Rifle Scopes Zeiss LRP S3 New First Focal Plane Riflescopes for Long-Range Precision Shooting

Hey everyone,

So I picked one of these up about a month ago from a local sporting goods shop. Got home and noticed the whole tree lit up for both red and green past the 2nd brightness settings for each. Based on what I am hearing here, they truly should be just the center reticle illuminated. I went back to the store to see if I could exchange for one of the others they had in stock... Low and behold all 7 both 425s and 636s had the tree illuminated, some worse than others. The store ended up trying to send all of theres for MA and their Zeiss rep said they are designed to be overly bright and illuminate the whole tree??? Anyways, I have the option to return mine to them, they are sending all of their Zeiss's back and ending the relationship with them. I am torn on if I pick one up and try to MA it on my own, I love the glass quality and all of the other features, and don't really plan on using the illumination anyways.

Anyone have any thoughts on this situation? Sounds like a lot of BS coming from Zeiss's side.
 
I am not new to matches and I don’t see any of those issues in running the S3 in multiple Rimfire and centerfire matches. I have set mine at a centerfire match at the 650 yard target and shot out to the 1208 yard target on a stage.

Actually just moved my S3 4-25 to my rebarreled Vudoo because I want the extra elevation and excellent glass. The eye box is pretty easy to get behind for me even in different positions off props.
That's nice tuner on a straight taper barrel you got there.

Everyone has different vision , everyone has different preferences. Glad your S3 is trouble free and it's a real bummer that mine has busted reticle/focus issues. What's worse is the handling of my service request with the Zeiss team.

With that said my 2nd Mk5 had to go back for service for a correction of the elevation turrets being ever so slightly misaligned. The turrets feel really great and I am a happy customer.

Since I don't know when I will get back the S3. I'll be shooting the rest of the season on its current optic set up.

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You were indeed correct, thank you! Took it outside and looks perfect even in overcast, about to mount it!

Great! Glad I could help. It’s one of those things that I have seen come up and I looked at mine indoors and see it too if on too high power. That illumination is great when shooting a match in full mid day sun though. Have fun with it.
 
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That's nice tuner on a straight taper barrel you got there.

Everyone has different vision , everyone has different preferences. Glad your S3 is trouble free and it's a real bummer that mine has busted reticle/focus issues. What's worse is the handling of my service request with the Zeiss team.

With that said my 2nd Mk5 had to go back for service for a correction of the elevation turrets being ever so slightly misaligned. The turrets feel really great and I am a happy customer.

Since I don't know when I will get back the S3. I'll be shooting the rest of the season on its current optic set up.

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Thanks. Just giving my experience with the two I have. Sucks when issues pop up and then issues with handling. Hopefully they can get you taken care of eventually but good you have a back up.
 
That’s the problem. The Zeiss is a true daylight bright illumination. If you put it on full inside you get that halo effect where it looks like everything is lighting up. Start on lowest power is not in full sunlight.
I agree on the daylight brightness illumination on the Zeiss S3 and how you can only see the center portion if the reticle.

I've always thought that the illuminated reticle on the S3 was designed so that the full reticle could be seen in low light conditions against a darker background. Although I have nothing to support this thought since I've not be out shooting in the early morning, at dusk or in a wooded area.
 
@Puredrive I know this might sound stupid, but have you tried calling Zeiss CS? Or are you just emailing with them back & forth? Calling usually gets shit done wherever and whatever the product is. When they can hear the frustration in your voice, it tends to help light a fire in helping the customer get back on track.

I've only called Zeiss CS once in my life, and it was to ask a question, and they were helpful and prompt to answer the phone. This was many years ago, but I've never had to call them or contact them for a scope issue in over 20 years of owning Zeiss scopes, and I sold tons of the Conquests and Diavari's when I worked at the gun store back in the day. That was the ONLY scope brand I can recall having NEVER sent a scope back for a defect. I sent back a pile of Swarovski's, more Leupolds than your average person will ever see in their entire lifetime, Meopta's were just getting popular here in the states back then, and they had a few gremlins to work out at first, several NF's got sent back for tracking issues (this was 20+ years ago, so relatively early NF NXS), and just about every other brand on the market got sent back multiples of. Nikon was one of the best brands we sold, as far as a sales vs. warranty ratio.
 
@Puredrive I know this might sound stupid, but have you tried calling Zeiss CS? Or are you just emailing with them back & forth? Calling usually gets shit done wherever and whatever the product is. When they can hear the frustration in your voice, it tends to help light a fire in helping the customer get back on track.

I've only called Zeiss CS once in my life, and it was to ask a question, and they were helpful and prompt to answer the phone. This was many years ago, but I've never had to call them or contact them for a scope issue in over 20 years of owning Zeiss scopes, and I sold tons of the Conquests and Diavari's when I worked at the gun store back in the day. That was the ONLY scope brand I can recall having NEVER sent a scope back for a defect. I sent back a pile of Swarovski's, more Leupolds than your average person will ever see in their entire lifetime, Meopta's were just getting popular here in the states back then, and they had a few gremlins to work out at first, several NF's got sent back for tracking issues (this was 20+ years ago, so relatively early NF NXS), and just about every other brand on the market got sent back multiples of. Nikon was one of the best brands we sold, as far as a sales vs. warranty ratio.
Quick update. Received a new scope which I will evaluate this week.
 
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How does the glass on this Zeiss compare to an ATACR? anyone have both?
I have a Razor III, an ATACR, SnBs, and a Zeiss, the Zeiss is right there with the SnB as far as clarity, and it's actually brighter. Though the glass comes from the same factory as the ATACR the Zeiss has a slight edge, perhaps due to some of their unique coatings?

Mind you that all those optics are good and you could take anyone of them and be happy, but for the price the Zeiss is impressive.
 
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I have a Razor III, an ATACR, SnBs, and a Zeiss, the Zeiss is right there with the SnB as far as clarity, and it's actually brighter. Thought the glass comes from the same factory as the ATACR the Zeiss has a slight edge, perhaps due to some of their unique coatings?

Mind you that all those optics are good and you could take anyone of them and be happy, but for the price the Zeiss is impressive.
It does come from the same factory as the NF glass (LOW in Japan), but each company has their own set of specs, parameters, needs, and wants, so they won’t all be equal.

This is why one brand’s LOW made glass looks totally different than another brand’s LOW made glass. And why the view through the scope is totally different.
 
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I agree that the Zeiss LRP S3 4x25x50 is an outstanding value for the prices available. I also think that the Leuplold Mark 5 PR-1 3.6x18x44 Illuminated #180725 is a great hunting scope value for it's available price. Almost everyone can qualify for some sort of VIP pricing.
Anyone have an idea where the Mark 5 glass is sourced?
 
I agree that the Zeiss LRP S3 4x25x50 is an outstanding value for the prices available. I also think that the Leuplold Mark 5 PR-1 3.6x18x44 Illuminated #180725 is a great hunting scope value for it's available price. Almost everyone can qualify for some sort of VIP pricing.
Anyone have an idea where the Mark 5 glass is sourced?
the arken reject pile
 
the arken reject pile
LMAO, good one!

Ironically I was thinking of selling my 3.6-44 and set it up on a tripod to look through it, I thought to myself that the glass is actually not that bad. Which begs the question, and as I am going to be the owner soon of a 25x Arken... how is the glass on those?
 
I have a 4-25 on a 21lb 338 edge. I have ~220 rounds through it so far. At 100 yards I can't get it as clears as my MRK5. The image doesn't seem that great. Parallax is maxed at 1000yards. While shooting at 1k I did some dialing after shooting about 30 rounds and the turret felt stiff at first then went back to normal. I noticed it twice. I planned to try to get out passed 2k in next month or so. It will likely be sent back after summer for parallax/image and turret. I haven't checked the illumination yet. It did seem to track with my buddies ATACR. His is on an edge as well same load shooting same dope.
 
@Puredrive I know this might sound stupid, but have you tried calling Zeiss CS? Or are you just emailing with them back & forth? Calling usually gets shit done wherever and whatever the product is. When they can hear the frustration in your voice, it tends to help light a fire in helping the customer get back on track.

I've only called Zeiss CS once in my life, and it was to ask a question, and they were helpful and prompt to answer the phone. This was many years ago, but I've never had to call them or contact them for a scope issue in over 20 years of owning Zeiss scopes, and I sold tons of the Conquests and Diavari's when I worked at the gun store back in the day. That was the ONLY scope brand I can recall having NEVER sent a scope back for a defect. I sent back a pile of Swarovski's, more Leupolds than your average person will ever see in their entire lifetime, Meopta's were just getting popular here in the states back then, and they had a few gremlins to work out at first, several NF's got sent back for tracking issues (this was 20+ years ago, so relatively early NF NXS), and just about every other brand on the market got sent back multiples of. Nikon was one of the best brands we sold, as far as a sales vs. warranty ratio.
Zeiss took care of it by sending a new scope. This sample is night and day of the previous. The diopter was super easy to set and the focus was inline of what my expectations have been for the price point. No issues with the illumination. Overall I am very satisfied.
 
Zeiss took care of it by sending a new scope. This sample is night and day of the previous. The diopter was super easy to set and the focus was inline of what my expectations have been for the price point. No issues with the illumination. Overall I am very satisfied.
Awesome! Glad you finally get to see what all the fuss is about with the LRP S3's. 😂👍🏼
 
Was thinking about swapping out my Razor AMG 6-24x for either a S3 6-36 or a Steiner T6xi 5-30x. Originally got the razor to save on weight but I ended up not going super lightweight on the rifle anyway. Can never seem to get the Razor to adjust to my eye.

I'm very new to higher end precision and having a really hard time deciding. I was set on the Steiner before going through this thread. I gather I won't be disappointed with either. I don't compete as of now so the Steiner's lower weight and lower profile turrets seem to make it better suited for my intended use. This is a rough hobby for the indecisive.

Appreciate everyone sharing their experiences on here. Really helps those of us who are just getting started.
 
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I finally got a chance to take mine out to the range yesterday. I really enjoyed using it. I was shooting early morning so the sun was out in full force, but the brightness of the scope was surprising. One of the main reasons I wanted to try the scope was the reticle though, and it did not disappoint. Only used it out to 200 yards but can't wait to take it to 800 and put it through some more paces. Already decided that an upcoming build that I have will be getting another Zeiss optic.
 
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I finally got a chance to take mine out to the range yesterday. I really enjoyed using it. I was shooting early morning so the sun was out in full force, but the brightness of the scope was surprising. One of the main reasons I wanted to try the scope was the reticle though, and it did not disappoint. Only used it out to 200 yards but can't wait to take it to 800 and put it through some more paces. Already decided that an upcoming build that I have will be getting another Zeiss optic.
Yeah, I was thinking my 6-36 Gen 3 Razor and my 6-36 Zeiss are really equals in optical quality. For the money I think the S3 is probably the best thing out there right now. I have to pick up a 4-25 S3 I think.
 
My 636 is on a Ruger RPR for an upcoming series of 200 yd 22lr matches we will be having.
Last Saturday at 200 yds , I did not need my Leica 82 Asph Spotting scope because I could clearly see the hits against a white background at 200 yds at 36X.
Hits on an orange plate we have were 10/10 although I did have turn up the Sordins to clearly hear each hit.
Used Lapua Super Long Range but will try Eley CMP this weekend to try an ascertain any difference.
Anyway I did change
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the trigger in the RPR to a Timney which really made the difference.
 
Anyone catch the EuroOptic episode? Seems that there might be room for an LRP S1 in the Zeiss line up soon.


I hope their idea of an "S1" would be basically "tacticalizing" the lightweight V4 lineup and giving it an FFP MIL/MIL setup with a slightly thinner version of the S3 reticle, and locking exposed elevation and windage caps and a 34mm tube. Everything else on them is already perfect for a hunting scope, but would love to see FFP, MIL/MIL, and a bigger tube. Even if it adds a few ounces, I'd see still be happy to get a couple of them if they keep them under 30oz.
 
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I hope their idea of an "S1" would be basically "tacticalizing" the lightweight V4 lineup and giving it an FFP MIL/MIL setup with a slightly thinner version of the S3 reticle, and locking exposed elevation and windage caps and a 34mm tube. Everything else on them is already perfect for a hunting scope, but would love to see FFP, MIL/MIL, and a bigger tube. Even if it adds a few ounces, I'd see still be happy to get a couple of them if they keep them under 30oz.

I’ve said for a while if they’d do a V4/V6 in MIL/MIL I’d be in a for a couple for hunting rifles.
 
Has anyone had a 4-25 S3 side by side with the good old S&B 5-25 and could offer some insight and comparison?

2 (of the quite a few) S&B 5-25s I have currently sit on a long barreled .223 AR as well as a 6.5 CM AR. While they work great, I'm thinking I want scopes with tree reticles and a wider FOV on the bottom end than the S&B's for how I use those 2 rifles, but I also don't want to take much of a step back in glass quality either (even after all these years the S&B 5-25s still have great glass, and I don't want to give that up.)

Thoughts? Would I be disappointed selling the 2 S&B 5-25s on the ARs and putting S3 4-25s on top?

One thing I am a bit concerned about is it sure seems like there have been quite a few posts in here with people having to send their brand new S3s back for illumination or parallax issues--especially in the first few months after release. Those posts with scope issues right out of the box have tapered off, but they haven't entirely disappeared either... has Zeiss got these sorted out yet?
 
Has anyone had a 4-25 S3 side by side with the good old S&B 5-25 and could offer some insight and comparison?

2 (of the quite a few) S&B 5-25s I have currently sit on a long barreled .223 AR as well as a 6.5 CM AR. While they work great, I'm thinking I want scopes with tree reticles and a wider FOV on the bottom end than the S&B's for how I use those 2 rifles, but I also don't want to take much of a step back in glass quality either (even after all these years the S&B 5-25s still have great glass, and I don't want to give that up.)

Thoughts? Would I be disappointed selling the 2 S&B 5-25s on the ARs and putting S3 4-25s on top?

One thing I am a bit concerned about is it sure seems like there have been quite a few posts in here with people having to send their brand new S3s back for illumination or parallax issues--especially in the first few months after release. Those posts with scope issues right out of the box have tapered off, but they haven't entirely disappeared either... has Zeiss got these sorted out yet?
I haven't seen a single thread about a parallax issue on the S3...Only the illumination issue, and only a couple, at that. Buy an S3, and try it. If you don't like it, sell it. Then you can compare it side-by-side with the S&B 5-25. Keep the one you like, sell the other.
 
Has anyone had a 4-25 S3 side by side with the good old S&B 5-25 and could offer some insight and comparison?

2 (of the quite a few) S&B 5-25s I have currently sit on a long barreled .223 AR as well as a 6.5 CM AR. While they work great, I'm thinking I want scopes with tree reticles and a wider FOV on the bottom end than the S&B's for how I use those 2 rifles, but I also don't want to take much of a step back in glass quality either (even after all these years the S&B 5-25s still have great glass, and I don't want to give that up.)

Thoughts? Would I be disappointed selling the 2 S&B 5-25s on the ARs and putting S3 4-25s on top?

One thing I am a bit concerned about is it sure seems like there have been quite a few posts in here with people having to send their brand new S3s back for illumination or parallax issues--especially in the first few months after release. Those posts with scope issues right out of the box have tapered off, but they haven't entirely disappeared either... has Zeiss got these sorted out yet?
I have had several SnBs, and I have the S3 6x36, the glass will be a small step down from the PM2 if you go with the S3 in terms clarity. Now that i have had more time wirh the Zeiss. That said the glass is still very good. The PM2 turrets are better as well with the second rev indicator, the S3 just has lines denoting the second or third rotations. The 3s 4-25 is a little smaller and lighter than the PM2 as well so for a gas gun that might be a good thing. The S3 is about 90% of a PM2 if I were to do a very quick seat of the pants comparison. To me the S3 compares well against the ATACR series, so very good optics. The only reason I sold my SnBs is because of the disappointing warranty situation, I believe the S3 on the other hand is lifetime.

Overall it's still very very hard to beat the PM2 5-25, more impressive considering how old that design is. The glass in those is up there with ZCO, so yes small hit if you go with the S3, but not too bad.

As FuhQ has pointed out, you can always sell the S3 or the PM, the markets are still good for both.
 
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One other thing to note. The parallax will not be nearly as forgiving for a set it and forget it on the 4x25 vs the pm2. The ultrashort design is inherently more sensitive to it.
 
The 4-25 is actually pretty good with setting and forgetting parallax. It's not really ultrashort. Shot a stage I think I mentioned out to just over 1200 yards and from about 600 yards I didn't touch the parallax when shooting out.
 
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The 4-25 is actually pretty good with setting and forgetting parallax. It's not really ultrashort. Shot a stage I think I mentioned out to just over 1200 yards and from about 600 yards I didn't touch the parallax when shooting out.
We will have to agree to disagree the 3 I have as well as others that I know that have them all including some guys that are sponsored by zeiss find the 4x25 to be touchy
 
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We will have to agree to disagree the 3 I have as well as others that I know that have them all including some guys that are sponsored by zeiss find the 4x25 to be touchy

well, to be fair, if you have consistent and repeatable point of aim setups and fundamentals, parallax will become less "touchy". no offense.
 
Pretty sure some of the guys that are winning national and world championships have those. And when time came for the competitions to master guess what wasnt the score on their guns. They used the other zeiss products but not the s3 despite being given them.
I'm not saying they are a bad product, they aren't. But the shorter then standard length has some compromises. With optics there are no free lunches.
But I get it you don't want anyone to criticize your scope that you have so anyone that does must just not know how to shoot or have terrible fundamentals, npa ect
 
We will have to agree to disagree the 3 I have as well as others that I know that have them all including some guys that are sponsored by zeiss find the 4x25 to be touchy

Yup will just have to do that. I might be lucky in the one I have but parallax is not picky at all.
 
Now shooting the S3 636 on a Ruger RPR with Zeiss rings at 200 yds.
We use a 2” center dot on white paper for sighting and I can clearly see the 22lr hits at 36X.
In the black bull, not so much and it’s hard even using my Leica 82mm ASPH 50X!
The illumination is outstanding and I just set it just above the black background, the center pip on the ‘10’ and bang away. The thickness of the subtensions is just right for me.
The large adjustment knobs with large numbers and marks works well for me.
I am very pleased with this scope!
-Richard
 
I have had several SnBs, and I have the S3 6x36, the glass will be a small step down from the PM2 if you go with the S3 in terms clarity. Now that i have had more time wirh the Zeiss. That said the glass is still very good. The PM2 turrets are better as well with the second rev indicator, the S3 just has lines denoting the second or third rotations. The 3s 4-25 is a little smaller and lighter than the PM2 as well so for a gas gun that might be a good thing. The S3 is about 90% of a PM2 if I were to do a very quick seat of the pants comparison. To me the S3 compares well against the ATACR series, so very good optics. The only reason I sold my SnBs is because of the disappointing warranty situation, I believe the S3 on the other hand is lifetime.

Overall it's still very very hard to beat the PM2 5-25, more impressive considering how old that design is. The glass in those is up there with ZCO, so yes small hit if you go with the S3, but not too bad.

As FuhQ has pointed out, you can always sell the S3 or the PM, the markets are still good for both.
The Zeiss S3 warranty is only 5 years on the electronics/illuminated reticle not lifetime.

Nightforce is only 3 years on their electronics/ illuminated reticles.

SIG and Trijicon both have a limited 5 year warranty from date of manufacture not date of actual purchase on their electronics such as illuminated reticle, red dots, rangefinders, rangefinder binoculars etc.

Steiner is only 3 or 5 years on illuminated reticle electronics.

I don't think S&B has a lifetime warranty either. 2 years on their electronic components and 10 year warranty on the rest of the scope.

Vortex is the only one with bumper to bumper type lifetime warranty including their electronics. So do Burris, Athlon, Leupold (only their scopes with illuminated reticles and red dots and anything electronic that physically attaches the the guns are covered by their lifetime warranty but not their rangefinders which only have a 2 year warranty) and Maven and maybe even Primary Arms and Tract Optics.

There are other shady companies for which most of them I won't mention except for Bushnell except at this time that state they have a lifetime warranty but don't want to actually want to honor it when that time comes or when the repair cost doesn't seem to be financially feasible to THEM to actually honor their own lifetime warranty and will suggest buying a new model from them at a much higher price than you can buy them through second party dealers.

Whenever companies state lifetime warranty always be sure to check if that warranty includes electronics which many brands surprisingly don't cover electronic components under their lifetime warranty.

Bushnell for example only has a one year warranty on their electronics such as Illuminated reticles in their scopes as well as only one year on their brand of products electronics even though they might actually trick you into believing they might have a lifetime ironclad warranty. This may be a contributing reason they have an F rating (opposite of A rating) according to the BBB for screwing over their customers come warranty time and so does their parent company Vista Outdoors who also currently has an F rating according to the BBB. There's an unbelievable amount of complaints regarding Bushnell's extremely shady warranty practices as well. Just Google "Bushnell warranty complaints" and "Bushnell customer complaints". Lots and lots of real BS excuses to not honor their warranty and with a real screw their customer attitudes over the past decade. They used to be good in the 80's 90's 2000's but after that just screw their customers it seems... Something drastic must have changed with Bushnell sometime between the 2000s-2010.
 
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While these are on sale I’ll ask…how’s the image brightness through the mag range on the 6-36? Does it darken up quite a bite starting at 30x?