Zeiss Nightvion unit....

[ginnz]

Hey guys.

well, Ive been looking for a nightvision scope for a long time now, and looked at all the cheap ATN stuff, and the soviet stuff, and all the reviews were not very good. It seems they are good for 75 to maybe 100 y at best, and most of the time, I read they wont retain a zero.... So, I found a German surplus Zeiss Orion 80l/ Fero Z-51 NV Scope. The one I got is in excellent condition, manufactured in the late '80's, and the seller sent me pictures taken through it. Its easilly capable of 500+ Y viewing! As soon as I found it, being Zeiss, I knew I had to have it! it performs much better than any US made 1st Gen+ of the era.

I'll post pictures of it and of it mounted on my H&K SL8 next week! And maybe a mini review if anyone is interested!

Ginnz

 

[TV-PressPass]

That actually sounds pretty cool! Got any photos?

I like when Swarovski or Zeiss to NV.

I kind of like the idea of combining regular (or old) tubes with super sharp glass.

Have you looked through a recent PVS-14 or Nyx-14 though?

 

[ginnz]

No pics yet, as I havn't received it yet. The seller sent me pics of it though, and images through it, tah the took with a cheap camera. They got the point across. I havn't looked through any newer stuff. I used to have a pair of Gen1 soviet goggles which worked very well. I have a Bushnell Equinox monocular that we use at the lake.... I didnt want to spend a pile of money, but didnt want junk. I did alot of research on this Zeiss unit, and all the stuff i found on it was very favorable. Many guys said it will outperform alot of the commercial Gen2 stuff, and seems to be labeled as Gen1+. I like the 4x zoom, and the ability to see over 400 yards clearly. Heck, It's got the Zeiss name. And being surplus German military, I'm confident it will be an awesome unit for my needs. The price was better than much of the garbage commercial ATN gen 1 stuff as well. I got a good deal. All told, shipped I paid 500.00

here's a picture of the actual unit I will be receiving.

 

[ginnz]

Just checked tracking, and the unit is out for delivery today. Awesome. Ill be posting pictures of the actual unit later today! I need to find a STANAG to picatinny solution asap as I will be mounting the unit on my H&K SL8. It will need to be rather tall as the clearance will be needed to keep the large objective off the rail. Maybe the short rail/ carry handle type rail off my marauder will fit. (?).... Non the less, Ill be looking for a quick release solution for the Zeiss Conquest scope, and NV unit so I can swap them without loosing zero. The unit itself comes with three high quality mounts for the German military rifles, maybe I can retro-fit...

 

[ginnz]

Hi again guys.

I received the unit today, And its better than I anticipated! The condition is excellent, and It comes with a German Military H&K G3 STANAG claw mount, along with a couple different mounts. I read one for their anti-tank weapon, and a Q/R mount for a tri-pod (I think). The G3 Claw mount is listed on various sites for 300.00! (If I could sell it for that, it almost pays for the unit)!

It turns out the 1" riser I have for my son's mossberg 715T works with STANAG scopes! So I was able to mount it on my SL8, and get off a couple quick pics! Here is a picture, as promised.... And in the next hour or so, ill head out into the country and try it out!

Ginnz.

Zeiss/Fero Z51 Night Vision Scope on H&K SL8

 

[Kevin M.]

Very neat. See if you can get a photo through the unit in a darkened area so we can see the image resolution, and let us know how she works for you.

Does this unit require an IR light, or is it passive NV?

 

[ginnz]

Its "Passive NV" or true Starlight. I just got back from a ride out of town, and Hot Damn! I used to have a pair of ex-soviet googles, they were starlight, and worked well, but this thing BLOWS them away! I was overlooking a mostly snow covered field, and one mile away is the Can/US border with the river being another 1/2 mile from the border road. So the river is approx 1.5 miles. I could clearly see the treeline on the river! I could have seen a person 1 mile away! The scope has 4x mag. The clarity through it is very, very good as well. My bushnell equinox won't touch this thing. Heres a pic off of another site I found that clearly show's the scope's image, and the reticle. the top dot is 100y zero, the second is 200, and the third is 300y, based on .308 (G3). It's a very good Gen1+ scope IMO, and i'm very glad I didn't get one of the cheap ATN, or Soviet Yukon scopes.

250m.

 

[ginnz]

Guys, I had the opportunity to zero it on my SL8 yesterday, and it was easy! For now i'm using the cheap riser that we use on my sons Mossberg 715T, but i'll be looking for a quick release option for the Zeiss Conquest and for the Z51, so I can pop 'em off quick and easy, without loosing zero. Anyone have any suggestions? I'll have to ditch the cheap riser, as the Conquest goes straight in the rail...... It would have been nice if H&K would have kept the STANAG system on the SL8. Then I could have used the included G3 STANAG mount and QR parts, there were 3 included with the Z51.