No grey areas with Swiss kit

Mat Manning puts Zeiss’s V4 scope to the test on an evening in pursuit of woodland pests

- Mat Manning

Zeiss has an enviable reputation for being able to deliver rifle scopes that boast the performance and refinement you would expect from a German optics giant without the inconvenience of an eye-watering price tag. Knowing that the Conquest V4 range aims to follow in that vein, I couldn’t wait to mount one to my Weihrauch rimfire and put it through its paces.

With prices starting at £895 and stretching to £1,250 for the flagship 6-24x50 ZMOAi-T20 reticle model featured here, the Conquest V4 is not cheap but it still delivers remarkable value for its price point. Look through one and you will see what I mean — brightness and sharpness of image are better than on some scopes costing twice as much.

Weighing in at 690g and measuring 365mm, the 6-24x50 model is leaning towards the big end of mid-sized scopes. It is chunky but doesn’t look or feel out of place on my rather traditional-looking HW66. Made in Japan, the scope is also available in 4-16x44 and 4-16x50 formats. Add a remarkable choice of reticle configurations and it’s safe to say that most scenarios are covered.

Tough, properly waterproofed and nitrogen-purged to prevent them fogging up, these scopes are made for unsympathetic field use and that was my main intention for this one. But I needed to familiarise myself with it first, so I had a session on the range before letting rip on the increasingly abundant local pest population.

Sophisticated layout

Reticle choice is a big selling point and the Conquest V4 range offers everything from a conventional duplex (known as the 60) to some very sophisticated layouts.