Mike Morton examines the ZEISS Conquest V4 – a range of hunting scopes that will prove useful not just to centrefire shooters, but airgun shooters too.
We’re here to talk about a new range of airgun-friendly telescopic sights from ZEISS, but please indulge me for a bit. Many years ago I was on a long-range shooting course in Wales. I think it was in the summer, but being in Britain it was raining anyway.
My scope wasn’t bad by any means, and the glass was reasonably good, even in the grey, wet conditions. But the reticle didn’t offer as much fidelity as I needed and the crosshairs were too thick, partially obscuring the target 800 yards away.
The instructor took pity on me and let me use his rifle. While his gun was lovely, it was the scope on top that was the standout feature. The image wasn’t just good, it was great, being wonderfully bright, and the reticle was ideal for the type of shooting we were doing. And yes, you’ve guessed it – it was a ZEISS.
Way back then, using any high-end scope with an air rifle was a different matter altogether, involving the re-parallaxing of the optic so it would focus down to airgun distances. But that’s changed with the latest Conquest V4 scopes from Zeiss, all of which will parallax down to 10 yards.
The turrets on this V4 6-24×50 are graduated in minutes of angle, with each click shifting point of impact by ¼ MOA 
This particular scope has a magnification range of 6-24x, while the other models in the V4 line-up are 4-16x 
This Zeiss Conquest V4 4-16x has an objective lens diameter of 44mm, but a 50mm model is also available with the same level of magnification
There are no fewer than 15 different scope and reticle combinations on offer from the German firm. The scopes themselves include 4-16×44, 4-16×50 and 6-24×50 models, while the six different reticle styles include a basic crosshair design called the Reticle 60, the ZMOAi-1, which is another clean design, but this time with multiple aim points, and the ZBi, which is a Christmas tree-style reticle which offers plenty of additional aim points for windage and holdover.
As with most things in shooting, it really pays to know exactly what you want your scope to do and how it will be used in order to maximise both the utility and enjoyment of any new purchase. With so many options, Zeiss has made it easy to grab an off-the-shelf, but high-end optic that’s tailored just right for your needs.
Zeiss explains that all these scopes have a rugged and functional design, offering a good balance between a wide field of view and a large magnification range, making them ideal for hunting. That’s something we’ll be putting to the test very soon.
Leave a Reply