Meopta riflescopes
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WesternRookie
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I had an Optika 6....good glass for the money, but heavy as a boat anchor. Not ideal for a backcountry rifle IMO
I've got two Meopta spotters and one set of binos. I love them all. For hunters, they make a TGA spotter with rubber outer and that you pull to expand to full size. It's compact and very tough, a great combination for packing in the mountains. I take that one on hunts and take the meostar 70X to the range.
All my new rifle scopes have been Vortex. A trusted friend recommended Vortex scopes and so I went that route without comparing with other brands. I've been extremely happy with Vortex (5X25 and 4X16) and don't plan on changing if they retain quality and price. I also had a chance to test Vortex customer service and can say that it was top notch!
claybreaker
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I have some Meopta Meopro 10x42 HD Binos and have been very satisfied with them.
Hhardrockminer
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How do these scopes rate with the Leupold scopes if you don't mind me asking
Depends on what you find important. Leupold is hard to beat on FOV and they crush the competition on weight. An Optika5 to a comparable VX5 is 3oz heavier. Plus Leupold is an American company with great customer service. It is hard to put an answer to a questions because there are a lot of factors.
ImBillT
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A 4-20x50 Optika5 has practically the same field of view(although SLIGHTLY smaller) as a VX5-HD 4-20x52 and weighs 1.8oz LESS than the Leupold. I’m sure you didn’t make up your numbers, and that there’s a VX-5HD that beats an Optika5 on weight, but A) not all comparable Leupolds are lighter(as I demonstrated with literally the very first comparison that I made), and B) Is 3oz really “killing” the competition?
The Optika5 4-20x50 is $399 on Optics Planet.
The VX-5HD is $1499 on Optics Planet.
I’m all about buy Made in USA, but if the Optika5 is made with Schott glass, and isn’t manufactured in China, then I’d really wonder what I was paying for with the Leupold. I certainly hope it’s more than .6’ field of view advantage at 4X, at a weight disadvantage of 1.8oz.
I’m happy with my Leupold scopes, and I’m also happy with my Meopta scopes.
The Meoptas that I own were manufactured in the USA with Czech glass, and have better glass than any Leupold in their price range. I do not know where the Optika5 is made or what glass it uses, and I have not looked through one. If the Optika5 is not made in Europe, Japan, or the USA, it probably isn’t a great scope. If it is made in one of those three countries then there is no justification for the $1100 price difference.
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I was comparing the 44mm. there is a 3 oz difference, and the Optik5 doesn't use Schott glass.
ImBillT
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If the Optika5 doesn’t have Schott glass, then it’s likely not in the same class as other European scopes. Judging by the price, it probably wasn’t manufactured in the USA or Czechoslovakia. I haven’t looked through one, but based on those criteria, I don’t really think that particular line of Meopta scopes should be compared to a high end Leupold.
That said, you didn’t specify which Optika5 you were comparing, you said an “Optica5 compared to a comparable VX5”, so I would assume that you can pick any similar power range and objective size, and the quoted 3oz weight advantage for Leupold would approximately hold. If the Meopta is lighter on some, and the Leupold is lighter on others, then I’m not so sure that it’s fair to say Leupold is “crushing” the competition on weight. Also, the VX-5HD 3-15x44 compared to the Optika5 3-15X44 is only showing a 2oz difference, not 3oz.
Looking at Meopta’s high end scopes, whose glass would meet or exceed Leupold glass, and whose lens coatings would meet or exceed Leupold’s coatings, and which are manufactured Czechoslovakia(some assembled in the USA at least at one time) I don’t see any direct comparisons in terms of power range and objective diameter, so it would be difficult to compare, but the MeoStars are very light.
I like my MeoPros(mid grade Meopta assembled at the Zeiss plant in the US I believe) a lot. I like Leupold’s medium to high end scopes a lot. It’s a shame that Meopta has a line of scopes that doesn’t use their glass.
Things are far more complex in marketing and manufacturing than the armchair optics experts know. I can tell you for a fact that the majority of brands all have different levels of equipment with varying levels of components. Kowa is an example, they have a range of binoculars made in China, all the way to all Japanese, and a mix of in between. Ziess and Minox are no different in the mix of components based on price points. Some are made in one country with glass from another
ImBillT
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Oh I’m well aware that pretty much all companies have different levels, BUT because hunting and shooting in Europe is almost exclusively relegated to the wealthy, their hunting oriented business have generally aimed toward the highest quality possible with cost at a low level of concern. The last 20 years or so it seems a lot of them have been targeting the US market with more and more fervor, and that of course requires lower priced products.
Schott glass is hard to beat. If you buy a Meopta made in Czechoslovakia with Schott glass, you have a fantastic scope. Call that armchair if you want. If your Leupold has a gold ring on it, then you have a great scope. Call that armchair if you want. If your scope says “made in Japan” on it, then your glass is pretty dang clear. Call that armchair if you want.
I have a Optika 5, they are nice glass, but heavy.
