Which Zeiss Conquest is better

[safari]

I have a Winchester 70 Coyote in .300 WSM that I am wanting to put a different scope on, and after changing my mind  about 14 different times have decided that a Zeiss Conquest will be the scope, but I can not decide between the 3-9X40, or the 3.5-10X44. This rifle currently wears a 4.5-14X50 in Burris dual dovetail, high signature rings, which I probably won't mess with even if I go with the 40mm.  Is the 3.5-10 worth the extra $140? The 3-9 has some pretty impressive stats, and the 3.5-10 doesn't beat them by very much, it has a tad bit more FOV at the low end, the top end is almost  the same, and  the exit pupil range is about the same  even though one is a 40mm and the other is 44mm.  The eye relief of the 3-9 is 4 inches and the 3.5-10 only has 3.5 inches.  This rifle will be mainly for western elk and mulie hunts, and was wanting to put the best non-AO scope  I can afford on it. I plan to put the 4.5-14 on another rifle for varmints, where I don't mind  tinkering with the AO and want to keep my hunting rifles scopes AO free. Somebody please persuade me to spend the extra on the 3.5-10X44, because the 3-9X40 seems like a pretty darn good scope too.

Thanks-

[Zachary]

The eye relief of the 3-9 is 4 inches and the 3.5-10 only has 3.5 inches.  

On a .300WSM, that just made my decision easy.

In fact, I own a .300WSM and I could have put either my Elite 4200 2.5x-10x-40mm or my Zeiss Conquest 3x-9x-40mm.  Both are EXCELLENT scopes.  I decided to put the Elite 4200 on my Tikka WH Stainless in 7mm-08 because that scope has less than 3.5" of eye relief.  As such, I put the Conquest 3x-9x-40mm on the Tikka T3 Stainless in .300WSM because it has the 4" of constant eye relief, and on a hard kicking rifle, that is also light weight, I made an excellent decision, and I recommend that you do the same.

Zachary

[TheOpticZone]

I don't know if this makes your decision easier, but with our prices the difference is only $86.00.  In my eyes, the 3.5-10x is noticeable brighter than the 3-9x40.  Is it worth the extra $86.00, honestly not really.  The 3-9x40 is a very nice scope and well worth the money.

[longwinters]

I have the 3.5x10 and really like it.  But it is not, in my opinion, going to help you for hunting as you probably will never crank it up to 10 for shooting purposes anyway.  It is a little nicer for target shooting etc... But to me the 3x9 would be plenty.

Long

[whitedogone]

I have been looking for a scope for a new calling rifle. I just happened to be in Dick's (ya I know!) and they had a Ziess 3x9x40. I am looking for more power than that. And the higher power Conquest's are a little more than I wanted to spend. But, a lot of guys speak highly of them. So I thought I'd take a quick look-see. They looked nice and bright. But, there sure seemed to be a lot of plastic around the turrets. And the caps were plastic. And I must say I thought the clicks would have a much nicer feel to them on a scope of this caliber. WDO