Zeiss Conquest V4 4-16X44
Zeiss has upgraded their V4 line of scopes. I was sent a pre-production model of their new upgraded Conquest V4 4-16X44 with ZMOAi T-30 reticle to do a review before Zeiss launching this scope later this spring. Along with the scope, Zeiss sent me a list of some of the changes they made to the scope.
New Features
· Illuminated reticles
· Two new reticles
· Greatly enhanced engraving
· 10 Yards to infinity parallax adjustment
· External Locking Windage Turret – with windage limiter
Existing features and benefits:
· Lightweight
· 90% to the eye light transmission
· Ballistic Stop – for an absolute and repeatable adjustment to zero every time
· T* (T star) six-layer multi-coating for improved light and color transmission
· LotuTec hydrophobic lens coatings
· Large elevation travel
· 20 MOA per revolution multi-turn turret, with .25 MOA click value
· Limited Lifetime Transferrable Warranty and FIVE-YEAR NO-FAULT POLICY
I was excited to see how much improvement in these areas they addressed as these were areas where I felt the V4 could use improvement, from when I did my review last year on the Conquest V4 6-24X50. I received the scope along with the following accessories Zeiss precision 30 mm Ultralight 1913 MS rings with anti-cant level, and a Zeiss throw lever.
Please Note I used the pre-production model this is a image of the production model.
First thing out of the box, I weighed the scope @ 24.25 ounces in comparison to the scope I reviewed last year weighed in at 23.10 ounces. I assume the slight weight gain is from the new external locking windage turret.
The new External Locking Windage Turret is one of the things I’m excited about as it seems to be a huge improvement over the last model. I found the knob to be very ergonomic; you pull it out to unlock, which I found very easy, yet when it's locked, it is very secure you won't have to worry about it moving when in the field. It has a windage limiter so that you cannot go more than one half a turn either direction, which is (10 MOA each way) when correctly set from zero. I received the scope without a manual, and getting it set correctly took a little figuring out; however, once I got it, I found it easy to adjust and set. (This has been addressed with an updated manual for production scopes.)
Zeiss #4
Whatever Zeiss did to enhance the engraving was spot on. At this point, it's my favorite improvement to the scope.
The reticle is sharp; I found this scope at 16 power far easier to get a perfect aiming point at 100 yards than the 24 power V4 scope I used last year. This is all due to the sharpness and design of the new reticle
The clarity and lowlight performance were both good. Last year I found that comparing the V4 to several of its competitors at the same price point, it easily outshined them in this regard.
The reticle on this model is the illuminated ZMOAi -T30. For me this is about as good as it gets. It has a tight subtension of .12 MOA and a floating center crosshair, which I find helpful when shooting at long ranges. The hashes are 1 MOA apart. It has Christmas tree ‘type’ windage dots. Personally, I have never liked these ‘Christmas tree style’ reticle designs as I find them too busy. Yet these windage dots are very subtle, and I can hardly tell they are there unless I am using them, which is a plus in my book.
The reticle has center-only illumination. However, I found it illuminates several hashes, numbers, and dots, that are close enough to center when adjusted to brighter settings in low-light. This can serve to illuminate just enough that you can see them if you are looking directly at them. Looking at the illumination at low light and dark, there was no glare/flare from the reticle illumination.
I used the Zeiss precision Ultralight rings to mount the scope on a 300 RUM. These rings are very compact and weigh in at 4.4 ounces. They use stainless screws with a black oxide finish, so rust is not an issue. I used these rings last year and found them to be as good as any rings I have ever used. All previous summer through fall, I never lost zero. They are pretty much snag-resistant, including the Anti-cant Level, which barley protrudes from the ring's profile. I found the level to be very easy to use in the field as I don't have to move my head to look at the level. It can be rotated to either side, depending on what eye you shoot with.
I attached the Zeiss throw lever to the magnification adjustment. I have never used a throw lever as I don't like anything that protrudes. However, once attached, it didn't seem very obtrusive. I found it to be helpful when I brought it to the shooting range, and it was 24 degrees as it made turning the adjustment very easy. This will come in handy on late-season hunts when using gloves in cold weather. One issue I noticed however was when turned it all the way up it partially blocks the bubble level. It wouldn't affect someone who was left eye dominate, but I noticed it. I will be curious to see if this is an issue when I start shooting long distances.
They didn't seem to make any changes to the elevation turret or Ballistic stop as they didn't need to. It has solid clicks and is very easy to use. When on the range, I zeroed it and set the Ballistic Stop (zero stop), which is very quick and easy to do and lock solid, once set where you want it. After zeroing it, I found that I have 68.75 MOA of adjustment up, which will get me to over 2,000 yards without using the reticle. (The scope’s total elevation travel value is 80 MOA.)
The eye relief cup seems stiffer than last year's model, which should help keep it stationary when in the field. Although not the best, it also appears to a bit easier to adjust to the right setting. I found last year's model to be finicky in this regard.
Overall, from my initial assessment, I liked the changes they made to the Zeiss Conquest V4 and felt all of them improved the overall usefulness of the scope. Look for my full review, which will come out after I spend more time with it, beyond the initial range time, and see how it performs in different conditions and at longer ranges.
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