Thread: Scopes - Zeiss vs vortex vs nightforce

We have a Zeiss Conquest HD5 2-10 with the rapid Z 600 reticle sitting here at work, and is awesome to look through, I have one shooting buddy with a Nightforce SHV 4-14 and another with a Vortex Viper PST 6-24 and I would say the Zeiss is the clearest in terms of optics, but that may just be the lower magnification range of the Zeiss. I can't speak to the reliability of any of them, as I haven't used any of them long-term, nor how well they track/how precise the adjustments are, but my money for reliability would be on the Nightforce, if the SHV is anywhere near as rugged as the NXS (I love mine). Both the SHV and the Zeiss have caps that need to be removed before you can dial the scope, whereas the Vortex has target turrets, probably not a big deal if you are just hunting with it though. There's a wide range of mil and MOA reticles available from Nightforce and Vortex, which are great, but the BDC one in the Zeiss is probably quite practical for hunting, it depends whether you'd rather adjust the scope for each distance, or hold over with a reticle. I'm assuming they all have a lifetime warranty, and I don't think you can really go wrong with any of them.
-Tom