Zerotech Scopes

[ClaytonT88]

Howdy howdy,

Looking at grabbing one of these Zerotech Thrive 4-16X50 scopes to put on the 22LR for a bit more target fun (currently on a 3-9X40 Leupold VX Freedom.
https://magnumsports.com.au/products/th ... 3373583644
Has anyone used one/have one and rate them? MarkandSam afterwork run them and recommend them....

Cheers all!

[Jorlcrin]

I've been running a 3-12x44 Zerotech Thrive with a simple duplex reticle, on my Tikka CTR .223, for about 18 months, now.

Cost about a third of my last Nightforce (SHV 3-12x44 MOAR).
Couldnt fault the Zerotech; Performed better than expected on the .223.
It's nailed a lot of pigs and small furry animals for me.

Mine is 30mm tube, and 2nd focal plane; I note some are described as 1st focal plane...

[SCJ429]

What is the difference between a $200 Chinese scope and that $699 Chinese Zerotech? They seem over priced compared?

[Oldbloke]

Howdy howdy,

Looking at grabbing one of these Zerotech Thrive 4-16X50 scopes to put on the 22LR for a bit more target fun (currently on a 3-9X40 Leupold VX Freedom.
https://magnumsports.com.au/products/th ... 3373583644
Has anyone used one/have one and rate them? MarkandSam afterwork run them and recommend them....

Cheers all!

Why not another Leupold?

[Jorlcrin]

Why not another Leupold?

I'd suggest price in the same configuration??
I cant see any similar Leupold scopes on Magnum Sports selling for much less than double the price of the Zerotech.

I havent found my Zerotech Thrive to be a third as good as my Nightforce scopes(as the price was); I actually find it pretty comparable.
Havent tried it in extreme conditions, but it looks and feels to be solidly made.
I'd prefer a different reticle, but thats a minor issue, considering the rifle I have it on.

When I looked at the options in my LGS when I bought the Zerotech, I looked at Leupolds, Nightforce, Zeiss, and a couple of Nikon scopes.
As far as bang for buck, the Zerotech looked to be the best deal for my needs.
I was a bit hesitant, as the price seemed low for the scope, but I decided to take a gamble.
18 months on, I'm not seeing any reason to question that decision.

My 2 cents..

[Wyliecoyote]

Zerotech, Element, Bushnell, Tasco and some Burris scopes including the Forge line are all made in the same factory in China. Nightforce are Japanese components, some scopes assembled in Japan, some in USA. March are made by Deon of Japan and Leupold is USA made.
PRS is falsely highlighting some of these brands as most of the top shooters are sponsored by various companies for most all products they use. Prior to PRS's growth, the top line shooters were using S&Bs, Nightforce and March. Now very few if any do.
Not saying these various brands aren't any good, just saying no Chinese scope is worth more than a couple hundred dollars, the price the importers are paying for them.

[bladeracer]

Zerotech, Element, Bushnell, Tasco and some Burris scopes including the Forge line are all made in the same factory in China. Nightforce are Japanese components, some scopes assembled in Japan, some in USA. March are made by Deon of Japan and Leupold is USA made.
PRS is falsely highlighting some of these brands as most of the top shooters are sponsored by various companies for most all products they use. Prior to PRS's growth, the top line shooters were using S&Bs, Nightforce and March. Now very few if any do.
Not saying these various brands aren't any good, just saying no Chinese scope is worth more than a couple hundred dollars, the price the importers are paying for them.

Haven't Leupold taken a hammering from some customers for moving some of their production to Chinese stuff?

[Wyliecoyote]

Blade all Leupold spotting scopes, binos and range finders are made in China. Their scopes are made in the US. The problem was that the Chinese were making such good replicas that they were being sent to Leupold for warranty. It wasn't until their techs pulled them apart that they discovered they were fakes. One give away was the gold ring, the chinks version is more gold than the Leupold gold ring. I was shown a Chinese Mark 4, no gold ring on Mark 4s, that is in appearance identical to my genuine Mark 4. It is not until you wind the turrets that it gives it away as a fake as there is no positive adjustment click like there is in a genuine Leupold. Optically very clear and the machine work was flawless. You would never know looking at it.

[ClaytonT88]

Howdy howdy,

Looking at grabbing one of these Zerotech Thrive 4-16X50 scopes to put on the 22LR for a bit more target fun (currently on a 3-9X40 Leupold VX Freedom.
https://magnumsports.com.au/products/th ... 3373583644
Has anyone used one/have one and rate them? MarkandSam afterwork run them and recommend them....

Cheers all!

Why not another Leupold?

Yeah, it comes down to budget. I'd be saving up for another 3 months (still a student for a few more months) for the price difference...$549 compared to $1245.

Deep down, I'd rather purchase a Leupold for the "buy once, cry once" factor which I usually live by, looking for some feedback as they seem to have a pretty good wrap, and so far the responses seem fairly positive, doesn't seem to be any regrets.

[Oldbloke]

Mmmm, I'm not normally in the "buy once cry once camp.

But I've experienced a my fair share of cheap scope failures.

After a few trips being ruined and the cost of fuel, lost opportunities, most importantly time etc. Now it's Leupold or open sights.

TBH, wish I'd only ever bought Leupold or better.

[No1_49er]

Mmmm, I'm not normally in the "buy once cry once camp.
But I've experienced a my fair share of cheap scope failures.
After a few trips being ruined and the cost of fuel, lost opportunities, most importantly time etc. Now it's Leupold or open sights.
TBH, wish I'd only ever bought Leupold or better.

Other than "buy once, cry once", the next saying of any value is "I can't afford to buy cheap".
A lot of truth in that.

[deye243]

I was a loopy owner for 35 years but after the price jumps and so called HD glass never again the last 7 scopes i Purchased? have been element optika ziess and night force .

[animalpest]

If Chinese scopes are your budget go for it. Zerotech are probably as good as any.
I am in OB's camp. Leopold is my go to, although I do have others. Some people, or their shooting, doesn't notice the difference.
Nightforce are great scopes, but unless you are regularly making adjustments and need for them to be right, you probably wont tell the difference.

I have had too many scopes give out, change their zero or be a pain to zero to be bothered with cheap brands

[SCJ429]

I am a bit of a snob and have owned no Chinese scopes until a friend called me out and challenged me to try one. I bought a $200 VisionKing scope off EPay and tried to destroy it on a 7mm REM Mag. I am not saying it is good or the optics are great but it is useable, tracks OK and has not fallen apart. I wouldn’t recommend it but if $200 is all you have, it will do the job. I would keep the magnification low, below 20x probably best to go 12x or lower.

[bluehorse]

i sent my first vengeance back after 30 rounds as the] group suddenly changed for no good reason. i demanded refund 30rounds not a nights shooting . Isince relented and bought a thrive . I think its shaping up to go in cupboard too unless I can pull a rabbit from a hat .. There is a fine line between a scope holding zero and1not holding zero possibly 1shooting no better than 1andquarter inch group that does not respond to bedding or other tricks . I usually doubt myself so I try to be certain that I get my shots away well and take photos of targets for comparison. Ihave had historical trouble with certain mounts shuffling under those 6 48 screws . Read the history of where they came from. That thread was made obselete by industry in 1946 ? but adopted by rifle manufacturers and possibly to hold a captive market . If I could tap the receiversto4mm metric I would but receivers are bloody hard . If I was to annea lthe receiver then it would have to go back for heat treatment before I would feel like shooting it .
I had a model70 fixed by a famous Jim Sivyer backin76 .He silver soldered the bridge to receiver with low temp stay brite still available solder but needs experience to do this .
Mounts are Number1 suspect I think before condemning a scope .


I have never had success by bore sighting over 100mdistance by my eyeball . I need a clean 8x4 feet target and no guarantee I can put a hole in it .
I like shotsavers .Anold mate had a bushnell boresighter in 60s that usually was a good start . I have a mates old shot saver but is hit and miss. mostly miss.
I bought a new nikko and I noted the arbors flopped around in the barrel like a cock in a sock and a big sock at that . I measured the arbors and I was shocked at the clearence in the bore . 243 was excessive and so was 22 . So i got a peice of 6mm stainless rod and measured this and it had about a thou clearence .
I shoved this down bore and out my end , clamped shotsaver to it and of course it would not stand erect LOL dont tell me to give it viagra LOL I clamped old shotsaver to my end and used that to get the shotsaver vertical then adjusted scope . It was not perfect but had far less side play than undersized arbor .
So if you blokes have same trouble as I did measure the arbor . You can buy accurate rods in common sizes off the rack but only common sizes so if you need a specialsized sized rod then u need to find a turners shop who has a centreless grinder to make 1 for you I suggest barrel l length plus 4 inches so it pokes out your end .Then u either tack weld a handle to it or make something to hold rod so u can in turn stand shotsaver vertical. It might be a f*** around but easier than spring loading the rod like a factory made arbor I dont think this method is perfect or exactly portable but a bloody sight better than undersized .arbors .The Bushnell version has expandable arbors at $255 bucks a throw compared to 80 odd for Nikko. so u can make full length tight arbors if u get some made in a centreless grinder thats far more accurate than a lathe . . Read up on how a centreless grinder can do the job . or make rude version yourself .
I tried all ways to sight scopes in and shotsaver is my choice . but now I can make it better . Iam disgusted at some of the crapp they dish us up and have the audacity to claim its precision made . but this is a way to impove results cheaply and using sound maths . Invest in a micrometer to help improve your tooling . If you havent got 1 then learn how to read micrometer . I am not trying to take the piss out of anyone but we learnt at school in physics so many would never have tried to read again.. There are online how to use micrometer tutorials. Forget electronic mikes. LOL just learn to use basic ancient type and u can buy these cheaply too but be warned rust is the enemy .
There are many skills needed once you get bitten by the firearms bug

[bluehorse]

If u come across Pecar Berlin 6x Champion scope the grab it . Techs can repair and service these .They were up with the best of scopes in the seventies But today we r spoilt by variables . If I go back pro shooting I will have my 6xchampion in my swag too. We shot roos pigs foxes using Pecar Berlin .

[bladeracer]

If you can't boresight it by looking through the bore just fire one shot at a large sheet at 10m and make a gross adjustment to get you into the ballpark (leave it a little low), then shoot at 100m for fine adjustment.

i sent my first vengeance back after 30 rounds as the] group suddenly changed for no good reason. i demanded refund 30rounds not a nights shooting . Isince relented and bought a thrive . I think its shaping up to go in cupboard too unless I can pull a rabbit from a hat .. There is a fine line between a scope holding zero and1not holding zero possibly 1shooting no better than 1andquarter inch group that does not respond to bedding or other tricks . I usually doubt myself so I try to be certain that I get my shots away well and take photos of targets for comparison. Ihave had historical trouble with certain mounts shuffling under those 6 48 screws . Read the history of where they came from. That thread was made obselete by industry in 1946 ? but adopted by rifle manufacturers and possibly to hold a captive market . If I could tap the receiversto4mm metric I would but receivers are bloody hard . If I was to annea lthe receiver then it would have to go back for heat treatment before I would feel like shooting it .
I had a model70 fixed by a famous Jim Sivyer backin76 .He silver soldered the bridge to receiver with low temp stay brite still available solder but needs experience to do this .
Mounts are Number1 suspect I think before condemning a scope .


I have never had success by bore sighting over 100mdistance by my eyeball . I need a clean 8x4 feet target and no guarantee I can put a hole in it .
I like shotsavers .Anold mate had a bushnell boresighter in 60s that usually was a good start . I have a mates old shot saver but is hit and miss. mostly miss.
I bought a new nikko and I noted the arbors flopped around in the barrel like a cock in a sock and a big sock at that . I measured the arbors and I was shocked at the clearence in the bore . 243 was excessive and so was 22 . So i got a peice of 6mm stainless rod and measured this and it had about a thou clearence .
I shoved this down bore and out my end , clamped shotsaver to it and of course it would not stand erect LOL dont tell me to give it viagra LOL I clamped old shotsaver to my end and used that to get the shotsaver vertical then adjusted scope . It was not perfect but had far less side play than undersized arbor .
So if you blokes have same trouble as I did measure the arbor . You can buy accurate rods in common sizes off the rack but only common sizes so if you need a specialsized sized rod then u need to find a turners shop who has a centreless grinder to make 1 for you I suggest barrel l length plus 4 inches so it pokes out your end .Then u either tack weld a handle to it or make something to hold rod so u can in turn stand shotsaver vertical. It might be a f*** around but easier than spring loading the rod like a factory made arbor I dont think this method is perfect or exactly portable but a bloody sight better than undersized .arbors .The Bushnell version has expandable arbors at $255 bucks a throw compared to 80 odd for Nikko. so u can make full length tight arbors if u get some made in a centreless grinder thats far more accurate than a lathe . . Read up on how a centreless grinder can do the job . or make rude version yourself .
I tried all ways to sight scopes in and shotsaver is my choice . but now I can make it better . Iam disgusted at some of the crapp they dish us up and have the audacity to claim its precision made . but this is a way to impove results cheaply and using sound maths . Invest in a micrometer to help improve your tooling . If you havent got 1 then learn how to read micrometer . I am not trying to take the piss out of anyone but we learnt at school in physics so many would never have tried to read again.. There are online how to use micrometer tutorials. Forget electronic mikes. LOL just learn to use basic ancient type and u can buy these cheaply too but be warned rust is the enemy .
There are many skills needed once you get bitten by the firearms bug

[deye243]

If u come across Pecar Berlin 6x Champion scope the grab it . Techs can repair and service these .They were up with the best of scopes in the seventies But today we r spoilt by variables . If I go back pro shooting I will have my 6xchampion in my swag too. We shot roos pigs foxes using Pecar Berlin .

I had a 4-10 x 45 and a 4x81 I think the objective was 34mm the 81 is the light gathering Factor.
Now as far as new scopes go just about anything will beat them glass wise even cheapy zerotech vortex and just about anything over $500