I have a lighter weight Mauser 30.06 being completed. I enjoy great glass but a lot of times that means heavy. My favorite scopes are Schmidt & Benders especially the 42MM & 50mm versions, they have proven to be reliable and tough. I along with my hunting buddies, we have also used Leupolds over the years without any problems. On this rifle a Leupold VariX3 2-8X36 fits about perfect. I don’t want to put a spotting scope on this lighter weight rifle. The Swarovski Z3 3-9X36 is about the same size as the Leupold VX3 2-8X36. Has anyone put their Swarovski Z3 3-9X36 through its paces as your go to scope for a number of years and numerous rigorous mountain hunts say in the Yukon, Alaska, BC and the Rocky Mtn West? Any issues with your Z3. You read a few things on the internet. What do you feel is an advantage if any over the Leupold?

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What do you feel is an advantage if any over the Leupold?

Clarity and tracking.

I've had a Z 3 on my Ruger 77 300 win mag for close to four yrs. Its spent weeks in a saddle scabbard ,it bounces around in the back of the truck days on end. Been dropped from clients frozen fingers ,and spent all day in the rain. It has held zero through all of it. Its 3x9x42, and I really like it

I’ve had one on my 270 for about 15 years with no complaints. Slightly better optical quality than the Vari-X III 3.5-10 it replaced. My Leupold was 20 years old at the time it was replaced so it may not be a fair comparison of the optical quality.
I’ve got a new VX3i 2.5–8 that I’m mounting on another rifle this afternoon and will be comparing it against the Swarovski this evening.

As a sidenote, my Leupold 3.5–10 is approaching 40 years of service enduring countless tens of thousands of rounds on various rifles and has never had an issue.

I have a Z3 3-10 X 42 on a Model 70, but I haven't hunted it yet. HOWEVER I have had a VXII 2-7 Leupold on my custom Mathieu 7 mm RM for decades and hunted it all over the west and in BC. Carried it horseback, back pack, in a Jeep, in heat and cold, wet and dry. It has never given me any issues at all. it just works. I just recently moved it to my .257 Roberts and put a S&B Summit on my 7 mag. The S&B has great optics, but is a lot heavier and untested.

I have Z3 3-9 x36mm on a few rifles, including a 9.3x64 which I used on a very wet Alaska moose hunt. Scope did fine and took a moose at ~350yds. Also have one on a 300H&H Hagn single shot (pretty light rifle). Have taken several elk with that combination. Also have that scope on a .223 and .308.......no complaints.

I have one (3-9x36) that was on a Remington 700 Titanium in .270 Winchester for a while. Stupidly got rid of that gun last year but kept the scope. I think it weighed right at 6lbs scoped. The scope had no issues even with the lively recoil from the mountain rifle.

I have more confidence in a Leupold but only because I've had 1 Swarovski vs all of the VX1 and VXII's that still work great after dragging them all over Texas and up to Colorado/etc.


Either way I will always bring a back up rifle with me on a hunt that is guided or out of state. I was on a hunt in 2012 that was supposed to be a guided Axis deer hunt and I wanted to use my Muzzleloader. Scope mount issue caused a zero issue when checking things once at camp and I ended up doing the rest of the hunt with a 270 wsm.

I currently use three Z3 3-10 x 42 Swarovskis on a .243W, .270W and one of my 30.06 rifles. The earlier one ( 30.06 scope ) I bought new and hunted for a few years. I was so pleased with how this scope endured severe conditions ( although I believe in care of rifles and scopes ) when I wanted additional scopes I chose the same model, and deliberately bought sound second hand examples. As noted, only one of these scopes has been through rough stuff but handled it all without a single issue.
Saying that though there are certainly no flies on any of the Leupold scopes I have either. Good, sturdy scopes that can handle punishment. Swarovski and Leupold are exclusively the only scope brands I use.

I have an older 3-9x36 Swarovski Nova and it was on my 7x57 and is now on my 243. The 7x57 now wears a 1.5-10x44 Leica, and the 243 used to have a 4-12x50 Swaro Habicht. The little 36 doesn't give up anything to those other two scopes and used it last week to Roe Buck at 140m in the very last light. It was on the 7x57 for a number of years and Zeroed it once.

Why the change, got the Leica for a very good price, but its a 30mm tube with a red dot so has three turrets. I think I like it. On the Heym 243 it originally had a 4x32 in very low mounts. The 4-12x50 needed higher mounts and it never handled as well. With the 3-9x36 it's back to its low mounts and handles as it used to.

Sadly the Z3 doesn't seem to be imported into the UK anymore. Market here seems to want (or we are being forced to buy) large objective with large zoom range scopes on 30mm plus tubes with twiddly turrets.

The other really good scope to my mind is the Shmidt & Bender Summit 2.5-10x40.

I had Z-3's on four of my rifles and have since upgraded all of those to Z-5's with customized BTs. My Z-3s went on other rifles that had Leupolds or Nikons. The Leupolds and Nikons then went to my sons for scopes on some of their rifles. I love the Swarovski scopes and never had a problem with the Z-3s. To me, the best scope out there for the money is the Z-5 with the BT. Add a custom BT (Ballistic Turret) to it, and you can dial up shots out to 700+ yards. You used to be able to get a free customized BT for your Swarovski Z-5 if you bought it from Outdoorsmans in Arizona.