Swarovski Scopes for Long Range Hunting

My experience is with comparing the z6 5-30X50 and z8i 2.7-18X56 with my Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50. My experience with z5 5-25X52 is with a couple seasons hunting three different states; so it saw lots of action. I had four of these trying to get one with better glass than my 6500. Didn't happen, but I kept the last one because it was four ounces lighter than the Bushnell. It had the ballistic turret. Twice it had to go back to customer service. Both times the note in the box told me the erector failed and was replaced. The owner of the z6 and z8i and I agreed the Bushnell has better glass than the z6. He sold it asap. The z8i smoked my Bushnell in the low light test by twenty minutes. The Bushnell beat the z6 by nine minutes. You don't get what you pay for you get what you shop for.

Main differences, I guess, is glass quality. The z8i is more like the Schmitt & Bender 12-50X I compared with my Bushnell. Normally I have to switch back and forth to see a difference. With both of these there was no need to switch. Instantly they were noticeably better.

I have almost fifty pages of comparing optics. Often the comparison includes my son-in-law or adult grandson. Occasionally the owner is there to put in his two cents worth. All are welcome.
 
chesspunker said:
What are the main differences between Z5, Z6, and Z8?
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Z5's are not HD, 1" tube. z6 and Z8 are HD, but the Z8 uses different glass. The Turret on the Z8 is 7 mil single rotation, while the z6 is 14 moa single rotation on the ballistic turrets. The Z8 uses a different spring mechanism as well.
 
I have had 2 of the Swarovski Z6's and loved them both. They both had the ballistic turret turret though. I personally don't mind being at max power to shoot past 500 yds. I also have a few Nightforce scopes that are excellent but a little heavy. I have recently started running the Leupold VX6 HD and the Mark 5 HD on my hunting rifles to keep the weight down. I am impressed with both of these scopes so far and the glass is much better than the previous models. If you want the best of both worlds though Schmidt & Bender is the way to go from what I hear.
 
All I own anymore its Swarovski and Nightforce I have a z5 3.5-18x44 bt4w on my Sako finnlight 300win and never had any issues with it the glass it's plenty clear to judge an animal they track great and they are very durable I don't believe a z8 or z6 will outlast a z5 personally if you want a scope good out to 500-600 I would go z5 if you want to shoot further with better glass for long range I would step up to a x5 3-18x50 you can't go wrong with a Nightforce nxs either
 
kiwikid said:
Looking on line the difference in price between a standard Z6 with Plex reticle and a Z6 with Plex reticle and Ballistic Turret is around $70. Although the Z8 is a very nice scope you have to buy the Ballistic Turret as an optional extra and they cost between $270 and $300. For you gentlemen with Z5 and Z6 BT models you may be interested in this site https://znikiz.com/
They make 5 ring sets that replace the standard Swarovski set of 3 rings.
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Kiwikid, you seem well versed with the Swarovski products, thank you for your input.

How have you found the tracking and reliability of the Z6's to be? I'm considering a new Z6i or Z8i for a hunting rifle. I have experience with one Z6 3-18x50 BT of my buddy's. We did a tall target test and it tracked spot on. His field use has mirrored that, but its a sample size of one.
 
First up please let me say that I have no association with Swarovski. I think I have 11 Swarovski scopes 7 of which have the Ballistic Turrets. They all track perfectly. I only have one Z6 (2.5-15x44mm) which is on a Cooper Custom Classic. It is zeroed at 100m and I have tested it to 500m. Recently I shot a red deer hind at 375m in the neck, I just twisted the turret up to 375 settled the cross hairs on her neck and she dropped like a stone. The Z5 BT are just as good but the Z6 glass is a little better IMO.
 
WRO stated some very good facts about the turret rotations on the Z6 and Z8 ballistic turrets. Just recently I read an article from Swarovski stating that the no longer use the term HD for their lenses. The reason they gave for this is because apparently there is no industry standard for an HD lens.
 
Thank you all VERY MUCH! I've pretty much settled on the Z6(i) 3-18x50 BT with the 4WI reticle. When I gave the nice fellow at Swarovski my ballistic information he said that scope will get me out past 800 yards which is plenty far for me.

I'm still considering the Z8(i) 2-16 x 50 BT with the 4WI reticle, but I'm not sure I need to spend the extra money. I like the idea of going to 18 magnification on the Z6 and saving a few bucks. The Z8 will get me past 1000 yards because the turret has more adjustment room than the Z6, but I'm not going to shoot at a game animal that far and I'm not a shooting competition guy.
 
I have a z6 3x18-50 wiith the BRH reticle and it is by far my best scope. It is clear at any power and really gathers light. One really nice feature of the scope I found was the feature of a click on the parallax adjustment at 100 yds. Either scope you get will last you a life time and be hard to beat.
 
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