John, for that price the scope should gut,skin, and quarter the animal too!
Probably cost as much as the hunt did, and that's just nonsense!
A flat shooting caliber signed in at 3" high at 100yds can keep any steady hand honest in the field with a well made $300 scope mounted on their rifle.

First of all, Congratulations Shannon Jackson on the Caribou!
During my 4 year tour at Eielson AFB Alaska and one of 7 range directors for recreational shooting, the #1 scope we found to be the biggest bang for the buck, is Leopold! Perhaps if I was looking for asteroids in space a Zeiss might do? But for this second generation U.S. Air Force High Power Team Member, a Leopold has the eye relief for rifles with heavy recoil, fantastic for bear hunts in very low light conditions and works fantastic for those extreme shots for Caribou at 700 yards on my 338 Win Mag or deer with my 25-06! And by the way, a 270 with a 130 grain bullet works absolutely great on Caribou unless you’re deep in Grizz country like I was. A young man from Dominion Republic that I’m proud to be his sponsor for his US Citizenship, I purchased for him as a gift, a Parker Wildfire Bow and the darn thing is just as accurate if not more as my bow at half the price. First shot was for slighter, adjusted the sight and fired the second and the third right down the shaft of the second. Cannot get better than that!
So my case and point is this, why pay for something and not gain any advantage over something at one third of the cost!
Reminds me of people who buy Hummers and don’t go into the brush.
I think I’ll make a bumper sticker for my Silverado that reads, HUMMER RETRIEVER!

I have to agree with above posters as well. I don't understand this fascination with a $4,000 scope that adds 2 lbs to your rifle.

Most calibers that you would use for caribou shoot out to 300 yards fairly flatly. If one must use a rangefinder a hand held unit that costs far less than this would more than suffice.

Companies keep coming up with solutions for problems that don't exist. Kind of like all the new rifle calibers that come out every year. Most are duplicates of existing rounds that aren't really necessary.

To each their own but I think I'll save my money.

Jim

Clay,

I agree with you on the issue of what you really need from your optics while hunting. I can’t remember who said it off the top of my head, but it is always worth remembering that a rifle scope is an aiming instrument and not a viewing instrument.

My own preference, which I talked about in my post on How To Miss, is for a plain duplex reticle with the scope adjusted for the correct maximum point blank range for the cartridge I’m using—which more often than not translates to about 2.5 to 3 inches high at 100 yards, though sometimes I’ve cranked it up even more. The last thing I want to think about is some complex calculation about which hash mark on my reticle to use before pulling the trigger. I want to center the crosshairs in the fur and let it fly.

In fact, when it comes to choosing a scope I’m much more concerned with how low I can adjust the power on it than just about anything. I’ve got a number of 1.5-6 power scopes on my rifles—that is by far my preferred power range. Give me a wide field of view for easy target acquisition any day. I can’t even remember the last big game animal I shot with the scope turned up past 4X and that includes a mule deer I took at 414 yards a couple years ago.

For guys who want—or feel they need—a little more magnification on an all-around big game scope I’m not sure how you can do better than with something like a Leupold VX-III 2.5-8X36. It is a great, solid do-anything scope that won’t cost you a mint and will last a long, long time.

That said, I don’t think it is worth dismissing top-of-the-line products like the Zeiss Diarange out of hand. If for no other reason than to see what features—coatings, ergonomic improvements, electronics—are being integrated into the scopes of the future. There is an undeniable trickledown effect in the technology. The multi-layered coatings that were the sole province of Swarovski, Leica and Zeiss a few years back are now on just about every mid-price point scope and binocular out there.

I think the same thing will happen with electronics. While I don’t like the fancy reticles, I do use a rangefinder. And having a good one integrated into my scope is something I could see using down the road—provided the weight isn’t out of control and that the cost isn’t through the roof. For me, the Zeiss is like a peek at the future.

Can we kill game with less? You bet. My Marlin 336C in .35 Remington has a ghost-ring sights on it and I whack deer with it every year and will continue to do so.

But I still think the Zeiss is pretty cool, even if I’m not going to rush out to buy one.

John

911 …---…
MAYDAY…. MAYDAY TO ALL SPORTSMEN!
Last night, a friend told me that Wal-Mart had computers with Windows XP and would be nice to have two spares for the business my Wife and I own. So I swooped over to Wal-Mart and they were sold out. So I went over to the Sporting goods section and their stood a Father with his 9 year old son looking at rifles. The young man was wide eyed with excitement just as if it was Christmas morning and the father had a very sad look on his face and sick to his stomach. Youth season for deer is Nov 3-4, there was no youth rifles in stock and if there was the father couldn’t afford one. That was sad enough for me until the father turned to the wide eyed boy and said, I’ m sorry son, looked the other way and just wanted to fall to his knees and cry. What has happened to us in the Sportsmen community??? I remember my father going all out to make sure I had what I needed and the training to go with it. He had the recourses at hand. He was a member of a Military Rod and Gun Club and Member of the Air Force Shooting Team that was able to get things at a reduced price and knew places like Jensens Gun Shop in Tucson Az to customize his 03-A3 for me. I’ve been really pissed off and just outright angry for years at the manufacturers. It wasn’t until last night realized just how much I am and why I am so pissed when that young man of 9 wanted so badly to go deer hunting. Last week I ordered a Ramline Cadet Youth stock for my brand new Remington 700 CDL 25-06 so my Grandson can go out on this coming youth hunt. I have the resources to do so thanks to my Father. When I was in the Air Force, I was blessed with a great Father and passed it on to volunteer to local Youth Hunter Safety and Boy Scout programs. At Dysart High School west of Phoenix Az 1995, I was asked to teach the ROTC rifle team. They had the worst equipment and they still finished second place in their Regional Championship and I was told by Army Sgt Charles Hydman in charge of the program they wouldn’t have done it without me. The truth of the matter is, it was a generational thing like saying it’s in the genetics. As my Father taught me as I passed onto them as you the Sportsman should do the same. Follow what I’m saying. What do we do? Every year there is less and less youths coming into the field to go hunting and fishing.
I hope and pray that some manufacturer will read this and follow suit!

This may not be right for everyone but Rossi makes some fine youth model rifles. A couple of years ago I picked up a Rossi Triple Threat that comes with 20ga, .22LR, and .243 barrels. I pretty much stuck the shotgun and rimfire barrels in the closet and set it up with the .243. That little gun cuts holes at 100 yards consistently. I saw them at Dick's Sportinggoods the other day for $249. Another neat youth rifle I've heard good things about is the H&R NEF Handi-Rifle. These are single shots also and these are made in the USA. I think they run around $250 also. I got the Rossi in a trade with a buddy of mine and tomorrow I hope my son kills his first deer with it. I currently have $75 in this gun. I got in trade for a .22 pistol I was given for some gun work I did. I have a cheap Simmons scope with Leopold base and rings. I've carried it to the woods about two dozen times and never had to readjust my scope. Still cutting holes. The only thing I've noticed is it is a little more difficult to hold steady freehand because it is so light.

It's technology for the sake of technology.

Just because you can do something, doesn't necessarily make it worth somthing.

MAN! If using a Zeiss got here that Caribou, imagine if she used a Leopold. My Caribou was a MONSTER and I had to hold my rifle between the rack by both the muzzle and the recoil pad to keep it from falling to the ground! Only if she had spent the money on the actual hunt instead of the $3000.00 scope she would really have something to brag about and able to pay for the wall mount to!