Q&A Zeiss V4 4-16x44mm Field Eval

[Formidilosus]

See- https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/zeiss-v4-4-16x44-field-evaluation.359524/

 

[kkp005]

Buttttttt…. The glass is great

 

[TxLite]

Will the eval continue to progress to see how it does with truck rides or is it a lost cause?

 

[Formidilosus]

Will the eval continue to progress to see how it does with truck rides or is it a lost cause?

Yes it will.

 

[Dobermann]

Is this a LOW scope? I ask partly because of the comment on a recent thread that tried to suggest that all LOW scopes are good ... and partly because that elevation turret is reminiscent of the older Bushnell Elites.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

Felt the need to test my v4 out before swapping it for the Maven. Left my rangefinder at home so distance to target is probably a bit off. Had to stick a target on the truck and range it with the rifle scope while setting the target.

Rifle System:

• Tikka T3X stainless, 6.5 CM
• 143 ELD-X Hornady factory loads
• Dead Air Nomad Ti can
• Sportsmatch T084 rings
• Zeiss V4 4-16x44, originally a demo from Redhawk
• Spartan bipod and jellyfish rear bag

Baseline group - a couple poor shots on my end. I have shot sub 0.5 MIL groups of 10 shots with this setup before. Vertical grip and the jellyfish rear bag are new additions.




Drops were conducted on a 1" teton gravity memory foam sleeping pad on well compacted dirt/grass/rock.

1. Drop 18" on parallax side
2. Drop 18" on windage side
3. Drop 18" on elevation side
4. Drop 36" on parallax side
5. Drop 36" on windage side
6. Drop 36" on elevation side - rifle bounced off the pad and contacted the dirt/rocks
7. Follow up shot
8. Follow up shot
9. Follow up shot
10. Follow up shot

My conclusion? I'm not really sure. #6 did seem to be effected by the drop, but then #7 and #8 were pretty on and #9 and #10 off again. Given the poor baseline group, it could just be me. Should have shot another control group afterwards.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

Shot some more this weekend. Haven’t touched the gun or scope. This fuzzy pictured group is prone off bipod and rear bag. Just snapped a pic through the spotter.



Second group is seated with pack front and trekking pole rear rest.



If the scope did shift on that last 36” drop, it may have reset upon recoil. Maybe it’s just hard to tell with my less than impressive shooting. Let me know if anyone is seeing anything different from this data.

Overall I’d say the test actually increased my confidence in the scope/rifle system. I’ll have to repeat it with the Maven here in a few weeks.

A previous group for reference, in MOA though.

 

[Formidilosus]

Update and lost zero.

 

[kkp005]

Ooof

 

[NickyD]

@Formidilosus I purchased one of these scopes a few years ago before learning about these tests. Do you have any suggestions on how to minimize the risk of losing zero in the field such as a cover?

Do you recommend against doing your own testing? I imagine there would be varying levels of zero retention amongst individual scopes.

 

[Formidilosus]

@Formidilosus I purchased one of these scopes a few years ago before learning about these tests. Do you have any suggestions on how to minimize the risk of losing zero in the field such as a cover?

Don’t use it if you are concerned about zero retention. Otherwise, baby it in every way possible.

Do you recommend against doing your own testing? I imagine there would be varying levels of zero retention amongst individual scopes.

No, people should proof their own setup- rifles lose zero as well, not just scopes. The issue is if you have an unknown rifle and an unknown, or know. “Iffy” scope- then you don’t know what is causing shifts. If you have a Nightforce NXS- then you can be reasonably assured that it isn’t the scope and work on other variables.