Quality straight tube scope

[Frodo]

I like straight tubes (can mount them lower, and the lack of a large objective bell means less chance of concussions).

Swinging between the Swarovski Z8i 1-8x24 and the Schmidt Bender Exos 1-8x24.

Would the S&B be more durable (take the knocks better)? How do they compare glass-wise?

I notice the Swaro has 5mm more eye relief.

Thanks.

 

[Hogpatrol]

A few options here and Trijicon's are tough scopes.
The Safari line:

Choose Your Application | Trijicon®

Trijicon® makes innovative products for most any requirement, from hunting to competitive shooting to America’s law enforcement and military forces.

www.trijicon.com

 

[ldmay375]

I cannot address your specific scope question. But, I do have a couple of Swarovski Z6, 1-6x24 EE’s on 458 Lotts. One has about 40 rounds of 500 grain loads through it. The other round count is unknown due to being a used scope and its intended rifle is at the gunsmiths. I also have a couple of the normal eye relief non-illuminated 1-6’s and a new one with illumination. The non-illuminated were used and I have used them of 375 H&H’s. I think these are reliable scopes for hunting, possibly not combat infantry grade scopes.
I have some of the S&B Zenith 1.1-4x24 FD7’s and a Stratos 1.1-5x24. Seem to be great scopes and certainly give the impression of toughness.
I also have a couple of the Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24’s. These may be my favorite straight tubes. These scopes certainly give the impression of being built strong.
Everyone’s eyes differ on the visuals that see. But, all of these are top quality optics to my eyes.

 

[ldmay375]

A few options here and Trijicon's are tough scopes.
The Safari line:

Choose Your Application | Trijicon®

Trijicon® makes innovative products for most any requirement, from hunting to competitive shooting to America’s law enforcement and military forces.

www.trijicon.com

I have one of the Credo HX 1-6x24. It seems as though a well built scope also. I don’t recall the eye relief on it. I have it for non bigger bores.

 

[limpopo]

Have a Z8i 0.75-6 SR and S&B Zenith's rail mounts. While not an Exos, similar specs except mag range. Eye relief is adequate for myself with my 375-416 barrels on my M03. Can't go wrong with either, both served well on trips, construction and clarity wise, low light perf equal, but will say the Flash dot in the S&B's adjusts from low light to daytime visible where my Z8i 4A-IF is not daytime visible like my Z6i. HTH.

 

[thriller]

I like straight tubes (can mount them lower, and the lack of a large objective bell means less chance of concussions).

Swinging between the Swarovski Z8i 1-8x24 and the Schmidt Bender Exos 1-8x24.

Would the S&B be more durable (take the knocks better)? How do they compare glass-wise?

I notice the Swaro has 5mm more eye relief.

Thanks.

I have a trijicon and a Swarovski z6i ee just make sure you like the look and you can’t go wrong

 

[Sika98k]

A friend of mine who did a lot of shooting in a former life put an Exos 1-8 on his 300 Win Mag. He loves it.
S&B have a great reputation for durability. Swarovski has tremendous customer care.

 

[Opposite Pole]

I have a Leica Magnus 1-6 on my 375H&H. I bought it second hand, had it for a good few years and hundreds of rounds now, and it's going strong. However, as I’d prefer some more magnification on my 375, I too flirt with the idea of Z8i or Exos 1-8 every now and again and can’t seem to decide which is the better scope. I like the “flexchange reticle” on the Swaro and the automatic parallax adjustment at 1x zoom on the S&B, probably can’t go wrong with either. To complicate the matters further, a mate of mine who shoots long-range competitions told me to look at March scopes which he claims are some of the best and are indeed quite popular amongst the long-range shooting community. March has a 1-10x scope (https://marchscopes.com/scopes/d10v24timl). I like the idea of a 1-10 scope, but I’m not so sure about the reticles on this one. The FD-1 seems the most appropriate for hunting.

The Z8i has a wider field of view at 1x which is a definite pro.

Best of luck with whichever you choose, let us know what and how you decided, it’ll be helpful for the rest of us.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

The Leica Magnus 1-6.3 x 24i has the red dot and very tough.

 

[BeeMaa]

I have a Swaro Z8i 1-8x24 with the 4A-IF reticle and rail mount. It was initially used on my 416RM before I sold it. I believe I put about 80-100 rounds through the rifle with the scope mounted, so no concerns about durability. It's currently mounted on my 375H&H and I love this rifle/scope combination. Being able to tun the illumination on and off is really nice for varying conditions. My only complaint was the price (notice past tense "was"), but you get what you pay for and I'm not complaining about the price anymore. Buy once, cry once.

If you were to go with any of the top quality brands such as Leica, Zeiss, S&B or Swaro...you will not be disappointed. I would only caution that you looking through glass of this quality will put all others in a different category. You will be spoiled for the top brands. At this level of scope you will be splitting hairs on what looks best to your eye and what features are most desirable to you. Hard to make a bad decision.

Good luck with it.

EDIT - I have not found that there is a problem seeing the reticle in the daytime/direct sunlight like @limpopo mentioned earlier. Where it is really useful is in direct sunlight when your quarry is a dark colored animal in the shade. Being able to locate the dot on the animal at that time is what I really like.