Absolutely, and now I need to figure out when I have more time to listen to those podcasts, fun stuff.
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Rifle Scopes Z Comp Optics, heard of them? SHOT Booth N451!
- Thread starter Basher
- Start date
And for those that have not listened yet, it's about 44 minutes in... https://theeverydaysniper.podbean.com/e/the-everyday-sniper-episode-6-shot-show-roundup/
Watched the video multiple times now, at the 3:00 minute mark Nick says, "optically, when we've been comparing these against the best in the world, we're not finding anything else out there that's able to match it, might get very, very close. But when you look at the total light transmission, resolution, clarity and contrast, field of view, eyebox..." I'm sure that's going to ruffle some feathers but is extremely promising in regard to how well these scopes will perform, I don't think we're looking at matching Schmidt & Bender, I think we're looking at exceeding S&B. Could they be a match for Minox ZP5 and Tangent Theta, well ZCO seems to think so, especially when it comes to the whole package. We've seen some marketing hype before from other companies, but I don't think this is marketing hype, it truly sounds like the right people were in place with the right background and intention to create a truly amazing optic that I'm looking forward to.
I'll believe it when I see it. 
Would you buy a scope from a guy that said "You'll love our mediocre optics"?
I watched the video. He says it clearly, confidently, concisely with his credentials backing it up. There is no Cockiness like, lets say Kevin Brettingham and he doesn't even want your $ up front for a year. Before he decides to manufacture it and send it to you.
I know which scopes they used as benchmarks for their development and I expect ZCO products to be very good. However, the proof is in the pudding, so we will see how it all converges.
While I expect them to do well, I will refrain from making too many conclusions until the scopes are here. That is exactly what I told Jeff at SHOT. He's got the hype. People who buy fancy scopes are now all (or most of them) aware of ZCO. Now ZCO has to deliver.
Until I can see and test their stuff, Tangent Theta is still king of the hill in terms of optomechanical quality. I will be sure to compare Tangent Theta to ZCO when the opportunity arises and you can 100% certain I will report my findings.
ILya
Nope, wouldn't expect anyone to be a complete Dumbass and say anything like that. Was just saying, who really cares what any of these optics companies say about how good their product is, it's all marketing, proofs in the pudding and that's what's gonna sell.. There will always be people ready to jump on the latest and greatest and have reviews or good or bad things to say about their new optics.. If your product fucking sucks, it won't last long as word travels fast... I hope it's everything as advertised, cause I'll jump right in if it is.. I wanna see a review from Frank after he's had one of these out in the wild for a couple of months...
And Frank will be one of the very first people to have at least one, most likely one of each of our scopes. We know how important independent reviews are from people that members of this board trust. We have a couple other reviewers in mind as well.
Obviously I have no idea how these scopes will truly perform, what I meant to infer is that the design objective of the company was to exceed every scope out there. That is an extremely lofty goal given the fact that there are some amazing optics already on the market. My point is the folks at ZCO have the experience to know the market, they already know what is out there and how big the hill is they set out to climb. My expectations based on their claims are that these scopes will be as good or better than what we expect from other top tier alpha level scopes, if they are not I will be sorely disappointed to say the least.
I hope their scopes aren’t released until they’re completely ready. Would be great to avoid the multiple generations of the same scope.
Very true Dave, it would be nice to finally have one goto scope with all the features your looking for with supreme quality all rolled into one.. This would put a real emphasis on the rest of the market to step up their game and quit spoon feeding features into separate generations for the sake of profit..
Gebhardt02, please don't think I'm giving you a hard time or bashing the product, cause I'm not. I want you guys to succeed and have an outstanding optic, I love the looks and features by the way.. Just wanna see her in action is all before I dip my toe in, I know you guys get that..
I too def want this company to succeed. More competition and raising the bar is never a bad thing.
Gonna have to get ahold of one of these and do a comparison between it and my other scopes.
Gonna have to get ahold of one of these and do a comparison between it and my other scopes.
Not me. I have no reason to switch. I'm 100% happy with my TT. If I didn't already own a scope, I would consider one of these, and weigh my options. But already having a TT, I would not switch just to try something new. I have no desire to jump from scope to scope to scope when the first one gets the job done. UNLESS... there is a jump in performance or features that are lacking in the scope I already own. Reticle is not a big enough difference. I get by just fine with the Gen 2 XR. That said... if TT puts out a comparable new reticle to the Minox or Kahles or even the one in this ZCO, I might consider switching to that new TT scope or having my reticle swapped out. I already own the TT. I know it works. I know it gets the job done. So I've got no reason to switch to an unknown.
I recently bought a Nightforce F1 ATACR with the new reticle to see what all the fuss was about. Meh. It's a scope. It works. But no reason to dump my TT, so I sold it off. For me, TT is still the king. If something better comes along, I'll switch. But it has to actually be better or offer a feature I need that TT doesn't have. Otherwise, one would just need to be bored to make a switch from one scope to another.
Same goes for rifle actions. My Defiance Deviant gets the job done. No complaints. No malfunctions. Why would I switch to a new action just because it's "new". The Defiance would have to be lacking in some area for a switch to make sense. And I can't think of anything it doesn't do that I want it to.
It's fun to always chase the latest and greatest. But I'd rather get my rig how I want it and then just shoot.
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In case you missed it, Kahles just announced the K525i. This year is going to be interesting, indeed!
Definitely looking forward to Frank and Ilya's thoughts on both!
Definitely looking forward to Frank and Ilya's thoughts on both!
I think I'm still more interested in hearing how the ZCO fairs.. The Kahles to me is just "meh", especially for the price tag. I like the ZCO features like the locking turrets and harder internals better.. Wish we could start to see some reviews already.... lol
I feel about the same, but it should still be an interesting year with a few good offerings coming out. Only time will tell which rises to the top!
Totally agree, having lots of options is never a bad thing... Keeps these optics companies on edge a little, I like it..
Not sure if the harder internals mean anything. Like how often do you hear off problems due to "soft" internals.
I personally haven't had any problems with any of my optics, but I'm sure it has happened before when someone torqued the shit out of their turrets to prevent slipping and it left an impression in the scope internals... Especially if someone moves a scope around to a bunch of different rifles over time... just a thought..
this^^ its the one thing cant stand on my ZP5...the center stems are made outta butter...when i had my gen 2 i could tighten until i stripped screws and the center stem was fine
^ATACR has same issue. I miss torquing the everloving fuck out of turret cap screws.
It’s annoying. Trying to get the hash marks on the turret to line up with the scope body (and get the most usable elevation while having full 2 mils under zero) took MULTIPLE attempts assembling and disassembling the turret. I noticed marks on the adjustment stem and at quit at that point because the 2in-lb zerostop screws and 10in-lb cap screws were pissing me off.
On the Gen 2 I had, it was made clear that there would be no harm from tightening the cap screws as tight as I could.
i wish i could get a scope that combined the keyed turret cap style swfa 5-20/bushnell uses, with the inner reference stem of the vortex rzr/amg...even if the center stem wasnt infinite and had clicks...unscrew top center screw, pull the outer cap off, twist center to zero setting, replace keyed outter cap with no set screws to slip/strip...maybe im missing something but that seems perfect to me
The downfall of the TT is their terrible reticle options. I would run an AMG over the TT strictly based on the reticle. I am extremely interested in ZComp and hope that they force TT to at least upgrade their reticles. The problem would be, however, if the ZComp comes in at a great deal cheaper than the TT. In which case, the TT will have lost all appeal.
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Just get a Minox...
Of course pick the reticle you like best.
But that's funny. You are already assuming ZCO will be a better optic? Price is only part of the equation, otherwise TT would be out of business already.
Or possibly the new Kahles K525i. Man, this year is working it's way to being one of the biggest years for new scope releases, not only the Kahles but also the new March 6-60x56 FFP. I do find it interesting that both Kahles and ZCO are coming out with similar new scopes to the market, I'm assuming that Jeff had some input for Kahles before he left to start his own optics company. I am very curious how the ZC420 and K318i will compare as well as the ZC527 and K525i. One big advantage of ZCO I believe is the fact that they will be able to repair right here in the US so no one has to worry about scopes going overseas, that is a big plus if it does need work (of course, we all hope none of these scopes will need work, but entropy dictates otherwise).
Very unimpressed with Kahles glass and CA. I actually sold my k624i for an AMG and now I can actually see my zero shots at 100y. However, It had the best turrets I've ever used and the parallax knob(though I hated it's placement) never had to be touched. Looking forward to the release of the 525i so I can snag a 624i for cheap.
In regards to the ZCO being better than the TT, I am just hopeful that its comparable. You are correct in saying that assuming its better before ever handling it is a mistake.
That's right, they have not nailed down pricing yet but they will be above the $3k point, how much more is the big question, my hope is $3001 for the ZC420 and $3002 for the ZC527 because that would be $3k +
Seriously though it looks like the ZC420 might come in around $3200-$3300 and the ZC527 around $3400-$3500 MAP with street being the usual under, still more than the Razor Gen II and ATACR and even Schmidt and Minox ZP5, but ZCO is promising more than those scopes, so if they can deliver then they will undoubtedly be worth it as the next tier up is the Tangent Theta and they'll be a cool $1000 less than what TT is charging.
O ZCO, ZCO, wherefor art thou ZCO. I realize that we're still a couple months from shipping, but are there any new tidbits you can provide Nick? Any pics of a ZCO mounted on a rifle, any updates on manufacturing. How about a brief story about your facility in Austria, can you tell us a little about that facility, maybe some cool things they are doing there without giving up trade secrets of course. Also, on top of most everyone's mind is price, can you share why it's taking so long to firm down pricing.
Nothing new really to share right now. Price is taking so long because we've made some adjustments to a few things, and that affects manufacturing costs. We should be getting a price nailed down soon though, we just want to make sure everything is perfect first. The wait is killing us too guys, we'd really like to get these out there but sending out something before we are 100% sure it is right doesn't help anything. We appreciate your patience, thank you.
Thank you Nick, there are many of us who appreciate your desire to get this right the first time around instead of having to deal with warranty returns and frustrated shooters who find QC issues within the first batches, etc. But surely you've mounted a scope on a rifle for testing and such, any first impressions and/or images?
Yes, recoil testing on various platforms has been conducted but we weren't taking pictures unfortunately. I'll see what I can do to get a picture of one mounted up so people can get an idea on the size of our scopes. Give me a couple days.
Nick, do not give these vultures anything
They'll just ask for more. Naturally, feel free to email me the pictures....
ILya
Nick, do not give these vultures anything
They'll just ask for more. Naturally, feel free to email me the pictures....
ILya
Lmao ?Nick, do not give these vultures anything
They'll just ask for more. Naturally, feel free to email me the pictures....
ILya
I think I'm going to change my avatar to an image of a vultureNick, do not give these vultures anything
They'll just ask for more. Naturally, feel free to email me the pictures....
ILya
