Rifle Scopes Minox ZP5 5-25x56 MR4 - Initial Impressions - "Pleasantly Satisfied"
- Thread starter blbennett1288
- Start date
I'm wondering who would service an optics-trade scope in the U.S.? I mean if a scope is serviced here they ask for the Serial Number first and foremost to probably make sure the scope is legitimate before they take it in for service.
I believe all Minox scopes go back to Germany for servicing anyway, I am unaware of a USA facility that can repair their scopes here in the USA. Regardless, I highly recommend using Hide Scope vendors like CS Tactical who will take care of you should anything strange happen, I'm not saying optics-trade will not, but just more difficult to deal with a dealer from another country.
I sent one back not long ago for warranty and they asked for my SN and to print out my warranty registration confirmation and send that with the scope to Blaser in TX. No mention of where or from whom I purchased it from to have it warrantied.
But from my experience thus far, if I was looking to pick up a Minox ZP5 (or anymore) I would purchase it from CS Tactical. Richard even tried to help me out with my warranty despite not purchasing my Minox from them.
But from my experience thus far, if I was looking to pick up a Minox ZP5 (or anymore) I would purchase it from CS Tactical. Richard even tried to help me out with my warranty despite not purchasing my Minox from them.
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That's not 100% true as it depends what it is, we're actually handling some minor stuff if we can as well
Just got back from the range with my AIAX and Minox ZP5. Love this scope and rifle combo.
I just picked up a ZP5 5-25 MR4. My initial impressions are that the turrets are not in the same category of the other "alpha" scopes out there. If the spacing was further apart it may be better. There is some mush (especially on the windage turret). They do not have the distinct feel and crispness of a schmidt, NF, kahles, or even razor. The are not AWFUL, but def nowhere near the crispness of other scopes. I will find myself looking up a lot to see where I'm at rather than "feeling" the clicks which is slightly annoying. The reticle is great, only thing I'd change is adding a .2 mil marks next to the dot, rather than it just ending with a line.
Glass I can't comment until I get to the range tomorrow to compare against some schmidts, TT, razors, etc side by side. Just looking through it I can tell it is very good, but I can update after tomorrow once I compare side by side with others. I really like the locking diopter, I wish others would adopt this. Parallax is pretty smooth and easy to adjust. Illumination knob detents are about as lackluster as the turrets. The entrance into the second rev around 13.5-14.2 mils is awful. I mean so bad just dial 13 and hold the rest. You simply can not hear or feel the clicks in this range and the resistance is very significant.
Glass I can't comment until I get to the range tomorrow to compare against some schmidts, TT, razors, etc side by side. Just looking through it I can tell it is very good, but I can update after tomorrow once I compare side by side with others. I really like the locking diopter, I wish others would adopt this. Parallax is pretty smooth and easy to adjust. Illumination knob detents are about as lackluster as the turrets. The entrance into the second rev around 13.5-14.2 mils is awful. I mean so bad just dial 13 and hold the rest. You simply can not hear or feel the clicks in this range and the resistance is very significant.
To give you an idea. The turrets are similar in feel to the bushnell elite line. Usable, but far from ideal.
That is around the cut off to the newest production models IIRC, to know for sure you have the newest one it will have a white box.
It has a white box with it, but that's because it came back from Germany with one. It was sent in because during a match the scope shifted windage 1.8 mils suddenly during a match. The previous owner later found all his scope screws to be loose. Out of paranoia he sent it in to be checked anyway. My view is they had the scope in hand this year. They double checked the turrets, set parallax from very to infinity and shock tested it. If they wanted to replace the turrets because they were sub par then they would have. Whether or not these are the "new" turrets or not I do not know. I can only report my findings in comparison to other manufacturers. They are not awful by any means whatsoever, other than the resistance in the second rev. But, they are not in the same league as the feel of other high end brands. For some this is not really a big deal. I haven't done a tracking test yet, but I'd imagine it will pass just fine being a quality optic.
Not bashing Minox. The scope overall is fantastic aside from the turrets. If the turrets were as good as NF or schmidt and the glass is as good as people say (I'll find out tomorrow) then I really think this would be the new gold standard of which to compare to in this price range.
Not bashing Minox. The scope overall is fantastic aside from the turrets. If the turrets were as good as NF or schmidt and the glass is as good as people say (I'll find out tomorrow) then I really think this would be the new gold standard of which to compare to in this price range.
Have you owned a S&B, Kahles, NF, or Razor/AMG to compare to? Not challenging you, just curious if you've spent some time with these other scopes to draw a comparision so we are on the same page and to get a better idea. My elevation turret is fairly crisp, and like I said very usable. But compare it to the deep indent feel of a schmidt or kahles or NF and you begin to appreciate the difference. The schmidt and Rozor and AMG and kahles I can count with my hand. The Minox I'd likely have to count with my "eyes" if that makes sense.
thanks dude, it cleared custom in 3 days. USPS is responsible for all these. It was a long frustrating story, but USPS lost my package on 12/11/18 while the package was in their system. I just got an official response from USPS telling me they can't locate the package and asked optics-trade to file a claim. You are absolutely right about time and other uncertainties associated with international trade. I would actually pay more to avoid the trouble if I can start over.
Well that stinks, but hopefully optics-trade will get you squared away. Certainly NOT the story you want to hear and sorry you had to be "the one" to report on it, but it is something the community should be aware of, I'm sure the majority of scopes optics-trade ships to the US get to the intended target but obviously some do not, keep us updated on how USPS and optics-trade ultimately handles the situation.
The Minox spoils you with its glass quality. I do like the actual turrets on the NF more, but prefer the clicks and feel of the Minox turrets. Everything else I like more about the Minox. It would not be as lateral of a move as I expected from the ZP5 to ATACR. I also think the MIL-XT will be more cluttered than the MR4.
I have owned a razor, an atacr, and the minox. The spacing in the razor turrets is the best of all the scopes I’ve used. 10 mils per rev should be the standard instead of trying to cram in 15. I have played with a s&b but didn’t own one, because of their turrets. The s&b spacing between clicks was way to close together and was hard to do one click. It seemed to always want to do 2-3 clicks. The atacr had nice turrets but the clicks were a little soft. No real complaints with them other than that and that wasn’t a big deal. The minox has very tactile and crisp turrets. When I first got it I’d get behind the rifle and without looking at it count the clicks and see if I ended up where I wanted to. Did every time. They are a bit close like most others except the vortex but I am very happy with them. The reticle is my favorite by far. I liked the ebr2c on the vortex but wanted a center dot and .2 hash marks. The atacr has an h59 which I found too cluttered and the lines too thick. If it didn’t have the mover hashes on the main horizontal line I could have dealt with it but they just got in the way and I never used them. The only other scope I would consider at this point t would be a TT with gen 3XR. Not sold on that though as the center dot just seems huge which I think would bother me while trying to shoot groups for load development. I got mine from CS Tactical and couldn’t have been happier with them or the scope. I’m always surprised I don’t see more at matches but maybe they will catch on as more people post their reviews. One last thing is the magnification adjustment. It is by far the smoothest I’ve ever used. Don’t even need a throw lever. Also turrets are stuff enough that I’ve never bumped them off where I wanted them or even worried about it. The stiffness going to the second rev isn’t as bad as people claimed in the past. So far I think I’ve only had to even go to the second rev a few times so it hasn’t been an issue for me either.
I'm glad we were able to assist you, please let us know if there's anything else we can help out with
One other thought on this, optics-trade has a UPS 3day option or something like that from what I remember, I would trust UPS more than USPS for international stuff, their claims seems to run smoother and quicker as well.
Who’s level are you using? Nice review. I haven’t mounted mine yet. I have to get the other stuff ?
