I gotta give cabela's salesman credit for a great pitch for the cabela's product. Great glass that compares to my current Zeiss Conquest. I compared the 6-18X50 out of the Cabela's scope and 5-25X50 out of the Conquest HD5. Very comparable glass, with both being very clear and "bright", but the price difference being about $500. He said some stuff about the old Conquests being made by Meopta in Czech Republic, but now the HD5 is being made in Asia somewhere. And of course, the Meopta made Cabela's scope in the Czech.

So, with my fascinating story, what do y'all have to say? I need input so I can get a higher X scope for my 22-250.

On a side note: my uncle and another Club member bought Vortex 6-18X40something and 6-24Xsomething, respectively. The glass was also quite clear and nice, but my 4.5-14X50 Conquest has spoiled me lol.

No bites?

Who knows the truth anymore?

It's a world economy, and that includes scopes, binos, and almost every item we use these days. "Old" Conquests were made from German components (mostly) that were assembled in the United States. The "old" Cabelas Euro line was simply remarked Meopta stuff from the Czech Republic. Nowadays, most all optics manufacturers source much of their work to China, especially the lower cost stuff. And like it or not, it's hard to simply dismiss the Chi-Com products as junk anymore. Just take the latest Zen-Ray ED and compare it alongside your Swaro EL; if you're truly objective in your evaluation, you'll have to admit that the difference is only very slight.

So for most of us, the choice comes down to ergonomics. Which has the better eye relief? Which has the handier magnification ring? And which scope seems brighter/clearer to YOUR eyes?

When the Cabelas salesman says that Meopta makes the Euro line, he's probably right. But you can bet that at least some of the components in the Meopta scope are made elsewhere. The same with the Zeiss Conquest, and especially the newer Terras. And before you jump to conclusions, take a look at your computer....on the front it has the iconic American "Apple" logo, but on the back--in fine print--it says "Made in China".

So what do you do? If you like the fit and feel of the Conquest, there is no reason to change just because a salesman tells you to.

Thank you sir. I'm gonna do some more research. And sell my current scope lol. Then get whichever scope satisfies my needs. Thanks again.

Yep, I think it all comes down to what you personally like the best. As for me, between the two you mentioned, i'd probably go for the 5-20 Zeiss. I have, and have had, an assortment of scopes, and they all worked fine for what I needed to do. Well...a couple of them did break, and one or two fogged up. Point is that I could have gotten by with that $150 Bushnell that I just donated to a nice young fellow. Nothing I need to do would require me to buy that $7k S&B or a $2k NF. So it comes down to what you really need, followed by upgrades to what you want. Get the Zeiss.

Check on best warranty and customer service and let that add to your final decision.
Great scope and bad service get you nowhere.

The Zeiss that's assembled in Asia is the Terra. The Conquest is assembled in Germany using Czech HD glass the Terra uses Czech ED glass. The Cabelas EuroOptic scopes come from Meopta and also uses Cxech glass. I've run into more than one Cabelas employee that didn't know what they where talking about.

And about 100 academy employees who knew even less. I have a tendency to help people at academy after an employee has them completely confused.

FWIW, I'm a fan of the Meopta glass. I've got an R1 4-16, R1 7x fixed, Meopro 7x fixed and a Cabela's Euro branded 20-60 75mm spotter.

When was the Conquest scope assembly moved from the USA to Germany? Got some data to show when that changed?

The Cabela's Euros are Meopta.

From Camera Land NY
Designed and assembled in Germany
Built with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship. Proteced by the US Lifetime Warranty and 5 Year No-Fault Policy Link

Wonder when they moved them back to Germany for assembly. It has been several years ago, talking to a Zeiss rep that told us they were assembled in the USA. That was anout 6 years ago and some things change

Yeah my Conquest and the HD5 I looked at, if I'm not mistaken, were both either assembled or made in USA. Using German components.

Thanks for the clear up!

Looked at the Conquest in the safe and it is on it assembled in the USA. Called Zeiss and the HD5s are all being assembled in Germany. The ones that were assembled in the USA have been discontinued but there are still some in stores. So it really depends on which Conquest, even then there were some assembled in Germany and some here within the same model according to Zeiss customer service.

I assume the Cabela's Euro scopes are made by Meopta because they say Meopta on the scope. I've compared a couple of Euro's to my MeoPro and to my eyes the MeoPro has better glass.

OpticsPlanet is having a sale on the conquest $399 and the Zeiss HD5 Conquest 5-25X50 for $999, reading the HDS info, says all made in Germany, so backs-up what Kmon said.

Checkout Doug's shotshow report thread for an upcoming deal in one of the HD5 scopes.