Richard has only sold me four…in the last six months lol. Does that make me an addict?
Rifle Scopes ZCO 5-27 vs March 5-42
- Thread starter YotaEer
- Start date
You sir are an enabler!
Thanks for the input guys! I'm really intrigued by the ocular size of the new kahles k540 and wondering how long it will be til like zco, TT, and the rest follow suit to a bigger ocular. Right now I'm running a theos and I like it and might just wait to see if anything comes down the road
My opinion is shoot what you got till you find something that you know works better. Not that I always follow that, but you should shoot more and read less. Go to matches and try some different scopes and rifles, then you will know what fits your passion.
That was my thought as well; however, maybe what NFShooter meant was the wide angle eyepiece?
Curious what you mean by ocular size? Are you talking about the wide angle eyepiece used in the Kahles K540i or is there something different you're referring to?
And this is why I prefer speaking to people over the phone to try to educate people into making the best decision for their purpose. The forum can only do so much because a lot of people are missing details that they might not even realize that’s why I’m on the phone all day long and have a 2000 text messages in my phone.
A 10 minute call can equal dozens of posts IMO
- Richard
Right now it is topic of the month but it is only one small part of the bigger picture.
The March-FX 5-42X56 HM introduced in 2019 sports a 46mm eyepiece and that was instrumental in providing the 26° AOV. Shortly after, the March-FX 4.5-28X52 HM was released with the 46mm eyepiece also with a 25° AOV. In 2022, the March-X 8-80X56 HM Majesta was introduced with its 46mm eyepiece for a 25° AOV. The next generation March-FX 5-42X56 Gen 2 keeps the 46mm eyepiece and its 26° AOV.
Roger that. As Richard hints, there is a patent by Swarovski in the USA that limits certain wide angle eyepiece designs. The Japanese manufacture scopes seem to have gotten around this, potentially with a different design that doesn't infringe upon the patent; however, manufacturers from Germany and Austria seem to be most affected by this - Schmidt, Zeiss, Leica, TT and ZCO. Keep in mind this limitation appears to only affect scopes intended for USA, whereas scopes that are shipped to other parts of the world are not limited mostly because Leica fault the patent in Europe and won so the patent apparently doesn't apply anywhere else other than USA. That being said, it appears the patent has a 20 year expiration date and some believe Swarovski filed in 2006 which means it may expire sometime next year, but others who've read (and understand patents more than I) believe it could be as late as 2028 before it expires
Regardless, I do not see manufacturers immediately releasing wide angle eyepieces for their scopes the moment the USA patent expires, most will want to make sure sufficient stock of existing scopes have been sold beforehand. This is speculation of course and no one except the manufacturers know for sure. But since Schmidt already has wide eyepiece designs for their 6-36x56 and new Meta FFP 3-18x42 available outside the USA it would be pretty easy for them to release the restriction and allow these scopes to trickle into the US market.
Roger that. As Richard hints, there is a patent by Swarovski in the USA that limits certain wide angle eyepiece designs. The Japanese manufacture scopes seem to have gotten around this, potentially with a different design that doesn't infringe upon the patent; however, manufacturers from Germany and Austria seem to be most affected by this - Schmidt, Zeiss, Leica, TT and ZCO. Keep in mind this limitation appears to only affect scopes intended for USA, whereas scopes that are shipped to other parts of the world are not limited mostly because Leica fault the patent in Europe and won so the patent apparently doesn't apply anywhere else other than USA. That being said, it appears the patent has a 20 year expiration date and some believe Swarovski filed in 2006 which means it may expire sometime next year, but others who've read (and understand patents more than I) believe it could be as late as 2028 before it expires
Regardless, I do not see manufacturers immediately releasing wide angle eyepieces for their scopes the moment the USA patent expires, most will want to make sure sufficient stock of existing scopes have been sold beforehand. This is speculation of course and no one except the manufacturers know for sure. But since Schmidt already has wide eyepiece designs for their 6-36x56 and new Meta FFP 3-18x42 available outside the USA it would be pretty easy for them to release the restriction and allow these scopes to trickle into the US market.
And then what will be the price if and when these are released in the future? 25% more? 50% more?
"The world may never know..."
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