Zeiss Conquest Gavia 85 Spotting Scope Review
My first day to use the spotter in the field was while confirming DOPE out to 1000 yds for an upcoming local PRS shoot. The particular gun club I am a part of in northeast Colorado has hands down the worst mirage I have ever experienced. Coming from the Southeast, that's saying something. Let me tell you, the Conquest stood up to the test.
While I was initially concerned about the lack of a fine adjustment knob for focus, what I considered a must for such high mirage, the large textured focus ring was quite easy to dial in to a desired setting. Not only could I see the actual shapes of the targets at 1000 (which is more often than not quite difficult), I could actually make out individual impacts on the steel with ease. I could stop right there and call this spotter a winner, but we're not done.
View attachment 79575
The conquest ready for spotting on the shooting pad of my local range
View attachment 79574
Picture through the Conquest of steel at the 1000 yard line
For sake of thoroughness, I decided some side-by-side comparison should be done. The only spotter I own at the time is a Vortex Razor HD 11x33. While a great scope, I wanted something a little more on par size and pricewise with the conquest. Thus, I got my hands on a Swarovski ATS 65.
This is a good time to mention that MSRP for the Zeiss Conquest is $1999. Street price can vary. Given that the Swarovski is 20-60x power and has an MSRP pushing $3300 for the 80mm bell, it makes a good comparison to evaluate bang for your buck. If the Conquest even held its own side-by-side in terms of use and clarity, then it would be more than I could ask for.
I ran the two spotters side by side at a local shoot and was immediately blown away. Mirage was quite high that morning, and I found myself seeing bullet wash and impacts more easily with the Conquest than with its more highly regarded and higher priced peer. I had the match director run it for a while as well, and he could not say enough about how clear it was. I then carried the two scopes for a nice ride with the wife through the mountains, and once again the scopes were indistinguishable, if not the edge for clarity going to the Conquest.
While I was initially concerned about the lack of a fine adjustment knob for focus, what I considered a must for such high mirage, the large textured focus ring was quite easy to dial in to a desired setting. Not only could I see the actual shapes of the targets at 1000 (which is more often than not quite difficult), I could actually make out individual impacts on the steel with ease. I could stop right there and call this spotter a winner, but we're not done.
View attachment 79575
The conquest ready for spotting on the shooting pad of my local range
View attachment 79574
Picture through the Conquest of steel at the 1000 yard line
For sake of thoroughness, I decided some side-by-side comparison should be done. The only spotter I own at the time is a Vortex Razor HD 11x33. While a great scope, I wanted something a little more on par size and pricewise with the conquest. Thus, I got my hands on a Swarovski ATS 65.
This is a good time to mention that MSRP for the Zeiss Conquest is $1999. Street price can vary. Given that the Swarovski is 20-60x power and has an MSRP pushing $3300 for the 80mm bell, it makes a good comparison to evaluate bang for your buck. If the Conquest even held its own side-by-side in terms of use and clarity, then it would be more than I could ask for.
I ran the two spotters side by side at a local shoot and was immediately blown away. Mirage was quite high that morning, and I found myself seeing bullet wash and impacts more easily with the Conquest than with its more highly regarded and higher priced peer. I had the match director run it for a while as well, and he could not say enough about how clear it was. I then carried the two scopes for a nice ride with the wife through the mountains, and once again the scopes were indistinguishable, if not the edge for clarity going to the Conquest.
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