Meopta 4-16x44 ZD

hans slayer

hans slayer

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Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of this particular scope? I have only been able to find a couple of online reviews. Both speak very highly of it, but obviously a very small sampling.

Here is one-

https://youtu.be/uQUykptFD0c

and the other one-

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/on-target-review-meopta-zd-4-16x44-rd-illuminated-mil-dot-special
 
Thanks for that. All Meoptas seem to be highly thought of. I was hoping for some direct experience with this particular model to see how it stacks up with the competition at the $1100 price point.
 
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I have a ZD 6-24 and I can tell you anything as clear or better is at least twice the price. I have also a 4-16 Meostar R1, not the ZD, and I love that scope. It is hard to explain how much better they are compare to other scope in the same price range until you have them side by side on a real situation.

If you search for other model reviews you'll see they always have awesome reviews and are often compared to Swarovski or Schmidt.

The biggest feature of Meoptas in my opinion is the fact that they manufacture 100% of their optics in house including lenses and polishing. They do not buy parts elsewhere.

Hope this helps
 
Thanks gaetoune.

That's what I was hoping to hear. I have ordered this scope sight unseen so a bit of a leap of faith. I looked hard at the ZD 6-24 but the MOA turrets and $800 difference helped sway me. In the youtube review that I included in my original post, the reviewer claims the 4-16 competes favorably with the Zeiss Victory. I won't have a Zeiss victory to compare against. The closest I have is my Zeiss Duralyt. Now the waiting begins.
 
I own the Meopta Meostar R1 Tactic 4-16X44 MilDot on a very high end .25-06 for the last nine years.

This combination (with an appropriate rest) has accomplished repeated kill shots at 350-400 yards each year. At 378 last month...

Seasoned hunters have watched this combination take animals while they were deciding how to get closer...

At Closer distances, just choose which eye...

I shoot it at 12-14 power most of the time - that clear in any usable light,,

Much cleared and finer reticle that the Zeiss Zplex in 14 power.

The factory support out of the USA office is extraordinary.

Perhaps a little heavier than other scopes but nothing compares at twice the money, IMHO...and I have used many other high end glass...
 
I have ZD 4-16x44 scope with illuminated Mildot reticle for about a year now. So far, I've been pretty happy with it. Glass is very good, comparable to Zeiss Victory or Swarovski, reticle is fine and illumination works well, clicking is nice and clearly defined, tracking is precise 0.5cm/100m and I'm hoping it stays that way. I put it on top of my 300weatherby and seems to be holding up together just fine. Meopta is known for its high quality optics, but is lacking on mechanical side- durability, not tracking precisely, which with this ZD model should be fine because it was made for that purpose- long range shooting using turrets. For money you pay I think it's really nice scope. Let us know how you like yours when you get it.
 
A friend of mine is a distributor for them in Trenton, He been trying to get me to buy one for a couple of years now...

I got to look at some he had and they look very nice. Trying to get him to send me a MeoPro 4.5-14x44T to try out ;)
 
Thanks to all that replied.

I now have the Meopta Zd 4-16x44.

While I was waiting for it to arrive, Cabelas put on a 20% off sale on all Cabelas branded products. This included their Euro line, which are just rebranded Meopta Meopro scopes. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of driving an hour "just to have a look".
The first scope I looked at was the Euro 4-12x50 which came in at just under $500 before taxes. I then picked up the 6-18x50 and immediately had that wow effect. While the 4-12x50 was very good, the 6-18x50 was noticeably better to my eyes. The counter guy offered to let me take them both outside so we spent the next 15 minutes passing them back and forth to compare images. We both had the same opinion on which one had the nicer image. Long story short, I ended up taking the 6-18x50 home for a before tax price of $620. Aside from the nicer image, this scope had side focus and tall, capped target style turrets that can be replaced with custom turrets if desired. This wasn't an option on the 4-12x50.

With that impulse buy out of the way, It was time to wait for the ZD 4-16x44 to arrive while enduring major buyers remorse. I'm not usually in the habit of dropping 2 grand on optics in one week.

Fast forward to yesterday when my newest scope arrived unexpectedly early, having been shipped straight from the distributor.

This seems like a good time for some comparison pictures:




Meopro 6-18x50 ^


Meostar ZD 4-16x44 ^









As you can see, the Meopro turrets are in Moa while the ZD are in Mil/Mil with an adjustment of 0.5 cm at 100m instead of the usual 1cm at 100m. I find the turrets very precise on both with the Meopro feeling slightly more positive. As for optical quality, I put them side by side along with a Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44 and a Minox ZA3 3-9x50 and looked through them over a period of about an hour as the light faded.
The ZD was noticeably brighter than the Meopro and both were substantially better than the Vortex. The Minox just didn't compare as the light faded which surprised me.
As for reticles, for hunting, the bold EXT reticle (bdc )in the Meopro was excellent. The ZD Mildot Special is very fine but the centre cross does illuminate.
The weight difference between the two is noticeable with the 1" tubed, USA made, Meopro feeling much lighter.
Another surprise was how generous the eye box on the Meopro is. The ZD is very good but not as forgiving as the Meopro. Maybe an optic specialist can explain that one to me.
 
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