Swarovski z5 or z6

[Rich Coyle]

You guys are the lucky ones. I expected the z5 to blow away the Bushnell and the Nightforce. It came in third on an optics chart. In fact both the Bushnell and the Swarovski were in a totally lower class when it came to optics chart or low light. The next two Swarovskis were about as good during regular light, but fell behind the first z5 in low light. The forth one matched the first one in low light performance which matched the VX-6 4-24X52 and the afore mentioned Bushnell. It's very interesting that my son-in-law and the gunsmith saw the same thing I did when comparing these scopes.

Edited to add:
I only have two rifles I hunt with. Both have the Bushnells. My son-in-law took the first one and put it on one of his rifles. He has a whole pile of guns. He loves guns. I like to hunt.

 

[Educated Redneck]

Cool. You might be right. Which Z5 size did you compare to which bushnell and night force size and model?

 

[Rich Coyle]

This was the beginning of my optics education. Since then I compiled this kind of info for at least fifty optics; spotting scopes, binoculars and rifle scopes.

11/13/10 Bushnell 6500 4 ½-30X50 mil dot, Swarovski Z5 5-25X52, Nightforce NP-R2 12-42X56

The sky was totally overcast with an occasional sprinkle. That takes care of the weather. Now the optics.

I purchased my first Bushnell 6500 4 ½-30X50 mil dot in 2009 for $750. I sent it back for warranty work because it was blurry above 25X. When it was returned it was great on the top end but the lower magnifications were blurry. I returned it to Bushnell for a refund. After a few months I purchased another, the present mil dot one for $620, which is better than any other scope I compared it to for daylight hunting; except my Nightforce. I figured by then the "pipeline" of the originals was empty and the problem solved units would be available.

At the shooting range I have compared this Bushnell with many Leupolds, Burrises, Nikons, Swarovskis, and others. None so far are as sharp or bright in sunlight as this Bushnell except a Minox 62 spotting scope. With both set on 30X the Minox produced a barely sharper image. Since none were as good as the Bushnell and none were as variable as the Bushnell I decided to purchase a more competitive Swarovski to compare with. I figured the z5 would smoke the 6500. I already owned the 12-42X56 Nightforce in the following comparison.

I compared a Swarovski Z5 5-25X52 ($1,675) with my Bushnell 6500 4 ½-30X50 Mil-Dot ( $620) and my Nightforce NP-R2 12-42X56 ($1,440). It took about two hours to complete the comparison. I made an "eye" chart with five lines on an 8 1/2X11 copy sheet, laminated it to keep it dry, and taped it to a cardboard box. The lines are 9/32" (.281") wide with 9/32" spaces between the lines. After setting the box out I drove down the road a ways.

The test idea was to see at what range I could no longer see lines, but a grey rectangle, and then turn the scopes up and focus them and record the magnification setting. After reading the following and think about the cost, which would you keep? After this comparison I returned the Swarovski for a full refund. Last week I ordered another because it is lighter than the Bushnell; but it does not compare with the Nightforce.

Here are the yardages and magnification results:

202 - Swarovski: 5 1/2, Bushnell: 4 ½ with ease

236 – Swarovski: 6 Bushnell: 5 ½

309 – Swarovski: 8 ¼ Bushnell: 7 ½

393 – Swarovski: 10 Bushnell: 10 ½

470 – Swarovski: 14 Bushnell: 15

521 – Swarovski: 16 ½ Bushnell: 15 ½ Nightforce: 12

572 – Swarovski: 17 ½ Bushnell: 17 Nightforce: 12 ¼

690 – Swarovski: 24 Bushnell: 24 Nightforce: 18

706 – Swarovski: 24 Bushnell 24 Nightforce: 18

724 – Swarovski: 25 Bushnell: 27 Nightforce: 20

 

[Buzzsaw]

couldnt find High Power Optics aftermarket turrets

Some of the best $10K you ever spent though!

I'm now shopping for a 3rd Z5. 3.5-18X44mm with BRH reticle, to be outfitted with the High Power Optics aftermarket turrets.

 

[Pdvdh]

highpoweroptics.com