I'm looking for a good miidle-high spec variable scope for mainly lamping but also Varmint work.
So far I have narrowed down to a Conquest, Monarch or Swaro' AV
The Nikon comes ou cheapest, with the Zeiss followed by Swaro'
I want something with clear optics and reliable mechanics.
Don't want another 4200 as I seem to have a problem with them "washing out".
Thanks

Excellent choices. You cannot go wrong with any of these excellent performers.

I have had a Zeiss Conquest 6.5-20x 50mm. I still own two Nikon Monarch 6.5-20x 44mm scopes. Maybe the Conquest I had was not up to normal. I got it second hand on a Cooper rifle. So don't suspect anything was wrong with it. The rifle and scope were practically brand new. It wasn't bad, but the Nikon was better.

The Nikon's have a bit more resolution than the Conquest. And were also a tiny bit better as it gets dark. I am not talking big differences here, not like one blows the other away. And I really expected more from the Conquest. It being on the Cooper was part of what sold me the rifle. I still have that rifle, just has a Nikon atop it now.

The Conquest was not bad at all, but definitely not better than a Monarch. Since it costs a fair amount more, it isn't a good deal. I am sure many will be incredulous of my opinion. I kept thinking I just wasn't seeing it. But in the end, the Conquest offered no advantages.

I have shot rifles at the range with Swaro's twice. I did find those to be better than either the Conquest or Nikon. I would say mainly better contrast. But that was limited use, not like owning one and using it under many conditions. My immediate impression of the Swaro however is you do get something extra in optical performance. I also have used the European Zeiss scopes before which appear better than the Conquest that I had.

I think for value the Nikon is tough to beat. And you don't give up lots optically vs. even the best of scopes.

I think ESLdude has made some excellent observations, I'm a big Swaro fan but wouldn't hesitate to try a Nikon or Zeiss either........DJ

I would have agreed with ESLdude's advice, until recently. I've owned a bunch of Monarchs, and currently own 2....a 5.5-16.5x44 and a 6.5-18x44. Both of them are crystal clear, sharp, bright, have been very reliable, and a little short on eye relief. The Zeiss' are both Conquests, 3-10x40s. I rate these 4 scopes VERY CLOSE optically, but the Zeiss' have a bit more eye relief. But, the last two NEW Monarchs I looked through, both 1.5-6x42, 30mm tubes, were depressingly blurry at the edges and not particularly bright. The last Monarch that I owned and sold was a 3-9 X 40 that, too, was just not sharp.

So, I've decided for me, that I need to look through each and every Monarch before I decide whether it's "good" or "bad". You could probably make this same statement for a lot of other scope lines out there. Just remember that when you buy your next scope second hand, on-line. If you buy a second hand Leupold and it's bad, you can usually get it fixed for nothing. Not so with a blurry Nikon.

I know you didn't ask, but the sharpest, clearest, brightest scope I've every looked through was mounted on an Oak Ridge, TN police sniper rifle...Schmidt and Bender 3-12 x 56 IIRC.

MKane160

I own the Zeiss 4.5-14x44 and the Nikon Monarch 5.5-16x44 I'd have to rate them very close in every category. The only reason I like the Zeiss just a tad more is due to the reticle and the SF, other than that they are neck and neck. I'd honestly have to say the Nikon is more bang for your buck but, they are both fine scopes.

Good Luck

Reloader

I have Zeiss and Nikon scopes and can't complain about either. I will buy both again. Personally, my Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 is optically the best scope I have, and I rank it above any of my Nikons. I have only looked through Swaros, but based on just looking through them would call them the best scopes I have ever seen. But for the shear value for the dollar spent, Nikon is the winner.

You don't say what power range you are looking at, but here are my thoughts: The Conquest 3-9x40 can be had for $400 if you shop around, so if that is your power range, I'd go that route. The higher magnification Nikons are much less expensive than the Conquests, so if you want a 5.5-16.5 or 6.5-20 and $$$ is a concern, look at the Nikons. If $$$ is not object, get the Swarovski.

With any of these you won't make a bad decision only spend more or less $$$.

I agree with everyone. Both the Nikon and Zeiss are very close optically and very hard to tell the difference. The only really major difference is the Conquest has side focus and the Nikon has an AO, plus the Nikon is much cheaper. I probably would lean towards the Nikon and save the extra money.

Jon I noticed the 2-7 Nikon Monarch I bought about 2 months ago is made in the Philipines. Is that true of all Monarchs and what is your feeling about the quality compared to the Japanese built scopes.
Mark

I like both scopes too, but would go with the Conquest for it's 4" fixed eye relief and laser etched reticle.
Either scope would serve you well.

I don't like an AO or side focus on a big game scope.

I happen to have Monarchs from each of the countries they have been made. And see no difference. I am highly impressed with their ability to move country of manufacture and not have problems.

I do like the reticle on the Zeiss, but the difference in the price is substantial. I have one of the 1.5-6x42 Monarch Gold scopes on a 9.3x62 and it is the best scope I have in the dark. Just a couple of days ago, I received back a new 2-7x Nikon as a replacement for one that had developed a problem, so their warranty seems to be good as well. Mine had a strange problem, when turned up to 7x, it would become blurry and the parallax you could measure with a yardstick. I could just touch the power ring to 6x and it would clear up and shoot sub-moa groups. I sent it in and the scope was replaced in a week. Very good service, as I shoot a lot I had two scopes in for repairs at once, the other was a Burris. I sent a letter with it that said the elevation wouldn't change POI and they sent it back and said they recoil tested it and it held POI fine. It did but that wasn't the problem, as the elevation still doesn't move the cross hairs if you try to bore sight it. In this case the service wasn't so good. In all fairness, the other Burris I sent in was repaired and back home in a week and still working fine. I have two Zeiss Conquests and have had no problem, even when one took a hell of a lick. I was getting ready to stalk a zebra (Hartmann's), slipped on a boulder we had climbed up on to glass, when I stuck my arm down to catch myself, the rifle slid off my shoulder putting a good dent in the objective bell. We finished the stalk and center punched the zebra at 150 yards. As I was still not convinced, I shot it on paper when we returned, sight in was still perfect.

I've been shopping for a scope to mount on a Ruger Number 1, 45/70 Govt. (Surprise!) for elk in dense cover at the Oregon coast.

Standard fare here is 1 - 4x 20mm, usually Leupold VXII's. I've been looking at VXIII's too, Swarov, Zeiss --

But I'm likeing the Nikon Conquest. I own an old Nikon camera -- from "back when" -- late 60's when I was working for newspapers. Nikon was standard working equipment for the press. They got hammered and lived to work another day.

Anyways -- Nikon is good stuff. But mostly I like the Monarch 1 -6x 42mm, 4" eye relief, good FOV and it's not costing an arm/leg. And at 11.4" it's shorter than the other stuff I've seen.

I don't need a "space laser" for a "brush gun." Few shots are anywhere near 100 yds with most well under.

The large objective should make it bright, eye relief aids in getting on the mark fast in dense cover.

And about half the money as a Zeiss or Swarovski -- which are great scopes, maybe for a Rem. 700 in 300 Win. Mag. and high-desert hunting where we're looking 200, 300 yds out to the target.

OK -- bear with here. An article, long post. This is the review posted on the Cabela's site:

Nikon Monarch Gold Riflescope Field Test

By: Mike Schoby

Nikon sets a new level of optical performance with the Monarch Gold® series of riflescopes.
Nikon Monarch® Gold 30mm Rifle Scope

I have used Nikon cameras as a professional photographer for over 10 years. They have never let me down and I have always been pleased with their rugged design, extreme optical clarity of their lenses and overall functionality. While I have had great experiences with their photographic products, I am relatively unfamiliar with their sport optic line. Recently I had the opportunity to extensively test their Monarch® Gold riflescope and was pleased to find out that it lived up to everything the name Nikon represents.

While Nikon makes a wide range of sport optics covering many prices and styles, the Monarch Gold series is the top of their line which dictates they be compared with the best scopes in the world for a true apples-to-apples test. Available in four models to cover most big-game situations, the particular model I tested was the 2.5-10x56 with the easy-to-use, locking, side-focusing parallax adjustment and the Nikoplex reticle. This scope featured a 30mm main tube, quick-focus eye ring, and sports a smooth-satin, matte-black finish.

I was excited to test this scope as it already had earned high marks in Outdoor Life's stringent independent testing procedure, which resulted in an Editor's Choice award. At first look it was easy to see the scope had all the characteristics of a winner - clarity, solid feel, and smooth adjustments, but it wasn't until I spent some time behind the lens that I could make a final judgment.
Nikoplex Reticle

Field Test
Point-of-Aim Shift - This is a test to see if the point-of-aim shifts with power adjustment. I set up a one-inch grid target at 100 yards and centered the crosshairs on the intersection of one square. Adjusting the power from 10 back down to 2.5, there was no point-of-aim shift. I repeated this test several times with the same results. This is critical in any variable scope, but I have seen several seemingly well-constructed scopes repeatedly move their point of impact as the scope was zoomed in and out, which makes them worthless for hunters. The Monarch Gold passed this simple test with flying colors.

Repeatability of Adjustments
In short, repeatability of adjustment is the ability to move the point of impact a set amount and return that same amount to the original point of impact. A good test of this is the square test. Pick a point on a target; make 40 clicks (10 inches) up, 40 clicks to the right, 40 clicks down, and 40 clicks to the left. The end result should be a perfect square with the crosshairs at their original starting point. The Nikon Monarch succeeded in this test and returned to within two inches of its original zero. While not perfect, the Monarch Gold is better than most scopes and is more than adequate for any hunting scope.
Nikon Monarch® moved a precise inch every four clicks and stayed consistent through the entire range of adjustment.

Uniformity of Adjustments
Many scopes lack in the realm of adjustment uniformity. This scope aberration takes several forms. The first and most common are adjustments not matching the stated values. For example, 1/4" clicks means that one click will move the point of aim 1/4" at 100 yards (i.e. four clicks will equal one inch of movement at 100 yards). When this is not functioning correctly, four clicks may actually only equal a half inch or it may equal two inches - ether case is not good, but better than clicks that don't stay consistent. In this second scenario, the first four clicks may move the crosshairs one inch (as it should), but the next four clicks may yield two inches, while the next four may only move the point of impact one-half inch. Problems like this make sighting-in extremely difficult, frustrating and are the mark of a poorly constructed scope.

The Nikon Monarch moved a precise inch every four clicks and stayed consistent through the entire range of adjustment. This shows an incredible amount of precision tolerance and mechanical reliability built into the scope.

Overall Length and Eye Relief
In an attempt to shave off overall length and reduce the weight, many scope manufacturers errantly shorten the length of their main tube. While on a short-action rifle this may or may not make a difference, if you try to mount a short-tubed scope on a long-action rifle, you may be in for a surprise. In some cases the scope will mount, but allow no fore or aft adjustment. In other cases the scope won't mount at all. With a main tube of 5-1/2 inches the Nikon Monarch is capable of being mounted on even the longest action - something to consider when adequate eye relief is a must on heavy-recoiling rifles.
The relatively long eye relief of four inches compares well with any scope in the same class.

The relatively long eye relief of four inches compares well with any scope in the same class and is more than enough to provide plenty of room for even the hardest kicking rifles.

Light Transmission
For many hunters, the mark of a good scope is how well it "gathers light". While "gathering light" is actually a misnomer, the ability of a scope to transmit available light is something every hunter should be concerned with. While not as easy to gauge by the average hunter as other more quantifiable measurements such as impact shift, size and weight - light transmission is a benchmark by which scopes are judged. According to Nikon, the Monarch Gold transmits 95% of available light. This is an incredible amount and puts it on par with any scope made. While I don't have any sophisticated testing equipment, I did take out the Nikon at last light for a side-by-side test with other comparable scopes including those by such noted manufacturers as Leupold and Swarovski, and there was no discernable difference between the three, to the eye in low-light scenarios, ranking the Nikon as good as anything out there.

The Nikon's ability to transmit light is excellent, and offered plenty of resolution and contrast to distinguish targets from dark shadows in the lowest light conditions.

After extensively testing the Monarch Gold it's easy to see why Nikon received the Outdoor Life Editor's Choice award and is considered a top performer in its class. Built extremely rugged, but still as precise as a Swiss watch wrapped around top-notch glass that is Nikon's trademark, the Nikon Monarch Gold is a scope that can be relied on for a lifetime of flawless service and still be passed on to your grandchildren.

quote:

I did take out the Nikon at last light for a side-by-side test with other comparable scopes including those by such noted manufacturers as Leupold and Swarovski, and there was no discernable difference between the three, to the eye in low-light scenarios, ranking the Nikon as good as anything out there.

This guy is a salesman for Cabela's through and through. This review is what you'd expect from Cabela's. Pure BS .