DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,419
- 6,288
Very well stated, Tom, and quite instructive.
Minox scope field use report
- Thread starter tddeangelo
- Start date
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
Scotty, I have one of these (an old Weatherby) and used them extensively on my older Model 70's which I hunted with. They work pretty well to help cheek weld and carry extra ammo.
- Thread starter
- #23
tddeangelo
Handloader
- May 18, 2011
- 2,023
- 20
Follow up to the original report:
My father recently acquired a Classic FWT in 6.5x55. Gorgeous rifle, and he got a screaming deal on it. He put a ZA-3 on it that he got when SWFA had them on Sample List for $199.
Anyway, he decided he wants to see what it does on deer, but he is leaving in a few days for a 3-month stay in FL (must be nice to be a snowbird, lol), and he didn't want to fuss with a deer. So, he gave me the rifle to hunt with. I waited till it was pretty murky dark last night and then I wound that Minox up to 9x and checked it out.
Does the same thing mine does, BUT....and this is IMPORTANT.....
With the better cheek weld on the Classic stock than on my '49-vintage Pre-64, the issue was not NEARLY as frustrating or problematic. It's there, and it's EASY to experience, but it's surely usable in dim light at 9x.
Just wanted to follow that one up.
My father recently acquired a Classic FWT in 6.5x55. Gorgeous rifle, and he got a screaming deal on it. He put a ZA-3 on it that he got when SWFA had them on Sample List for $199.
Anyway, he decided he wants to see what it does on deer, but he is leaving in a few days for a 3-month stay in FL (must be nice to be a snowbird, lol), and he didn't want to fuss with a deer. So, he gave me the rifle to hunt with. I waited till it was pretty murky dark last night and then I wound that Minox up to 9x and checked it out.
Does the same thing mine does, BUT....and this is IMPORTANT.....
With the better cheek weld on the Classic stock than on my '49-vintage Pre-64, the issue was not NEARLY as frustrating or problematic. It's there, and it's EASY to experience, but it's surely usable in dim light at 9x.
Just wanted to follow that one up.
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
Thanks Tom, I have noticed the same thing but like you, I can see the BDC reticle at shooting time limits. I am still a little dissatisfied to have paid $509 for my 2-10x40 and then had the price bottom drop out like a television set but I will get over it.
G
Guest
Guest
I have a Minox ZA5 in 4-20x50 on my 270Wby. I have a 4.5-14x44 Conquest on my 300Wby. Both wear the tupperware stock of the synthetic/stainless synthetic models. What I've found is the eye relief on the Minox is long - in fact, so long that I may play around with a slip on recoil pad on the 270Wby. But, even as-is, when shooting from sticks for practice prior to the season, I had little difficulty getting the eye-scope alignment correct. I had some slight dimming of the sight picture when off-center, but not the blacking out or serious dimming described here. I figured out the proper position and have not had an issue since. Now, I have been carrying my Stainless Synthetic 300 a lot this season, as it is not yet bloodied. I've noticed the same very mild dimming issues with the Conquest if I'm misaligned, and for whatever reason, I've not been able to establish as consistent a head position on the 300 in relation to the Conquest, so I actually see the dimming in the field a time or two on each trip. It's not enough to cause me to miss a shot nor is it something I'd complain about. It's a product of the laws of physics, and I'm asking that scope to bend them as much as possible without breaking them, so I accept the performance without complaint. I have also noticed I have this same problem with a Pentax Pioneer 4.5-14x42 (Burris FFII clone). I do not have it on any of my 3-9x40 Bushnell Elite 3200s nor a Leupold Vari-X II 2-7x28 (early 80s vintage). The 4x Armsport scope on my 30-30WCF does not exhibit this issue at all.
What I can tell you from my experience is, it happens at the higher magnifications, around 12x and above, or in the case of the Minox, around 15x and up. It's consistent enough with the Minox and Pentax to be dealt with by creating memory of the proper head position. The Conquest should be the same, but so far I've not been able to acquire that memory. The interesting comparison is the stocks on these two rifles are identical - the Pentax is not mounted on anything right now. So with literally identical stock geometry, and the only difference being the chamber and bore (external dimensions for the two 'bees are the same) I can only attribute it to better positioning of the Minox in the rings, in relation to my head position, versus the Conquest. I'll have some time after deer season to evaluate a little more, as I'm going to do some coyote and squirrel hunting and should be able to make a proper low-light comparison of the two scopes, side-by-side.
Overall, both scopes are more than satisfactory, and either would allow me to break the law in terms of legal shooting hours versus a clear shot picture after hours. I completely believe the experiences related here, by the way. Just thought I'd share my own experience. It may well be the real gremlin of what is the best glass made - fit. I've told plenty of folks to try glass in the field if you can, prior to buying any. I've let guys compare their scope to mine numerous times. In fact, one of my hunting lease partners is ordering a Conquest in 3-9x40 after looking through my 4.5-14x44 in late December. But if glass doesn't fit you, it's not going to. That's a lesson I learned a little painfully a number of years ago.
Glad to hear it's working out for you with the different stock style, Tom.
Charlie, I hope you can get some resolution on your experience. I'm not sure if you bought your Minox from Doug or not, but I bet if you contact him he'd be willing to maybe make amends in some fashion. Perhaps he'd give you the add-on price for a pair of the Minox binos? It's worth asking. Of course, if you bought it elsewhere, I don't know what to say except that it can't hurt to contact the folks you bought it from and try to sweet talk them into helping you out a bit.
What I can tell you from my experience is, it happens at the higher magnifications, around 12x and above, or in the case of the Minox, around 15x and up. It's consistent enough with the Minox and Pentax to be dealt with by creating memory of the proper head position. The Conquest should be the same, but so far I've not been able to acquire that memory. The interesting comparison is the stocks on these two rifles are identical - the Pentax is not mounted on anything right now. So with literally identical stock geometry, and the only difference being the chamber and bore (external dimensions for the two 'bees are the same) I can only attribute it to better positioning of the Minox in the rings, in relation to my head position, versus the Conquest. I'll have some time after deer season to evaluate a little more, as I'm going to do some coyote and squirrel hunting and should be able to make a proper low-light comparison of the two scopes, side-by-side.
Overall, both scopes are more than satisfactory, and either would allow me to break the law in terms of legal shooting hours versus a clear shot picture after hours. I completely believe the experiences related here, by the way. Just thought I'd share my own experience. It may well be the real gremlin of what is the best glass made - fit. I've told plenty of folks to try glass in the field if you can, prior to buying any. I've let guys compare their scope to mine numerous times. In fact, one of my hunting lease partners is ordering a Conquest in 3-9x40 after looking through my 4.5-14x44 in late December. But if glass doesn't fit you, it's not going to. That's a lesson I learned a little painfully a number of years ago.
Glad to hear it's working out for you with the different stock style, Tom.
Charlie, I hope you can get some resolution on your experience. I'm not sure if you bought your Minox from Doug or not, but I bet if you contact him he'd be willing to maybe make amends in some fashion. Perhaps he'd give you the add-on price for a pair of the Minox binos? It's worth asking. Of course, if you bought it elsewhere, I don't know what to say except that it can't hurt to contact the folks you bought it from and try to sweet talk them into helping you out a bit.
Just wanted to throw out another Minox report. I have a pair of ZA5 2-10's. Lori bought them for us last year when they were on sale from SWFA. I originally mounted one of them on my 338 Win Mag and it seemed decent. The FOV seemed smaller than it should have been though, then after awhile, I noticed the rear eyepiece starting to loosen up after shooting. Nothing broke, but it bothered me.
Wasn't a big deal to them, I called, sent it in and they replaced the scope. Well, fast forward to yesterday. I mounted that 2-10 back on my 300WSM. I checked it out at the house and played with a little. Looked like the FOV problem was fixed and the glass was very sharp and clear.
When I got to the range, I did a quick bore sight with it, first shot was on paper, I adjusted it 6 clicks and it tracked right on the money, BUT, when I focussed the crosshairs so they were sharp, the target dots had halo's around them, I just couldn't focus the scope to save my life.. I fought threw the scope for the rest of the day, but it was eating me alive. I could focus the targets and they would be SHARP, but the crosshairs would be blurry, and vice versa...
So, I called them, explained my displeasure with the scope and stated I had JUST received this scope back from service.. They apologized and stated they are coming up with a fix to these issues shortly, in a sort of Gen II update for them, as there have been numerous issues with them. They also said, they will send me a new scope, with a shipping label in the box in order to send my old one back to them (I mentioned I was tired of spending 10.00USD to keep shipping scopes).....
I am very happy with their customer service and their 3x9's haven't ever given me a lick of trouble. They just keep working like they are supposed to. One is on my Whelen and takes a pounding, without a bit of trouble.
Anyhow, figured you all would wanna know the deal on them. Great people to speak with on the phone, and they are aware of some gltiches with their scope and seem to wanna stand behind the product. They are good scopes when they work, but there are glitches with some of them. I am not against Minox by any stretch, but they do have some issues.. Seems like they need to tighten up their QC a little, as their glass is great, but the little things need to be tightened up.
Wasn't a big deal to them, I called, sent it in and they replaced the scope. Well, fast forward to yesterday. I mounted that 2-10 back on my 300WSM. I checked it out at the house and played with a little. Looked like the FOV problem was fixed and the glass was very sharp and clear.
When I got to the range, I did a quick bore sight with it, first shot was on paper, I adjusted it 6 clicks and it tracked right on the money, BUT, when I focussed the crosshairs so they were sharp, the target dots had halo's around them, I just couldn't focus the scope to save my life.. I fought threw the scope for the rest of the day, but it was eating me alive. I could focus the targets and they would be SHARP, but the crosshairs would be blurry, and vice versa...
So, I called them, explained my displeasure with the scope and stated I had JUST received this scope back from service.. They apologized and stated they are coming up with a fix to these issues shortly, in a sort of Gen II update for them, as there have been numerous issues with them. They also said, they will send me a new scope, with a shipping label in the box in order to send my old one back to them (I mentioned I was tired of spending 10.00USD to keep shipping scopes).....
I am very happy with their customer service and their 3x9's haven't ever given me a lick of trouble. They just keep working like they are supposed to. One is on my Whelen and takes a pounding, without a bit of trouble.
Anyhow, figured you all would wanna know the deal on them. Great people to speak with on the phone, and they are aware of some gltiches with their scope and seem to wanna stand behind the product. They are good scopes when they work, but there are glitches with some of them. I am not against Minox by any stretch, but they do have some issues.. Seems like they need to tighten up their QC a little, as their glass is great, but the little things need to be tightened up.
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
Tom, see my other post from yesterday and the day before on the Minox eye box performance in near total darkness. I tested it against (9) other scopes and the only (2) that failed the test were a Leupold Vari-XIIc and the Minox. I don't want to repeat myself here so please see the other posts expanding this topic.
