Leupold VS Bushnell VS Zeiss

IvanyMerk

IvanyMerk

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When i first started hunting, i always had a Bushnell scope topped on my rifle/rimfire, real good scopes, tried out a Leupold vx1 3-9x40mm duplex recticle, loved it!!
had about 6 leupolds so far, love them, never went back to Bushnell, will for sure get one just to have again for sure, was thinking about the Zeiss scope last couple days, but do not know what or how they are like, those Leupolds holds zero solid, love it, nice clear glass, still thinking about a Zeiss conquest scope, what do you think about those Zeiss, Busnell & Leupold?
 
I like the leupold the best out of the three but I haven't tried and of the higher end zeiss scopes or the 6500 series for that matter. My conquest does have nice glass but I wasn't crazy about the plastic caps and turrets. Eye relief is a bit better more forgiving.
 
yeah those Leupolds are wicked clear, holds solid, i never ever dropped my gun with one atop a gun, but my buddy dropped his a few times, still holds solid zero, wicked scopes!
 
A friend bought a Zeiss that had a legitimate warranty issue within weeks of purchase. It had to go back to Europe for warranty assessment. It was seven or eight months before he got a new scope. By then he had already bought a Leupold to use for hunting. The Zeiss is a very nice scope, but not for me.
 
After several bushnells a burris, a nikon and one zeiss over many years all I want is leupold. Decent clarity, good eye relief, weight seems about right and warranty to be trusted. Can't count the number of leupolds I've had. Only required warranty once and it was fixed quickly. I want a scope where I don't need warranty and leupold has done a decent job of that for me. Never felt good about any of the bushnell scopes so they are all history.
 
One of these three is not like the others.

Not sure about the warranty issues, never used it, I have however had modifications done twice to Zeiss scopes, no issues and not shipped to Europe.

If you like changing eye relief or constant that will be a determining factor.

My eyes prefer the German glass.
 
Love Leupold, Love Zeiss. Most bushnells are placeholders until you can afford a real scope until you get to their top of the line.
 
I've had good luck with the top end bushnells and don't see much if any difference between them and Leupolds. For that matter the high end Nikons have very good glass as well. Until i start shooting past 1000 yards, i'd not splash on anything higher priced then these.
 
I have been using the Elite series right back to the Bausch & Lomb days and never had an issue. I especially like the rain guard coatings. I wanted a nicer scope for my Finnlight and tried a Z3 that fogged so bad it was unusable even after a trip back to the manufacturer. Determined to get better quality I switched it for a VX3. Glass was good but the eye relief was all over the place. With my poor eye sight I had to move the focus back exposing a bunch of threads that to me looked unappealing. I have an Elite on there now like every other rifle in the house. They are more than good enough for hunting but I don't push legal light and am by no means a long range guy.

Although I would recommend the Japanese Elites over the lower Bushnell models, I once had a Bushnell Trophy mounted on a 7600 30-06 that kicked like a magnum. It was still holding zero and clear after many years of service when I sold the package. Just lucky with Bushnell I guess.
 
I like Leopold better than bushnell
Zeiss is far superior to both
But you pay for it.
Best bang for the buck I would go with leopold
 
I have all three. Bushnell is decent from the 3200 series on up. Leupolds are very nice scopes. I have never tried the Zeiss Tera lines, but the Conquests on up are superior scopes to Leupold and Bushnell as far as quality of glass, etc. I have run a Zeiss on a .338 RUM for years and it holds zero despite the abrupt recoil and the light gathering is exceptional.
 
There are lots of reasons for choosing a particular brand scope. First you really need to assess your need and then whether or not your pocket book will support that level of need.

I like several scope brands but I also prefer them to be the high end models. When it comes to glass you get what you pay for up to a point. The leap in quality from a low end scope to a mid range scope which will be twice the price or more is huge. Then, because glass is so good today it's sometimes difficult to see a difference until you're in a low light condition. That's when it starts to get expensive.

At the critical time which is low light morning and just before dusk you need to be able to make out the cross hairs on your target out to the distance you are capable of shooting. For these conditions you need the scope to be sharp/clear/parallax free with lots of light transmission. Illuminated reticles are more to attract shooters than really useful and is just something else that can go wrong.

I like a scope with large tubes that actually have components in them that utilize the extra diameter. Far to many makers including all of which the OP mentioned have 30mm tubes with 1in guts. Caveat Emptor. Usually their high end models have the proper components. Then you will want to check out the rare earth coatings on the lenses. Rare earth coatings are damnably expensive and certain types will triple the price of a lower end scope that doesn't have them or cheaper different types of rare earth coatings.

Parallax??? This is the bain of all low end scopes and even some high end scopes. Some high end scopes are relatively parallax free at just about any range. Some have parallax adjustments, of course you pay for the scopes that don't need to be fiddled to remove the distortion.

Then you have to decide whether or not you are shooting way on out there or close under 100m. The scopes required for either of those extremes will be completely different units.

When purchasing a new scope I like to have eyes and hands on so that I can look through it and assess whether it will suit my purposes. This is a great time of year to purchase a scope if you are buying out of a shop. Go in during the last hour and compare what the shop has. Being able to compare one brand against its competitor side by side is a huge advantage. Then you have to realize the not all scopes are created equal, even if they are the same model. One will always have something just a little different. That is the problem with purchasing online, even from a retail outlet.

The scopes I use have three things going for them. They hold zero under all sensible conditions. Their adjustments are positive and repeatable. They are sharp/clear/parallax free.

Those scopes are IOR Valdada, Zeiss, Leupold, Swarovski. I have lower end scopes on rimfires like Burris but the US made models from a decade back. I have one Burris fixed 4X that is my go to scope to check whether an accuracy issue is with the rifle or the scope. It stands up to everything from 458 Lott to 223rem. It's clear and sharp but definitely not the equal of the high end units. Will it do the job?? Of course and if push comes to shove it would be fine for 95% of the conditions I hunt. The same goes for the three types the OP mentioned.

OP, only you can judge what is best for you. Most people have one or may two scopes and they don't know what to look for when looking through them. If possible, check it before you buy it.

Keep in mind, scopes and the tech used to make them are getting better all the time on a positive basis. I can remember a time when those cheap Chinese low end scopes would have been considered top of the line. The people that make scopes have known for over a century what it takes to make a good scope. The thing is cost. What are you willing to pay for that last .10% of light and sharpness???
 
Leupold, based on my 20 years of experience, gives the biggest value compared to the price you pay... I see no reason to buy anything other than a Leupold...
 
I missed out on a moose during a cold wet low pressure morning because my leupold scope was fogged up. Never had that problem on my bushnell 4200 elite. I would say the elite series of scopes is better value for money than leupold.
 
fogged up internally or externally ?

As a wearer of eyeglasses I can attest that there is always going to be external fogging depending on conditions, I don't think any manufacturer can claim 100% external fog free lenses.

Internal fogging would lead me to assume the seal is broken and would need repair

polskiogorki said:
I missed out on a moose during a cold wet low pressure morning because my leupold scope was fogged up. Never had that problem on my bushnell 4200 elite. I would say the elite series of scopes is better value for money than leupold.
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saskcop said:
I have all three. Bushnell is decent from the 3200 series on up. Leupolds are very nice scopes. I have never tried the Zeiss Tera lines, but the Conquests on up are superior scopes to Leupold and Bushnell as far as quality of glass, etc. I have run a Zeiss on a .338 RUM for years and it holds zero despite the abrupt recoil and the light gathering is exceptional.
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Why bother typing my response...... you said it for me. I might add that I recently bought a hunting rifle with a Minox 2-10x40 and it has the clearest glass I've looked through so far from any German company. Must be something in the German process that kicks arse.
 
hutchster said:
fogged up internally or externally ?

As a wearer of eyeglasses I can attest that there is always going to be external fogging depending on conditions, I don't think any manufacturer can claim 100% external fog free lenses.

Internal fogging would lead me to assume the seal is broken and would need repair
Click to expand...

Was external, just wiped it off.. .. but the bushnell elite has a coating so this doesn't happen. I grew tired of carrying paper towel to constantly wipe it off. I have s&b , zeiss , bushnell, even an old Japanese tasco I use. And I prefer all of the above over leupold. I'm just comparing to the vx2 3-9 I had. I'm sure the newer stuff Is better. I actually have a vx3 1.5-5 which seems built well. But I've never had the opportunity to use it.
 
I've owned all 3 and Now have Zeiss on both my rifles a conquest on my 7mm and a Duralyt on my 375. I was tempted to get a Trijicon but as I found out there like finding hens teeth or at least I couldn't find too many!
 
I have had all 3 as well as vortex and Nikon..... I am now in the process of changing everything over to Zeiss.... Having looked through them all, I find the clarity of the Zeiss far superior....

In looking over the Zeiss line up, don't overload I the Terra.... They are fine scopes.....

The container the Zeiss comes in is worth more than a bushnell IMOP, but then again, have only ever used low end bushnell stuff....

For a budget scope, I like Nikon... I have a prostaff on my black powder rig and don't see any reason to change it as it is a one week a year use rifle....
 
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