Zeiss Conquest V4 riflescope-- better option for price?

[Tony R-MkMachining]

****Admins, this may be potentially perceived the wrong way. Please remove if not allowed, but please read the entire blurb first****

So we stock the entire Zeiss lineup on our website. We do really-really well (for our size of company) selling the S3 line of scopes and a few of the pricy S5 optics. We have a lot of the V4 line of scopes on our shelves, but they seem to just collect dust for us. We do not have a large following of the hunter demographic where the V4's would apply, but we do have some crossover customers.

The issue that I'm trying to uncover is that we sell hunting optics in that price range to people all the time, just not any of the Conquest V4s. Are our customers dumb? (sorry any MKM customers, you aren't dumb and we love you!), Does our SEO just suck? Is there another brand selling a better product at that price point that I'm unaware of? (we are Swaro dealers as well with similar results in that price range).

We have been in the game long enough to see how the market swings and have watched product lines die when a new company comes a long and takes the wind out of their sale with either catchy marketing or attractive price with similar feature sets. That is part of my speculation, but I am unaware of who would be competing with this product line at said price point (again aside from Swaro).

**Just trying to gauge market interest (or lack of) from the crowd of people that I would assume know the best. I have gleamed awesome info from you Rokslider's in the past and hoping to hear some unbiased comments. I use a Zeiss optic on my comp rifle and wear a Zeiss hat almost every day, so I am biased, but my experience with rifles/scopes is more specialized in a different genre.

Have a great Turkey days guys, and hopefully an even better afternoon hunt afterwards!

 

[Macintosh]

I think you’ll find there’s a significant group of folks here concerned with how a scope holds zero under handling that might be considered borderline abusive, and while some folks like their zeiss scopes my impression is they have a poor reputation for field durability, along with mixed reports on how theyve handled warranty. Ditto for swaro on durability, although they have a much better rep in the warranty dept.
Im not sure thats the issue you are seeing though—Ive never seen a single zeiss or swaro scope on a rifle around me that I can recall, despite seeing plenty of other brands with similar reputations. Definitely never seen one at a gunshop, MAYBE at a cabelas although I may be misremembering that. I think a big part is simply that they are an unknown to most people, the company online and other communication is poor at best (example, most of the online reticle images on zeiss site arent loading for me on updated Chrome browser), and its hard to justify $$$$ on an unknown. This particular product line also doesnt appear to have any lower-magnification, or ffp or mil options on a form factor (4-16x with a dialing turret) that screams for both. It’s pretty par for the course for a EU company, especially a German one, they just dont understand how US customers get info and make a purchase and they clearly insist on controlling all global comms thru their head office rather than allow country subsidiaries to adjust to market needs, and they are 15+ years behind in their communication and dealer support as a result. Your website is better than zeiss for a scope-shopper, but Im not going to scour the internet just to find a picture of a reticle when I have so many other options.

 

[Tony R-MkMachining]

Thanks Mac! There is a lot of valuable insight there. I will say that our Rep is kick ass. You don't get to pick your rep and not everyone is awesome out there, but our guy is super cool.

I have helped two (only 2 ever) customers out with a warranty issue with Zeiss. The company handles both incidents very professionally and super quick given the shipping time. One customer even admitted that he lost a piece from his optic and they just shipped him another part, no questions asked. I know others will report with their own experiences, but I have not had any negative interactions.

I have had some customers and friends mention their concerns with warranty issues, so that's either valid or has become the generally perceived idea. I think having to ship your optic from the states overseas for warranty sucks, but I can also appreciate them making sure that it is taken care of by a small, specialized team who know what they are doing.

I think you are certainly right about one thing though. I have NEVER seen a Zeiss at a shooting range (other than Precision Rifle competitions) or in general out in the wild. I think you are right that the average gun owner or hunter would likely not recognize the name. That is changing however in the PRS or similar competitions. They really seem to have successfully broken into that market.

 

[Kurts86]

The V4 line is really showing its age with 4-16x SFP scopes, it just seems like where the hunting market was 5-10 years ago.

Above 10x on maximum magnification should be FFP and offered in MIL and MOA options. 2.5-10x with exposed elevation turrets is a very untapped market at this point as every other hunting scope turns into a PRS scope by magnification.

Zeiss scopes are known to track well but they don’t have the zero retention pedigree we expect in a $1,000+ scope. I’d rather buy a Nightforce SHV or a Maven RS 1.2 at the same price point as a Zeiss V4 because they are FFP and hold zero.

 

[Tony R-MkMachining]

Zeiss scopes are known to track well but they don’t have the zero retention pedigree we expect in a $1,000+ scope.

This is news to me! I don't have much practical experience directly with that product line, so that is something I have not heard of before.

Above 10x on maximum magnification should be FFP and offered in MIL and MOA options. 2.5-10x with exposed elevation turrets is a very untapped market at this point as every other hunting scope turns into a PRS scope by magnification.

This is very true. Very much agreed.

 

[TNKnoxville]

I have 3 Z4's and a Z6 on my rifles. They have been awesome. Had an issue with the V6 and the parallax adjustment. Sent it in to the repair facility in northern KY and no issues, sent me a new scope.

No issues with zero retention or returning to zero. We have never babied these scopes!!!!

 

[ericacymcdonald]

You know... I don't know how much pull it takes but I bet if you got an MKM LRHS2 3-12 with a good reticle the way GAP got the 4.5-18 you wouldn't be able to keep them on the shelf...

 

[wind gypsy]

You know... I don't know how much pull it takes but I bet if you got an MKM LRHS2 3-12 with a good reticle the way GAP got the 4.5-18 you wouldn't be able to keep them on the shelf...

Getting down the rabbit hole here but George Gardner and GAP have been commercially linked with Bushnell for over a decade. That relationship almost single handedly had Bushnell in the top 2 scope mfr used by top PRS competitors for a while. Go to bushnell elite tactical part of their website and in all their pictures and promotional vids you see GAP employees or team GAP shooters with bushnell scopes on GAP rifles. I dont know the extent of the relationship but it seems GAP guys do the lions share of marketing for them.

 

[Kurts86]

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

 

[Tony R-MkMachining]

I have 3 Z4's and a Z6 on my rifles. They have been awesome. Had an issue with the V6 and the parallax adjustment. Sent it in to the repair facility in northern KY and no issues, sent me a new scope.

No issues with zero retention or returning to zero. We have never babied these scopes!!!!

Thanks! This is what I expected when posting this.

 

[270quest]

I own 5 Zeiss scopes, 3 of them are Conquest V4s - ALL 4-16X variants and for me, they are some of the best hunting scopes around for the money...Exceptional eye relief, easy to get behind, bright optic.

They have never not performed, accurately dialed out to game past 600 yards, and held zero over hard hunts and borderline abusive behavior. The one on my 7 rem mag has killed around 15-16 animals and never failed. I am a major fan and will buy more.

With that said, I usually try to pick up demo or open box units which are usually $150-$200 cheaper than normal advertised pricing.

 

[Tony R-MkMachining]

With that said, I usually try to pick up demo or open box units which are usually $150-$200 cheaper than normal advertised pricing.

We almost always have some open box or demo models at the shop that we opened to show off at a trade show, but they never seem to get listed for sale afterwards with a discount. They usually sit and collect dust or sometimes they get donated to a competition or giveaway.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

I feel like the Zeiss V4's and buying from Redhawk are synonymous. If someone posts about wanting one they'll get several recommendations to buy from them. I mean, there are 4 pages of google search results on Rokslide alone that contain both "Zeiss V4" and "Redhawk".

I got a used 4-16x44 with the #64 ZMOA-T30 Illum. (Ballistic Elev/Wind Turret) for $850 back in the summer of '22.

 

[nobody]

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

This right here is the big why for many of us here on Rokslide. Not sure about the rest of the market, but most of us accept exactly ZERO tolerance for lack of zero retention. I’ve only ever known of one of these scopes in the wild, it was owned by a coworker who had it on a 7 mag he set up for backcountry mule deer. Every year, he made a big deal of needing to make sure to take a trip to re-zero his scope (with the same handloaded ammunition he always shoots) and it was NEVER zeroed when he started. It was always a few inches off after season, and he would just shrug and say “that’s life.” But most of us here on Rokslide don’t accept that reality. Most scopes and brands have a track record, good or bad, and a zeiss scope has NEVER been on a short list (or even a long list) of potential optic purchases for me.

At the price point, there’s other optics with comparable optical performance but superior durability and zero retention ability.

 

[boatdoc]

I have two V-4 3-12’s . One is mounted on a 375 ruger , has never needed to be rezeroed even after many rough moose hunts.
Good glass, great eye relief and excellent low light performance.
I agree the Zeiss website sucks.

 

[ReddingArcher]

I had a v4 on a tikka 6.5 prc and liked the scope, seemed like it had a lot going for it. I ended up selling it after seeing it fail the drop test here. I had planned to take it on a sheep hunt and after reading that test I just wasn’t willing to risk it. Like others said for that price point I’m going Nightforce or Maven.

 

[06 SB]

I have a V4 6-24 on a long range 223, a 4-16 on a 6.5 CM. Not once have I had to rezero. Both get dialed out to 900 yards and back MANY times. They always work! I love the V4s. I also have a couple Swaro Z3s on a 7mm08 and a 338Fed. They don’t get dialed but always hold zero. I do not abuse scopes but do use them. If these scopes were so poorly made, why do I have such good luck?

You will not find me buying a NF as there warranty/customer service sucks.

 

[Axlrod]

I have a V4 6-24 on a long range 223, a 4-16 on a 6.5 CM. Not once have I had to rezero. Both get dialed out to 900 yards and back MANY times. They always work! I love the V4s. I also have a couple Swaro Z3s on a 7mm08 and a 338Fed. They don’t get dialed but always hold zero. I do not abuse scopes but do use them. If these scopes were so poorly made, why do I have such good luck?

You will not find me buying a NF as there warranty/customer service sucks.

You have used their warranty/customer service?

 

[Kurts86]

I think the Leupold VX5 and the Vortex LHT are much better known/marketed at the similar price point for a lot of hunters looking in the price range compared to the Zeiss V4. All 3 scopes are fairly similar in both strengths and weaknesses but Zeiss is less well known.

Zeiss really falls into the margins of alpha glass kind of like Kowa. Regardless of the quality of their products they are not well known or frequently seen in person.

 

[WKR]

I own 2 v4's currently and I think they are the oldest scopes in my current line up. The 4-16 v4 i have was used for years and is reliable.
My issue is with it being a moa sfp scope, its now just collecting dust as through the years I evolved to shooting mil/mil scopes with ffp reticles.
From a sales standpoint, they will sell to a certain subsect of hunters, but the market is ever evolving to be more similar to the long range/comp world. I think you will see more new people getting into hunting influenced by long range articles and videos opting for the more current scopes rather than a V4.