Swarovski Z5i?

I am looking for the best glass I can afford for a 6.5 prc. Would like to keep it around 1500 or so. I love the specs of the Z5I 3.5-18x44. It seems that the swaro gets great reviews for glass quality, fit and finish, weight and so on. It seems it only gets dinged on amount of travel and maybe reliability for dialing. My question is....... would you consider this scope a descent option if I was only dialing up to 500? I honestly dont need much travel to go out to that distance, and its not like I will be dialing daily......lol


Thanks for the info!!

No.

I have this scope and I am at a time where I need to decide what to do with it. I can dial out to about 600 with my 280AI which I wish I had more as seem so limited. I put a Custom Scope Turrets on it so I think I get about 13 MOA. It does not have the 4w reticle which I think I am going to have replaced as only $200 and the windage dialing on it worries me. I don't want to give up on it as the scope light weight and the glass is great.

I have a z5i and it goes in a 30-06 I don't really dial with. I run a Zeiss v6 3-18x50 on my PRC. Really like that scope. The v4 4-16x50 is also nice.

I might be safer with a vx5 or vx6

Another option is the Leica amplus 6. Eurooptic has them on sale. I have a Leica er5 4x20x50 & a vx5hd 3x15x56. I prefer the vx5hd slightly more over the Leica but both are great. I had a z5 5x25x52 & it was the most unforgiving eye box I've looked through.

Save your money up and get a better option. Kahles if you want to stick with Swarovski. I prefer ZCO or nightforce

"I might be safer with a vx5 or vx6"

No you wouldn't be safer. Known for numerous tracking reliability issues.

For $1500 you can get a NX8 which is your best option and better than a VX5/6. JMO

Lots of scopes I have not tried, and that's because I tried a NF years ago.

I have Zeis, Swaro. Leica, and Nighrforce. The only thing my hunting rifles wear is Swaro. I have killed more than 30 deer with my McWhorter Muzeloader wearing a Z5i out to 770. The vast majority were 350+ yards. I would not think twice about buying it as a scope.
Night force are good, heavy, and not as good glass for my purposes.

Elkwonder said:

I am looking for the best glass I can afford for a 6.5 prc. Would like to keep it around 1500 or so. I love the specs of the Z5I 3.5-18x44. It seems that the swaro gets great reviews for glass quality, fit and finish, weight and so on. It seems it only gets dinged on amount of travel and maybe reliability for dialing. My question is....... would you consider this scope a descent option if I was only dialing up to 500? I honestly dont need much travel to go out to that distance, and its not like I will be dialing daily......lol


Thanks for the info!!

Click to expand...

No.

Elkwonder said:

I might be safer with a vx5 or vx6

Click to expand...

No

If your budget is $1500, you should focus on reliability and not alpha glass. I can't say I've been unable to kill any animal when I wasn't shooting alpha glass. I can say I've missed animals because a scope didn't track properly or would not hold zero.

IMO you need to be looking at the NF NXS, or NX8, Trijicon TenMile or Maven RS 1.2. All have proven to be very reliable and the glass is more than sufficient for hunting.

Truthfully you can save more money by buying a Bushnell LRHS/LRHSi/LRHS2 or a used SWFA 5-20HD and spend the savings on more ammo to shoot more.

I have a Z5 3.5X18X44,I bought it because it was the best I could find at that weight.
Its on my Custom Husqvarna 7 mm Rem hunting rifle,where weight is a consideration!

For hunting to 500 find your 200yard or MPBR zero and learn the holdover. From your post it doesn't sound like you are gonna be dialing this thing a bunch even on range trips.
For all the talk about failed mechanicals. I have never witnessed it that wasn't due to a manufacturer error that showed itself early and another due to a fall from a truck onto gravel. My Z3 and Kimber went flying squirrel from the treestand once and after I cleared the mud and dirt it was right on where I left it. I have however not gotten a shot because I didn't have the glass for it(that was a VX3 4-14) row pines can be dark in the last 5-10 minutes of legal light. It's also why I am saving my pennies for an illuminated reticle.

Also it's great to say suggest there is better glass or mechanicals for $2500, no joke?!. But if I have parsed out $1500 to be spent on a scope in a budget that includes daycare and diapers I have already accomplished a great feat and I am quitting while ahead. Haha

If you demand great glass and actually want a scope that works for <$1500 retail you should be looking at an S&B Klassik