ZeroTech TRACE ADV 3-18×44 FFP Shoot2Hunt

So, I shoot hunt in the thick woods of West Virginia, deer. Maybe 200 hundred yards.
Rifles are a 6mm arc and 7mm-08.
My chances of getting out "west" are very slim in the next few years, if ever.

As I don't know what I don't know.
What reticle would be best for my use case?

I'm going to buy one for sure when it happens, just want to get the right one.

And what are these "scope bumpers" I see mentioned?

Take this with a big grain of salt, given I don't do PRS or anything similar, but I really value being able to hit fast and accurately under pressure with handguns and long guns in real-world situations. And I'm at the point where I'm not sure there's a use-case out there where I'd want anything other than some form of the THLR reticle in a variable-power optic. It's that good.

And the more you learn the reticle, the more useful it becomes - but it's eminently useful and effective with zero knowledge about how it works.
 
So, I shoot hunt in the thick woods of West Virginia, deer. Maybe 200 hundred yards.
Rifles are a 6mm arc and 7mm-08.
My chances of getting out "west" are very slim in the next few years, if ever.

As I don't know what I don't know.
What reticle would be best for my use case?

I'm going to buy one for sure when it happens, just want to get the right one.

And what are these "scope bumpers" I see mentioned?
I hunt in PA so very similar woods to you. I really like the 3-9 swfa for this; it’s lighter and the reticle works great. The 3-18 THLR would definitely work since it’s still 3x on the low end; but it’s a bit overkill and heavy (26 oz) for a woods rifle. Heck, the 3-9 swfa is still 20 oz. I wouldn’t hesitate to take the 3-9 out west if I was ever given the opportunity; it really is an impressive scope.

I’m holding out for the lower power scope Form was talking about for my 6.5 Grendel deer rifle. That could be the 3-9 killer for my use case, particularly if it’s lighter.

I’m still kicking around the 3-18 for my ELR rifle, but funds are tight right now…

Scope bumpers are a 3d printed scope cap that have a double hinge design to kinda ‘fold’ around the objective. Too rich for me, they look nicely designed though.
 
looks interesting. Can someone explain the THLR to me? seems overly complicated vs the RMGH. But the RMGH is familiar from PRS style

 
Did someone really see "Zero Tech" and think.

YEP, THATS THE NAME WE BEEN LOOKING FOR!!!

Who's name is on the bell is much less interesting than who built it. This is a LOW scope which is what really matters. Saying that though I've heard nothing but good things in relation to zerotechs customer service and the fact that they were willing to take on this project says a lot. I'm happy to support companies that listen to their customers and provide what has been asked for and not delivered by many other brands. If you've got anything of value to add regarding issues with zerotech as a company I'd be happy to hear it, but if your just here to talk them down with no substance no need to reply.
 
Who's name is on the bell is much less interesting than who built it. This is a LOW scope which is what really matters. Saying that though I've heard nothing but good things in relation to zerotechs customer service and the fact that they were willing to take on this project says a lot. I'm happy to support companies that listen to their customers and provide what has been asked for and not delivered by many other brands. If you've got anything of value to add regarding issues with zerotech as a company I'd be happy to hear it, but if your just here to talk them down with no substance no need to reply.
Agree here. I think it's time to finally unwatch this thread now that the pre-orders are in. It's becoming pure noise. If you don't want the scope, don't buy it. Use your time elsewhere rather than posting negativity. (Could say the same about this post :) )
 
In
Whose name is on the bell is much less interesting than who built it. This is a LOW scope which is what really matters. Saying that though I've heard nothing but good things in relation to zerotechs customer service and the fact that they were willing to take on this project says a lot. I'm happy to support companies that listen to their customers and provide what has been asked for and not delivered by many other brands. If you've got anything of value to add regarding issues with zerotech as a company I'd be happy to hear it, but if your just here to talk them down with no substance no need to reply.
whos cares what the name is on it but the less branding the better.
Almost all companies screw that up.
 
To address the branding bullshit again, not a single time did I ever look at the scope in person and say "that's too much". Y'all need to take a wrap off and realize that animals don't give a shit about what's on the scope, and you shouldn't listen to other shooters/hunters who care more about looks than performance.

Bringing this thread back on track with some first-hand experience, happy to answer questions if I/other winter class users can.

The scopes performed well all week, with all three being used by various students on different days. No issues that weren't user-based were observed (no scope caps, so snow in objective and fogging/icing ocular from breathing don't count). The glass is very good, and with illumination there were no issues hitting targets at 460 yds past legal shooting light. The throw lever placement is brilliant, staying out of the way of the bolt handle & hand during cycling even when spun to max magnification. The eye box and eye relief are nice and forgiving, and the diopter/focus are fast to adjust and lock down very tight once set. The two scopes I used both tracked correctly and accurately even at low temperatures. The reticle is very good, the modified THLR is very fast to center your eye on and the 1 Mil box allows your eye to bracket the target and make accurate hits without overthinking or searching for it. The thicker posts are great in low light to bring your eye to center, and at ranges I would be interested in shooting an animal in low-light will allow for fast hits just from the tip of the vertical post. Wind holds are fast and easy to sort out on the fly, with clear visual cues as to what you're actually holding vs feeling like you're lost on counting .5 Mil ticks. It is hard to adequately explain how intuitive the reticle is, @THLR is a wizard.

I shot the S2H scope back to back with both a SWFA 3-9x and Maven RS1.2. I know what will be on my hunting rifles this fall, and it isn't those two.

IMG_7787.jpg

IMG_7793.jpg

IMG_7801.jpg
 
...companies that listen to their customers and provide what has been asked for and not delivered by many other brands.
I guess I didn't notice what this is solving that the industry has been ignoring? Besides not being able to find the length of the scope without reading through the forum, it seems like just another scope to me.
I like it's zero stop, locking diopter, illumination, and parallax. But none of that is new?
Not interested in any of the reticles....and that's always been a deal breaker for me.



In

whos cares what the name is on it but the less branding the better.
Almost all companies screw that up.
You mean like that big Shoot2Hunt logo on the side?
 
To address the branding bullshit again, not a single time did I ever look at the scope in person and say "that's too much". Y'all need to take a wrap off and realize that animals don't give a shit about what's on the scope, and you shouldn't listen to other shooters/hunters who care more about looks than performance.

Bringing this thread back on track with some first-hand experience, happy to answer questions if I/other winter class users can.

The scopes performed well all week, with all three being used by various students on different days. No issues that weren't user-based were observed (no scope caps, so snow in objective and fogging/icing ocular from breathing don't count). The glass is very good, and with illumination there were no issues hitting targets at 460 yds past legal shooting light. The throw lever placement is brilliant, staying out of the way of the bolt handle & hand during cycling even when spun to max magnification. The eye box and eye relief are nice and forgiving, and the diopter/focus are fast to adjust and lock down very tight once set. The two scopes I used both tracked correctly and accurately even at low temperatures. The reticle is very good, the modified THLR is very fast to center your eye on and the 1 Mil box allows your eye to bracket the target and make accurate hits without overthinking or searching for it. The thicker posts are great in low light to bring your eye to center, and at ranges I would be interested in shooting an animal in low-light will allow for fast hits just from the tip of the vertical post. Wind holds are fast and easy to sort out on the fly, with clear visual cues as to what you're actually holding vs feeling like you're lost on counting .5 Mil ticks. It is hard to adequately explain how intuitive the reticle is, @THLR is a wizard.

I shot the S2H scope back to back with both a SWFA 3-9x and Maven RS1.2. I know what will be on my hunting rifles this fall, and it isn't those two.

View attachment 1026450

View attachment 1026451

View attachment 1026452


Any noticeable increase in magnification stiffness in the cold? What temps are you guys at, btw?
 
  • Like
Reactions: BLJ
I guess I didn't notice what this is solving that the industry has been ignoring? Besides not being able to find the length of the scope without reading through the forum, it seems like just another scope to me.
I like it's zero stop, locking diopter, illumination, and parallax. But none of that is new?
Not interested in any of the reticles....and that's always been a deal breaker for me.
If you're not interested in the reticles, then this probably does nothing for you that a NightForce or Trijicon doesn't already do.

I hate to be "that guy" who says to go read another thread, especially a long one with a bunch of crap in it, but I'm going to do that here: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/would-you-buy-this-scope.373983/. I suggest searching that for Ryan's and Form's posts to begin with, rather than reading the whole thing. There was a bit of mission creep on the scope specs, and a lot of banter, so the whole thread really isn't worth it at this point IMO but you need to read past post 1 to get the gist.

This scope is intended to be a durable scope that can handle side impacts without losing zero and has an FFP mil/mil reticle designed for hunting. That's the best short version I can offer. I haven't seen one in the wild yet, so I'm not the person to offer opinions about the scope itself.
 
Back
Top