Fake Chinese Zeiss Zielvier Scopes Scopes - How to Spot Them in a Second . FAKE!!!

[Coyote Ugly]

who cares they are probably of high enough quality anyway

A few years back when these reproduced Chinese made Scopes, made to look like a WW2 German Zielvier were being sold in the States for $299 including the mount. The US importers of the scope said it came in 3 grades. The lowest grade where the reticle was bent out of shape and needed internal work - the $99 Job and the mount for $200. Some buyers even reported that after the first time at the range the posts on the reticle would fall off! The reading on Gunboards was very Entertaining regarding this Chinese Junk!

But trying to sell a $299 Fake Scope for $2500 as Original???

 

[Jonny_Cannon]

It's pretty easy - I ordered an 8-32x50mm scope off of EBay for $200 plus shipping for a budget/bastardizing build.

It's pretty apparent where it came from for that price, LMAO

Cannon

 

[john@]

Good post, thanks.

BTW that ebay seller is not claiming the scope is original, from his ad:

Item specifics
Condition:
New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging...

but he is not saying its a repro either.

 

[BeaverMeat]

As it happens, most of the GENUINE Milsurp Collectors and interested parties CARE. We CARE about cheap knock-off crap being represented as genuine. We CARE about people trying to foist these off to the unsuspecting people who do not know the difference between a genuine and a fake article. We CARE about the honesty and trust of the Members of our Hobby and that honesty and trust is reflected by those dishonest people.

We even CARE about the mish-mash of communication that is supposed to be sentences.

"Who cares? They are probably of high enough quality."

There -- I fixed it for you.

Agreed.

It's not because he put a Chinese replica Zeilvier and LSR mount on a Yugo K98. It's because he's passing it off as a real German sniper. Zeilvier scopes never used on LSR snipers in the first place!

 

[SteelCap]

It's pretty easy - I ordered an 8-32x50mm scope off of EBay for $200 plus shipping for a budget/bastardizing build.

It's pretty apparent where it came from for that price, LMAO

Cannon

My buddy purchased one of these high mag FFP scopes only to find it has a total 25 internal MOA on both turrets. Needless to say there's not enough adjustment to use it beyond 100m.

 

[RRCo.]

Actually, there are only about 3 main manufactures of glass for most rifles scopes brands today and they all buy from one or more of these optics companies! This video might help to explain the situation -

The guy is very poorly informed. He is right in saying that glass comes from all over, but that's about all.

No mention of Zeiss or Hensoldt or Docteur (Zeiss Jena, ex-DDR). Hardly any mention of Japanese glass at all, the leading supplier outside of Schott.

Russia? I guess he's never heard of the place!

Just for the record Nikon doesn't make their scopes or lenses. They are contracted to the lowest bidder. The last I heard they were being made in the Philippines I think. I buy lenses from the same manufacturers as most of the Japanese manufactured scopes so I feel I can speak with first hand experience. Lens are polished to a standard which is the number and size of digs and dings that are not polished out. Then they are coated to aid in light transmission. The better lens are coated with a four layer coating and all use the same formula. The glass types are dictated by the computer designed lens system and the flint and crown glass all come from the same areas and the same computer design programs are used by almost every one in the industry,

What I am saying is while you may think one is better than the next. The only difference between a Leupold, B&L Simmons or any of the rest of the scopes that use Japanese lenses is the amount of quality control the importer is willing to pay for. When it comes to mechanical design only the American companies design their own mechanical systems. All Japanese scopes use nearly identical designs so there is very little difference. The big difference is where the importer wants to fit in the market place and what he is willing to pay for.

If you stay within the same price range it doesn't make much difference what you buy if it is an import. I would pay more attention to which company makes it as that is the big difference. And one last comment: the scope companies don't polish their own lenses, they buy them from lens manufacturers and price dictates quality. I have been in the lens factory when the buyer for one of the best known European scope companies was there on a buying trip so the name on the scope doesn't mean a thing on where the glass comes from.

Gale McMillan, 1997.

 

[Jonny_Cannon]

I would suspect ya gets what ya pays for. If I had a really expensive & good rifle, I'd buy an expensive and really good scope for it.

Cannon

 

[AWOL]

Hmmm

 

[RRCo.]

The rest of Gale McMillan's public comments are here: ht tp://yarchive.net/gun/scope/makers.html

Mighty interesting reading, and sometimes funny too, like the German glass buyers trying not to be found out at the Japanese factory!

 

[AP]

The rest of Gale McMillan's public comments are here: ht tp://yarchive.net/gun/scope/makers.html

Mighty interesting reading, and sometimes funny too, like the German glass buyers trying not to be found out at the Japanese factory!

some German producers dont care about their association with Japanese companies .. years ago Leitz (Leica) openly partnered with Minolta and Rokkor lenses could be used on German manufactured camera bodies etc ... Minolta made a few camera bodies for Leica .... quality was quality and it often starts with good design. You can source the best glass components in the world but if you cant hold them secure and in proper alignment in your scope or binocular ...the quality is irrelevant. Some of the older ScopeChief scopes had extraordinary optical quality -- MUCH BETTER than the Leupold's of the day - and based on my experience they were equally as durable.. for a 1/3 to 1/4 of the price.

If you know what to look for you can find some great deals -- or you can pay a lot for the "brand" ... caveat emptor

 

[Coyote Ugly]

In this case it has nothing to do with Zeiss, it's the Chinese company copying the German Scope from WW2 and producing a cheap reproduction. The Chinese can't use the Zeiss name on the scope tube due to copyright, as that's why it is left blank with no name in the shield on the scope tube.

Same idea as a Fake Rolex watch.

some German producers dont care about their association with Japanese companies .. years ago Leitz (Leica) openly partnered with Minolta and Rokkor lenses could be used on German manufactured camera bodies etc ... Minolta made a few camera bodies for Leica .... quality was quality and it often starts with good design. You can source the best glass components in the world but if you cant hold them secure and in proper alignment in your scope or binocular ...the quality is irrelevant. Some of the older ScopeChief scopes had extraordinary optical quality -- MUCH BETTER than the Leupold's of the day - and based on my experience they were equally as durable.. for a 1/3 to 1/4 of the price.

If you know what to look for you can find some great deals -- or you can pay a lot for the "brand" ... caveat emptor

 

[phin11]

Fake zeiss and fake leopolds are from time to time listed in the local kijiji, sporting goods section.

 

[RRCo.]

AP, I agree. Of course, making camera lenses interchange is not quite the same thing as buying offshore glass and pretending it was made at home.

Back when the Yen was low and Japanese wages were too, some mighty good deals were made. And of course the determination was there to produce the best possible product for the price, with the highest possible QC. They were building to build reputation and market share, not to please Wall St. this quarter.

I looked through an old Unertl Hawk from the 50s a few months ago and was very impressed. But then a Zielvier from the early 20s was stunning and totally without coatings too.