By Staff Writer: Charles Coker
What a sad day.. I had to send this scope back to Zeiss! Trust me, I REALLY wanted to keep it !
I grew very fond of this scope during the hunting season of 2011. Mounted on a Nosler Trophy Grade rifle in 280 Ackley Improved it accounted for 5 game animals down with 4 shots fired. Yes, 125% success ratio! It just doesn’t get any better as for hunting experiences. Confidence in your gear really can’t be overstated.
I tested the Zeiss Victory FL 4-16×50 with the AVS turret system for elevation.
The scope is the latest from Zeiss with their FL glass which is supposed to increase resolution, contrast and clarity in low light.
Nosler Trophy Grade Zeiss
I have tested directly against my USO SN3 3-17×44 and a S&B 3-12c50 PMII at varying distances out to 400 yards in extremely low light.
And the Zeiss does indeed provide that extra bit of detail image that would enable you to pick out a set of antlers and make the call if it’s a shooter or not at 350 yards nestled up in the brush. Where we hunt in south Texas, making the wrong call on a buck, even a NICE one can get you in hot water.
And it does do it better than the other scopes.
The difference is not shocking but it is there with in order of glass going Zeiss, S&B, USO.
I chose the standard Zplex reticle with the AVS turret system.
AVS turret is very slick, you start with your base zero, say 100 yards. You remove the cap and rotate counterclockwise until it stops, that is your 100 yard zero with a zero stop.
Replace the cap and in my case, now use the the yardage marked turret to dial in your shot. It’s nice in that it locks down so it can’t turn on you, you simply pull up, dial in the yardage and either push down to lock in place or leave up. I found myself alternating between zeros, for example, if hunting an open area I may run a 300 yard zero, or if in tighter areas a 100 yard zero. Best of both worlds really..
The standard turret has .1 mil markings and comes with several decals for common caliber ballistics.
There are 7 mils total elevation change in the one rotation of the knob.
You can also send your data into Kenton Industries to get a custom calibrated knob for your rifle.
My T&E scope came with a calibrated turret by Kenton Industries for a 7 mag with a 150g at 3100fps.
According to my calculations it is extremely close to the 140 at 3150 from the 280AI and shouldn’t make any real world difference more than an inch at 400 yards. Close enough for this guy to go hunt with it dialed in with a 250 yard zero. That gets me point blank range not to exceed a 3″ deviation in elevation out to 300 yards. With the markings on the turret going out to 750. .3 mil, or, 3 clicks up gets me 50 yard increments out to 500 yards. And of course, I did test the scope out on the range and I was spot on out to 500 yards.
I will conclude my review with a few stories from the hunts I did with this scope, I could go on and on about the technical specifications, but suffice it to say it has OUTSTANDING glass, the AVS turret system works and it holds up to real world hunting.
But before I do, I would be remiss without thanking Richard Moncreif at Zeiss for lending me this scope to test. Super nice guy and I like doing business with good people and as we say in Texas, “he’s good people”
First weekend out, 1 nice buck, 1 doe, 2 pigs (3 bullets)
A nice boar taken and I got to have my little girl out with me for her first hunt!
ccoker
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