Re: nightforce vs. Zeiss
I have a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x50 with the Z600.
It's a fantastic hunting scope, and I had no difficulty matching the drop on my 162 Amax load for the 7 SAUM to the reticle.
The scope tracks true and has exceptionally clear glass. The "hunter turrets" are adjustable with thin gloves on, they do have a cover on them so they don't get bumped or knocked from zero while packing the rifle. If you find yourself in a situation that you can't use the ballistic reticle for something beyond 600y, then it's easy to dial the range, but if that's the case then I'm going to assume you have an LRF to validate those decisions.
I do find myself losing that ranging reticle in very low light conditions, it's certainly not an optic that you can take a 250y shot in very low light conditions because I can't keep track of the reticle.
It's on a hunting rifle, it gets banged around, bumped etc and still hits dead on. It's very light, and on a 7.5lb all up rifle, it's almost perfect, the ONLY thing I might want is some kind of illumination capability.
I also have a NXS 3.5-15x50 NP-R1, the illumination is very nice, the glass is excellent and it's pretty much the same as the Zeiss. I don't see a difference between the two, but I've been told by several NF owners that I happen to have some of the nicest NF non-HD glass that they've seen. It does have a 30mm tube vs. a 1" tube on the Zeiss and the parallax adjustment, lack of BC cap capability on the occular, and weight lends itself much better to a rifle that isn't going to be humped across the woods for miles.
All said and done, they're both excellent scopes, if the rifle you're looking at putting it on is on a serious weight restriction to keep it light for hunting reasons, then a 3-9x50 Conquest is probably a better use