Kahles ZF69-6x42 requesting info

I have a few. Windage and elevation when adjusted will show as actual movement in the tube. Watch out when tightening the cap screws they are easily broken. Has 26mm tue do not put in 1 inch rings. Old school but excellent scopes that most where calibrated to the m118 round.
 
Well i'll tell you what, if I try and put any of my 26 mm kahles zf69 in a 1 inch tube. I see a little light at the bottom of the ring. That tells me it would have to be forced to the bottom of the ring because it is hanging up on the sides of the ring. Steel tube and a ring that is not the proper size spells something has got to give. I would rather it not be a hard to find scope.
You can also get a square peg into a round hole if you beat on it enough. Besides 26 mm rings are pretty common by a number of different makers.
 
delta1 said:
Well i'll tell you what, if I try and put any of my 26 mm kahles zf69 in a 1 inch tube. I see a little light at the bottom of the ring. That tells me it would have to be forced to the bottom of the ring because it is hanging up on the sides of the ring. Steel tube and a ring that is not the proper size spells something has got to give. I would rather it not be a hard to find scope.
You can also get a square peg into a round hole if you beat on it enough. Besides 26 mm rings are pretty common by a number of different makers.
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all that is very fine. Just telling you what the Kahles documentation says. I use 26mm mounts for 26mm tubes. Kahles is very unusual in their documentation.
 
delta1 said:
You would think a scope manufacturer that made 26mm tubes would know the difference.
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I agree! I was going to write them a strongly worded letter to challenge it...but coming from you it might carry greater weight...
 
we3grants said:
Hello all. Knowing that there is a ton of knowledge out there I am reaching forward to see if anyone can give me info/instructions on this rifle scope. I have searched the WEB and can not find what I require. Thanks.
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Is not bad as all Comparing to S&B, Hensoldt and some of the top dog. is not bad for what you paying, a bit underrate.
 
delta1 said:
You would think a scope manufacturer that made 26mm tubes would know the difference.
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now before you write your strongly worded message to Kahles ... I just mic'd a Kahles ZF84 10x (using Starrett calipers .001") and the tube diameter varies from 'balls on' 1.000" to 1.001" ....so ... I think in their case 1"/26mm works ok.

Did you measure your ZF69 tube?
 
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A one-inch scope in a 26mm mount slides around like a small turd in a large sewer pipe unless it is used with a spacer to take up the slack; BTDT. A 26mm tube in a 1-inch mount? Regardless of what a website stated...why would anyone even try that?

Any chance that the website was indicating that the scope is made in 26mm and 1-inch versions? Some of the Euro manufacturers' websites read as though they've been translated by someone who spoke neither language fluently.
 
jjohnwm said:
A one-inch scope in a 26mm mount slides around like a small turd in a large sewer pipe unless it is used with a spacer to take up the slack; BTDT. A 26mm tube in a 1-inch mount? Regardless of what a website stated...why would anyone even try that?

Any chance that the website was indicating that the scope is made in 26mm and 1-inch versions? Some of the Euro manufacturers' websites read as though they've been translated by someone who spoke neither language fluently.
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Well those are darn good questions! I used to be one of the first guys to scream 'careful!!' ... a 26mm scope will NOT fit in 1" rings!! I still dont believe it will. but the ZF84 10x I recently purchased measures as I previously mentioned and is in Leupold 1" QD rings with no apparent issues..... NOW I certainly havent measured a ZF69 so I cant comment ... but I have seen their brochures that state that the ZF84 has 26mm (1")tubes ( here ... http://www.kahles.at/downloads/archiv/Anleitung_ZF95_ZF84.pdf) -- and no asterisk indicating they are different scopes/order numbers. Incidentally mine is the "European" model and is not 'coin' slotted.

Which is why I would like to mic a ZF69 out of curiosity. I know my Zeiss 6x,42, Schmidt and Bender 12x and Nickel Supra (as well a couple of Zeiss Jena scopes) are 26mm and dont appear to want to fit in 1" mounts.. and I wouldnt force them.


Maybe the Austrians measure differently...

(just to clarify - prior to purchasing the ZF84 I saw it was in '1" rings ... I was certainly surprised ... but after a lot of research on line the consensus was that it was in fact a 1" tube... the brochure/instructions were confusing to say the least ... thats why as soon as I had it in my possession I mic'd it... surprise ... 'balls on' 1"!)
 
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1"=25.4mm
So you're looking at 0.3mm or 0.0118" at each side of the ring.
This is assuming the rings and scope are exactly to spec, which is unlikely.
Most rings flex a fair bit,I can't see it being an issue. Unlapped rings rarely contact the entire scope tube anyhow.
 
About 30 years ago I purchased a Euro rifle equipped with a Kahles scope in a proprietary (to the gun-maker) 1-piece QD mount. Several years later, when I attempted to switch some scopes around, I was introduced to the wonderful world of "und"...you know, Schmidt und Bender, Heckler und Koch, etc. :)

Up to that point I don't think I even knew there was such a thing as a non-1-inch scope. I remember slipping a Leupold into those rings, carefully setting eye relief, carefully levelling the crosshair, and then finding to my astonishment that even tightening the screws all the way, so that there was no clearance at all between the scope ring halves, resulted in practically no pressure on the tube at all. No "gription", as my dad would say.

Feeling betrayed, I then turned to the rifle that was supposed to be the new home of the Kahles; nope, no way. Even at that tender age I could see that scope was not going to go into those rings.

Obviously, the 26mm scopes that went into 1-inch rings were sanded down by their owners...or maybe those guys just grabbed a length of 26mm stainless steel rod (available at any hardware store...!) and lapped the crap out of a set of 1-inch rings?

Before I get flamed...I am not being serious in that last paragraph. But I am when I sheepishly admit that a 1-inch Leupold lived in the 26mm rings for years with just a couple wraps of electrical tape to tighten the fit; the Kahles got traded off.

Und that was the end of that. :)
 
JJohnwm.....apparently you and I have experienced the same epiphany ....and while I appreciate the logic of Bearkilr's calculations (went through that analysis the first time I acquired a 26mm scope) it never worked out for me. Imagine my surprise, suspicion and eventual delight when I discovered how Kahles 'calculates' the ZF84's tube diameter...
 
I agree with the idea of only a .6mm discrepancy...if 1-inch rings were actually 1 inch but, without measuring them, I have to assume that they are somewhat smaller. When you clamp a 1-inch scope into a set of nominal 1-inch rings and tighten the screws properly, you will always have a gap on each side; that's the only way the rings can apply pressure ("gription":)), so the inside diameter of the rings must be a bit tighter to allow for this.

In a world where accuracy buffs are worrying about spin-drift and over-stabilized bullets and MOA accuracy out to a kilometer and crystalline structure of steel and God-knows-what-else, I have no problem ignoring all of it and just enjoying my plinking off the porch. I happily admit to being a Neanderthal...I will draw the line, however, at jamming square pegs into round holes just because they almost fit. :)
 
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