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by Anonymous on November 6, 2014
The clarity of the Z3 scope has spoiled me for lesser optics. The brightness is just incredible; the image is actually brighter than I can see with the naked eye.
The BRH reticle is pretty useful -- IF the user is able to dedicate time to learning and mastering the mil-dot system, learning and memorizing trajectories for each load used, AND has the need or desire to shoot at ranges beyond his rifle's MPBR. If you don't meet all of those criteria, the BRH might just amount to a neat feature that goes unused. Having said that, it's only $20 over the price of the standard Plex reticle, so even if you end up just using the BRH for the crosshairs you haven't lost much. It is a good ballistic reticle, for those who are into that sort of thing. I'm glad to have it, just for the extra capability. I have my rifle zeroed for maximum point blank range and used ballistics software to calculate the holds for longer ranges - out to nearly 800 yards without any adjustment. Speaking of which, Swarovski does offer free external ballistics smartphone software (get it!), in addition to providing trajectory decals and customer support in this arena.
The turrets provide 1/4 MOA adjustments, which is fine, aside from the fact that the reticle is calibrated in milliradians. If that bothers you, well, again, the BRH might not be the best choice.
The turrets work just as they should. During initial bore sighting, the windage turret on my scope wouldn't adjust properly until I gave it a few moderately solid taps with a screwdriver handle. Since then it has worked flawlessly.
My Z3 3-10x42 is mounted on a Winchester Model 70 .338 and has not budged from zero over the course of about 200 rounds-- except when I've adjusted it for different loads, and then the adjustments worked with the precision one would damn well expect from a quality riflescope in ANY price range.
My Z3 has one (very wet) Alaska moose season -- and one dead moose -- under its belt with no problems, other than some tiny, tiny scratches that were totally my fault.
Coming full circle back to where we started, the reason you buy a Swarovski is for the OPTICS. In that department the Z3 is absolutely first rate. The user quickly becomes accustomed to the superior image quality, and may not realize he's become addicted to Swarovski levels of optical excellence until he haplessly peers through a lesser scope... The Z3 really does recalibrate your expectations for optical performance in a riflescope. Don't buy one unless you want to buy several!
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