through the range and does quite well by 25x.

Optically not much can beat the ZP5, remember this scope comes from the same lineage as the Premier Heritage and Tangent Theta line. Here is a quick comparison chart so you can see specs side by side:

Edited for spelling errors

 

[charnicus]

I've had the Kahles SKMR3 and I have the Minox ZP5 with MR4, I prefer the MR4 and here's why, I view the Christmas tree reticle as a backup to turret failure, as such I want that tree to be as "minimal" as possible so it doesn't obstruct my view. I've had the Tremor3 and thought it was unique for what it was but bugged me to allows see those lines and dots. The SKMR3 has solid horizontal stadia lines in the tree while the MR4 has dots, I prefer the dots. Also, the SKMR3 has a very tiny dot, some prefer this but I like larger dots as I can see them better especially in high contrast situations. The MR4 is my favorite reticle right now and has been for some time.

Based on feedback from a few I know on the Hide who own or have owned the K525i it sounds like the Minox is the "better" scope optically while some may prefer the Kahles turrets slightly. I've never had an issue with my ZP5 turrets but others have, seems like all the newer models made within the past couple of years have better turrets than older models so something to keep in mind if you intend to buy used.

I'm always looking for my next "favorite" scope and I've had the ZP5 since 2016 and haven't found anything within its price point that I like better. Also, the ZP5 is one of the "lighter" 5-25 scopes on the market which was icing on the cake for me as I prefer lighter scopes since all mine double as hunting/long range optics. For a pure comp gun weight would not matter much to me so YMMV.

Warranty between Minox and Kahles is probably a wash. The Nightforce has poor FOV at the bottom but actually picks up through the range and does quite well by 25x.

Optically not much can beat the ZP5, remember this scope comes from the same lineage as the Premier Heritage and Tangent Theta line. Here is a quick comparison chart so you can see specs side by side:

View attachment 7097516

Excellent write up there. ??

 

[TacT-MecH]

@wjmthank you for the detailed response. Its posts like that, that put a guys mind at ease. I've been doing my homework. Your post has reaffirmed (and added to) what I had found. Thank you sir.
I agree about the MR4 reticle as well, it looks to be near perfect. My MK8 has the H58 reticle and it's not my cup of tea.

 

[TacT-MecH]

I ended up getting A ZP5 and after using it I purchased another one. This optic is everything I was hoping it would be... Thank you all for the input.

 

[Conrad101st]

Always good to have a second b/c it gives an excuse to buy another rifle!!

 

[TacT-MecH]

Always good to have a second b/c it gives an excuse to buy another rifle!!

The optic on my 260 was acting strange (lazy windage turret) so it got a the other Minox.

 

[dumbbell]

Had 2 minox. Loved them. No problems with either. Only reason I sold was to go to tangent theta. Still think minox is one of the biggest sleepers in the pr community. Wouldn't hesitate to own another