For decades I've used the 'hold-over' method to adjust for range. Like most people who work at something for that long, I got to be reasonably good at it. I've enjoyed having to think about ballistics - what's the range and where will the projectile be relative to the line of sight? Whichever new scopes I bought to go with the Mausers, they'd be getting some use with hold-over hunting.
I was also keen to broaden my skills and use scopes with click-adjusting turrets, at least for some situations. That would be fun. Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss, Steiner, Kahles - I looked at all of these, comparing designs and features and working out what would matter the most for stalking, spotlighting and long range shooting. Maybe even for driven boar?
Sniping at rabbits and foxes with flat shooting and accurate varmint rifles has been a favourite discipline for me. A scope with clicking turrets would fit perfectly with this, especially if I moved beyond the 250 and 400 meter ranges I've shot to with fast .17 and .224 rifles. With adjustable turrets, even calibers that aren't scorchers become useable at longer ranges, provided the ballistics of an accurate load are well understood. The benefits will be less recoil, muzzle blast, barrel wear, cleaning and powder consumption and better case life. Probably better accuracy too. I have a match barrel in 6.5 x 55 being made for me by Mauser at the moment, as well as a 243 Winchester barrel in standard profile; these will go very well with clicking turrets. On my wish list are a mild shooting 222 Remington, then a 300 Winchester Magnum for bigger beasties at long range. Both will be in match profile.
As with camera lenses, the design of riflescopes is a complicated process of balancing optical and physical characteristics. Compromises have to be made. It's an engineering challenge which translates into a difficult decision for shooters. No riflescope will be a perfect solution, so the question becomes, which of the excellent products available has the fewest problematic design parameters given the intended application? Factors to consider in the optical space are light gathering, light transmission, centre resolution, edge resolution, distortion, objective field of view, subjective field of view, tunnel effect, field curvature, eye relief, exit pupil, diopter adjustment, parallax adjustment, zoom range, reticle style, reticle features and subtentions and reticle focal plane. In the physical space there's size, shape, weight, materials, tube diameter, tube length, mounting system and compatibility with a rifle, durability, weather resistance, hydrophobic lens coatings, position of controls, handling, availability of accessories, warranty and cost. For illumination there's which part of the reticle is lit up, how much of the target does it cover, is the adjustment stepped or continuous, by a dial or push buttons, is the range of brightness good for dark nights and sunny days, what's the activation method, automatic switch-off, battery life and battery changing. For the turrets there's diameter, profile, location on the tube, under-hang of the housing, elevation and windage range, click intervals, click tension and feel, rotation indicators, more tactile clicks, locking mechanisms, adjustable zero-stop, interchangeable range indicators, the markings and whether they're engraved or just painted. Phew! And there's still more.
When we pick up a scope we get to experience the designers' choices. Some of their decisions will make an immediate impression; others take much closer inspection to appreciate or understand.
My first look through a Leica ER scope was a real eye opener. How sharp is that! A typical Leica design; resolution and contrast were excellent but barrel distortion at low magnification was quite noticeable. Great eye relief, and the newer ERi scopes have illumination. The Magnus scopes also have illumination as well as six times zoom, thanks to an innovative optical design that Swarovski claim was stolen from them. A read of the legal proceedings in the UK is very interesting. I do wonder about the compromises that come with six power magnification though. I could be happy with a more conservative three or four times zoom.
Both the Leica Magnus and Swarovski Z6i scopes have push-button adjustments for brightness. They're slow to operate (the Magnus system is the better of the two) and are situated on rather awkward housings up on top of the ocular lenses. Like the ER and Magnus, the Z6i scopes made quite an impression; great optics, reticles, illumination and smooth adjusting zoom and diopter rings. The Swaros tended to be lighter than the others, which is good if that matters. Weight helps with recoil though and tends to come from thicker, stronger tubes.
The Schmidt & Bender hunting scopes I tried were good but didn't make the great impression I thought they would. At the time I was thinking about whether I wanted reticles in the first focal plane or second focal plane. I'll write a post on the difference between the two later. Watching the S&B front focal plane reticles disappear into the distance when the magnification was dialled down made me wonder how easy it would be to aim at a big, grumpy and fast moving animal I might meet up close. I concluded that second focal plane reticles are a good choice for general hunting, including stalking. A first focal plane scope with a fine reticle would be just the thing for longer range sniping.
Cue the entry of the Steiner Military 5-25x56 - an up-to-date technical tour de force. It's aimed at knocking the older Schmidt & Bender PM II 5-25x56 scopes off their perch and is making quite an impact, according to the knowledgeable folk at Finnaccuracy. Their site provides good information on the wonderful Multipurpose Sniper Reticle they have designed, which has been picked up by Schmidt & Bender and Steiner, as well as by Kahles for their 6-24x56.
So, I was warming to the idea of having scopes with a moderate zoom range and reticles in the second focal plane for stalking and a tactically oriented, first focal plane, higher power scope with clicking turrets for sniping. But which ones?
While doing my research I started picking up references to the new versions of Zeiss Victory HT scopes. Zeiss are bragging about achieving more than 95% light transmission with a new formulation of Schott glass. This would be very handy for the dawn, dusk and night shooting I do. I contacted some early adopters who reported they were very happy, particularly with performance in moonlight. And, the Victory HT scopes could be ordered with 'Absehenschnellverstellung'. I'll be calling that ASV. It's a system that allows the shooter to install graduated range marking scales onto the elevation turret, chosen to match the ballistic curve of the ammunition and projectile in use. Zeiss provide a computer program to help identify which scale to use. The latest Victory HT scopes have ASV+ and included in delivery are nine graduated rings, as well as a standard ring with an old fashioned linear scale. This one's for folk who prefer to do their ballistics in the field rather than before the event in their study at home. Folks like me; until I get the programming sorted out, that is.
The Zeiss Victory HT scopes also have illumination with a particularly fine dot. It's the same size as the thickness of the crosshair. It's adjusted by a continuously turning rheostat, from very dim to very bright and remembers its last setting. The Victory HT scopes provide four times zoom; that's momma bear territory in my book; not too little and not too much.
The highest power in the Victory HT scopes is a 3-12x56mm, meaning that Zeiss have designed these for a variety of general hunting purposes. It also explains why Zeiss have not included parallax adjustment. Their word on this would be that for general hunting the shooter will not want to, nor have time to, fiddle with a parallax control. As much as I appreciate parallax adjustment in a scope, I have to agree with Zeiss in this respect. A point of contrast can be seen with Leica's Magnus 2.5-16x56, which does have a parallax control, to cater for its higher magnification. The other Leica scopes, Magnus and ERi, have parallax fixed at 100 meters, just like the Victory HTs. I'll write more on parallax later.
Given the Zeiss Victory HT's excellent light transmission, the ideal illumination system, the ASV+ turret calibration and their clean lines, these are the scopes I chose. I had asked enough questions of contacts and sales staff ahead of time to be confident that the Mauser 30mm rings would provide enough clearance for the Victory HT 3-12x56mm. The photo below provides the proof. This is an ideal mounting.
The next photo shows the Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50mm.
And this one is the Zeiss Victory HT 1.5-6x42mm.
Keen observers will have noticed that the blurry box in the background is not from Zeiss. Stay tuned for more on that.
When we pick up a scope we get to experience the designers' choices. Some of their decisions will make an immediate impression; others take much closer inspection to appreciate or understand.
My first look through a Leica ER scope was a real eye opener. How sharp is that! A typical Leica design; resolution and contrast were excellent but barrel distortion at low magnification was quite noticeable. Great eye relief, and the newer ERi scopes have illumination. The Magnus scopes also have illumination as well as six times zoom, thanks to an innovative optical design that Swarovski claim was stolen from them. A read of the legal proceedings in the UK is very interesting. I do wonder about the compromises that come with six power magnification though. I could be happy with a more conservative three or four times zoom.
Both the Leica Magnus and Swarovski Z6i scopes have push-button adjustments for brightness. They're slow to operate (the Magnus system is the better of the two) and are situated on rather awkward housings up on top of the ocular lenses. Like the ER and Magnus, the Z6i scopes made quite an impression; great optics, reticles, illumination and smooth adjusting zoom and diopter rings. The Swaros tended to be lighter than the others, which is good if that matters. Weight helps with recoil though and tends to come from thicker, stronger tubes.
The Schmidt & Bender hunting scopes I tried were good but didn't make the great impression I thought they would. At the time I was thinking about whether I wanted reticles in the first focal plane or second focal plane. I'll write a post on the difference between the two later. Watching the S&B front focal plane reticles disappear into the distance when the magnification was dialled down made me wonder how easy it would be to aim at a big, grumpy and fast moving animal I might meet up close. I concluded that second focal plane reticles are a good choice for general hunting, including stalking. A first focal plane scope with a fine reticle would be just the thing for longer range sniping.
Cue the entry of the Steiner Military 5-25x56 - an up-to-date technical tour de force. It's aimed at knocking the older Schmidt & Bender PM II 5-25x56 scopes off their perch and is making quite an impact, according to the knowledgeable folk at Finnaccuracy. Their site provides good information on the wonderful Multipurpose Sniper Reticle they have designed, which has been picked up by Schmidt & Bender and Steiner, as well as by Kahles for their 6-24x56.
So, I was warming to the idea of having scopes with a moderate zoom range and reticles in the second focal plane for stalking and a tactically oriented, first focal plane, higher power scope with clicking turrets for sniping. But which ones?
While doing my research I started picking up references to the new versions of Zeiss Victory HT scopes. Zeiss are bragging about achieving more than 95% light transmission with a new formulation of Schott glass. This would be very handy for the dawn, dusk and night shooting I do. I contacted some early adopters who reported they were very happy, particularly with performance in moonlight. And, the Victory HT scopes could be ordered with 'Absehenschnellverstellung'. I'll be calling that ASV. It's a system that allows the shooter to install graduated range marking scales onto the elevation turret, chosen to match the ballistic curve of the ammunition and projectile in use. Zeiss provide a computer program to help identify which scale to use. The latest Victory HT scopes have ASV+ and included in delivery are nine graduated rings, as well as a standard ring with an old fashioned linear scale. This one's for folk who prefer to do their ballistics in the field rather than before the event in their study at home. Folks like me; until I get the programming sorted out, that is.
The Zeiss Victory HT scopes also have illumination with a particularly fine dot. It's the same size as the thickness of the crosshair. It's adjusted by a continuously turning rheostat, from very dim to very bright and remembers its last setting. The Victory HT scopes provide four times zoom; that's momma bear territory in my book; not too little and not too much.
The highest power in the Victory HT scopes is a 3-12x56mm, meaning that Zeiss have designed these for a variety of general hunting purposes. It also explains why Zeiss have not included parallax adjustment. Their word on this would be that for general hunting the shooter will not want to, nor have time to, fiddle with a parallax control. As much as I appreciate parallax adjustment in a scope, I have to agree with Zeiss in this respect. A point of contrast can be seen with Leica's Magnus 2.5-16x56, which does have a parallax control, to cater for its higher magnification. The other Leica scopes, Magnus and ERi, have parallax fixed at 100 meters, just like the Victory HTs. I'll write more on parallax later.
Given the Zeiss Victory HT's excellent light transmission, the ideal illumination system, the ASV+ turret calibration and their clean lines, these are the scopes I chose. I had asked enough questions of contacts and sales staff ahead of time to be confident that the Mauser 30mm rings would provide enough clearance for the Victory HT 3-12x56mm. The photo below provides the proof. This is an ideal mounting.
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| Zeiss Victory HT 3-12x56mm on Mauser M03 using Mauser 30mm steel rings |
The next photo shows the Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50mm.
 |
| Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50mm on Mauser M03 using Mauser 30mm steel rings |
And this one is the Zeiss Victory HT 1.5-6x42mm.
 |
| Zeiss Victory HT 1.5-6x42mm on Mauser M03 using Mauser 30mm steel rings |
Keen observers will have noticed that the blurry box in the background is not from Zeiss. Stay tuned for more on that.
Hi. Thank you, your blog is great. There is different hights on the mauser mount, high and low for 30mm tubes. do you know if a variable scope say 3-12x56 fitts the low mount. Regards m03 ownwer from Sweden
ReplyDeleteHello m03 owner from Sweden. :-) Tack för din kommentar. Den första fotot ovan i det här inlägget visar en 3-12x56mm Zeiss Victory HT omfattning monterad på en Mauser M03. Det är en perfekt passform med hjälp av 30mm stålringar. Mauser har rådde mig att det bara finns en höjd av ringar i 30mm och dessa har en 5 mm ökning, mätt från basen till botten av omfattningen röret. Om 5mm ökningen inte är tillräckligt, kan Mauser leverera en 4 mm distansblock, som kommer med längre skruvar. Låt mig veta om du har några andra frågor. :-)
DeleteThanks for your comment. The first photo above in this post shows a 3-12x56mm Zeiss Victory HT scope mounted on a Mauser M03. It is a perfect fit, using the 30mm steel rings. Mauser have advised me that there is only one height of rings in 30mm and these have a 5mm rise, measured from the base to the bottom of the scope tube. If 5mm rise is not enough, Mauser can supply a 4mm spacer block, which comes with longer screws. Let me know if you have any other questions. :-) Rick.