Zeiss Victory V8 2.8-20×56 #60

Zeiss Victory V8 2.8-20×56 Rifle Scope Review

Over the last couple of months, I have had the pleasure to have on review another one of Zeiss’s high-end rifle scopes. The Zeiss Victory V8.

The weather has not been the best over this summer, so testing has been extreme at times allowing for some interesting experiences.

I have to say thank-you again to Zeiss UK’ marketing department for allowing me to test more of their great products, testing and reviewing products, for me, is fun and allows me to get my hands on the latest technology within the hunting world and try give an informative opinion, hopefully unbiased, on what I am testing.

Today I am writing about the Zeiss Victory V8 2.8-20×56 rifle scope, this product is aimed at the Long-range hunting market, offering fantastic features housed within a massive 36mm tube. Let’s get the geek stuff over with.

Specifications

Lets talk about the scope

The Zeiss Victory V8 on opening the box is very well designed, the 36mm tube and turrets do not look overly bulky like other large scopes on the market. The tube is of solid design and made from one piece of aluminium making a very light and robust body even for such a big scope. The matt black finish has a smooth feel with no bonding lines and has been finished to a very high quality.

Out of the box the turrets feel crisp when turning, as you would expect from a high-end product. The Glass is well coated and housed above the optical lens at the front is a very elegantly designed button and dial system for the illuminated reticle.

In the box you will find 9 turret rings for your different calibre set ups and you will also find the usual instructions, warranty and cleaning cloth. All very well packaged and housed.

Within the presentation of what you are buying you can clearly tell that you have received a very good quality product.

Mounting the Scope

I have to say when you buy a Victory V8 rifle scope you have to bare in mind that it requires a 36mm ring to be mounted onto your rifle, not many scopes have this diameter of tube so keep in mind you might be limited on the rings you can buy. Luckily, I was able to borrow Zeiss branded Tier-One scope rings from R Macleods of Tain. (Some dealers do give the rings free as part of the scope package).

Tier-One are renowned for making some of the best mounts in the business so for £160 for the branded Zeiss ones you might think pricey, but you are getting a very well made and good quality product. I am not sure what the price of unbranded ones are, but you can pick them up less expensively second-hand.

Mounting was as easy as any other scope but made easier by the level bubble that comes as part of the scope rings. I mounted the Zeiss Victory V8 on to the Tikka T3x CTR 6.5 Creedmoor via a 0 MOA picatinny rail, I would suggest though to get the best out of the scope long-range I would use a 10 or even 20 MOA rail.

Zeroing and Turret setting

Zeroing the Zeiss Victory V8 was a pleasure, and to be fair, is far easier functionally than the Conquest V4 and V6.

Undo the top screw with a flat head screwdriver or even a coin, gently release the spring and remove the outer main turret exposing an inner black turret, it is this turret you use to adjust the elevation.  There is no small torq screws to worry about or having to bridge a gap with your torq wrench or small screwdriver it is all just done with your fingertips.

I managed to zero, after bore sighting, at 100m with only 2 shots. When adjusting the elevation, you may need to lift the inner turret over the locking pin to get increased dialling, I never needed to do this.

After zeroing setting the zero-stop was pretty straight forward, just lift the inner black turret and line it up with the little silver pin within the housing and then place it back down next to it.

Before putting the outer turret assembly back on download the Zeiss app to your phone or tablet, this app is packed full features that you will find very useful, from a hunting diary to recording map locations of your shooting and hunting grounds to taking pictures of your loads, so it is well worth looking through this.

 On the Zeiss app you can set up your new product and here it will tell you what the best turret is to use, within the box you are given the choice of 9 turrets and each turret is numbered on the turret. Within the app it asks for your load data or the bullet you are using (there are a list of pre-set ammunitions choices to choose from). Once you have set this data you will then be shown all your ballistic tables and on the top left-hand corner of the table it will tell you what turret to use. I was told to use 05 turret for my set up.

Once you have established what turret to use changing the dial ring is easy, take the spring and screw out of the outer turret body, unscrew the top off the outer turret body and remove the number ring and replace it with the one you have.

Now you’re ready to put the outer turret assembly back on. Not as complicated as it sounds. You can repeat this process with the windage turret to set back to zero once you have zeroed your rifle but with the windage you do not have to replace the number ring.

Test 1 : Long range Test

The day I chose was not the best, I had a 20mph left to right crosswind and it turned out to be in the middle of a thunderstorm.

The Zeiss Victory V8 has boasted throughout its literature that this scope is designed for long range hunting. Now bare in mind Zeiss’s idea of long range hunting is ethically out to 600yrds not I personally would never shoot an animal anywhere near close to that but it is always fun to test out the theory of long range accuracy as it allows you to understand your rifle and bullet more.

After zeroing I arranged two steel plate targets, one at 400m (437.445yrds) and one at 700m (765.529).

The 400m one was to test the accuracy of the numbering on the dialling ring that the app matched with my rifle setup. The 4 which represented 400m on the ring was the maximum number that that ring was calibrated for even though I could go quite a way beyond that with dialling, in fact after zeroing I had enough turret elevation to allow me to shoot to 1000yrds. So in light of this I had to test how accurate that top end calibration was.

The steel plate was 4 inches in diameter at both ranges suspended from metal stands, the gusts at some points were able to make the suspended plates swap gently but looking through the scope I had an amazing of view of them picking up even some of the finer details, the glass was crystal clear and although stormy it was warm enough that I could pick up the mirage at the target allowing me to see which way the wind was going.

The #60 reticle of the V8 is just a straight duplex reticle so calculating windage using the crosshair is just an educated guess.

First shot hit the 400m plate around an inch and half high of the centre with me dialled at the value 4 on the turret, I clicked down 1 click from the 4 and returned another round  this time hitting the centre of the plate, then a second hitting just right of the centre, I adjusted my aim to allow for wind 1 inch to left and sent the third round hitting centre again like the second. Trust me you should have seen the smile on my face. Even the first round would have humanely taking a deer at that distance. So in regard to the numbering it was very accurate.

Having to dial past the numbers on the turret, I moved to the second target at 700m.

The wind played a bigger part on how my bullets were going to perform as we were now pushing it well past double of the 400m target we did before it. Wind speed was steady at 21mph with gusting at points to 25mph left to right I settled my breathing for the first shot.

It was very humid, and thunder was rumbling above me with the odd flash of lighting in front of me in the distance, the wind felt steady and I could clearly see the 700m 4 inch plate swaying gently down range.

I fired the first shot and missed, through the scope I could see the trace hitting the puddle just about an inch off the plate to the right, wind had dragged in right obviously so I adjusted my aim, not easy with the straight duplex, and fired another shot but this time I over compensated for the wind. The fact of the matter the elevation was perfect it was my windage using the turret that was the problem on such a small plate.

I adjusted again left off the plate but closer than my last shot another round down range. This time I hit the plat right but low of the centre about 1 inch, I shot again hit again same place, I did this with 3 more rounds and all were within an ich of each other, I almost jumped out the heather with each shot.

Now even though this is by far not the longest I have shot, in these conditions I was over the moon on how the scope performed, part from the frustration of the reticle not having reference points for windage the clarity and the elevation adjustment on the turret was perfect.

In all honesty if I had used the windage turret to adjust for my hold instead of using “Kentucky Windage” like I was trying to do I probably would not have missed at all.

Test 2: Low light in the Field

The Zeiss Victory V8 is first and foremost a hunting scope, ideal for stalking, High-seat and hide work and generally an all-rounder.  In my experience and living and working in the Highlands of Scotland one of the most important aspects of a hunting scope to look out for is its lowlight capabilities.

The Zeiss Victory V8 boasts a 92% light transmission which in real terms is an extra 15 to 20 minutes hunting time at last light or first light from that with a 90% light transmission. For those who regularly hunt at those time you will understand how much this means to a hunter and those working in good moonlight conditions means less need for external light.

I decided to sit up at a spot and wait for last light, the time was 2200 and the moon was already in the sky, but it was still eyesight visible to around 50yrds and through the scope I could see a heck of a lot further.

The night was peaceful with little wind and the midges were dancing around my face, the temperature was warm with a southerly draught tickling my face and just brushing the edges of my midge net against my glasses. It was a beautiful night.

I had a spy from left to right and I noticed a nice little Roe Buck just wandering with its head down in front of me around 240m. (ranged using the Zeiss Victory RF Binos that I have on test also more about that soon).

I lifted the rifle and looked down the scope and I could see him perfectly; he was nothing special and an ideal cull buck looking a bit sorry for himself.

I took breath balancing on the edge of my telescopic high seat, I could see him in clear detail. I adjusted the turret 11 clicks (data given to me by the Victory RF binos, will reveal all in next review) took aim just behind is front shoulder and released the 6.5 140gr bullet from its case hitting the buck and dropped it on the spot. I was very pleased, not only was everything clear at so late on at night but accuracy was not compromised at all.

Granted I never used the illuminated reticle but while sitting in wait I did mess with it and had messed with it before. The illumination dot is not overpowering, and it is very easy to use. The on button and dimmer dial are situated neatly above your eyepiece allowing for left- and right-hand shooters to get easy access to it. At its brightest it does not infringe on what your seeing through the glass and funnily enough as a spectacle wearer it did not create glare on my own lenses which some illuminated reticles do hence the reason why I am not a fan of them in general.

The lowlight capabilities of this scope are fantastic, more than capable of lowlight hunting but I do have to mention to get the best out of the scope in these conditions dial your scope back to normal magnification of 8 to 12 x mag lower the mag the more light transmission you get for the 56mm objective.

Test 3: In the field rough Terrain Stalking

We know the Zeiss Victory V8 is accurate and good in lowlight but in the end, it is still bigger than your average scope and because of the it weighs slightly heavier than those traditional scopes.

Stalking over hill ground and moors is not easy and travelling light is important a 15 mile 3 to 4-hour backslap is not unusual for us in the Highlands or for any stalker or hunter for that matter so weight and bulk is an important factor.

My middle son and I set out early, 3am, to go pick up a close friend and his son for a day in the very North of the Highlands on a property my boss has.

I had arranged a day to just get away and enjoy a long stalk in the hope of getting into some red stags.

Shortly after arriving on site we set off. Our journey took us over some of the most harsh and diverse terrain you will find in the Highlands.

We crossed down through the trees and clear-fell around quarter mile heading towards the hill ground in hope to get into some deer we spied earlier in the morning from a long distance away, the ground was soft and hard to walk in places making any load that we were carrying more cumbersome. We crossed through the trees to deer fence that marks the edge of the wood onto our open hill, I say hill the terrain is not hill-like it heavy grassland that has grown over aged stumps from a time that forest extended further from where it was presently. The long lush green grass and purple heather covered deep mounding holes from years gone by and forest drains that were not turned into swamp like march mixed in with the Peat.

We climbed over the 6ft deer fence and made our way to the loch edge to keep our silhouettes from the flat skyline we found ourselves walking on and preceded to follow the edge of the loch and wood round.

The day was mixed with different types of weather, at points the sun was so warm it was hard to breath and at other points the rain was torrential, just typical North highland weather.

As we followed the loch round and back onto the fence edge we came to realise we must have missed our chance with the reds as they were nowhere to be seen, but this was a chance really to test how the scope felt during a long hike.

We made our way off the “hill” and back through a gap in the fence into the forest. Working our way up the long “ride” in the forest through overgrown sapling still very wet from the earlier showers the humidity was intense. The uphill climb through the wood was difficult at points with literally no breathable air being presented to us. By this time after already walking and crawling for two hours we were really starting to feel our files on our back.

We finally made our way back to the truck, suitably wet and suitably ready for lunch.

During lunch I was looking at the scope, sitting on the bonnet of my L200 on top of the 6.5 creedmoor, and had a good think.

Although the 56 objective and the bulky 36mm tube and the big rings needed to house the scope the Zeiss Victory V8 did not look cumbersome at all, during the hike I never felt any extra weight in the rifle, and trust me I have done that hike a good many times, or it digging into me during the hike.

The scope at all time felt well balanced and even looking through it after being the very wet and humid conditions the glass was not fogged and was still very clear.

All in all it performed excellently and to bonus it off when we were leaving the wood we spotted a buck from the road which I then short stalked and shot at around 200yrds without adjustment.

Conclusion and Thoughts.

Over the period I have had the Zeiss Victory V8 I have really enjoyed using it. I have shot 11 deer 2 foxes and fired around 50 rounds of ammo down range and accounting for human error it has performed excellently.

It is always daunting testing and reviewing high-end products like this due to having very little to compare it too. I can however compare it to its siblings the Conquest V4 and V6 which I tested reviewed and now own, the Victory HT which I tested and some of the Swarovski products such as the DS and Z6i and Z8 which I have also tested and looked through.

Over the years I have been lucky enough to test so many optics that making conclusions on how optics perform in the fields are just down to experience.

The Zeiss Victory V8 in my opinion when put against the aforementioned products is fantastic, I still maintain that the Zeiss Victory HT rifle scope was by far the best low-light scope on the market at the moment however, the Zeiss Victory V8 is more than capable to keep up with it at those late hours.

There is a lot to like about the Zeiss Victory V8 and investing your money in this scope would not be a bad decision. Optically it beats the Swarovski DS although clearly does not have the same features that that offers, such as range finder and compensator. It definitely beats the V4 and V6 and I maintain for the money and their price range they are far superior to most on the market, and if I was to choose I would pick the Victory V8 over the Z6i and the Z8 as it just seems better designed.

What lets the V8 down though is the reticle, when hunting although you may have time to work the elevation turret windage normally is calculated usually the hunter in his mind using his or her own eyes and thoughts, having a reference hold reticle is far easier to do this when you can see your bullet splash. Again, Zeiss have chosen the Second Focal Plane over First Focal Plane, but because of how the rest is set up this does not seem to affect its performance in regards to accuracy.

I like Illuminated reticle of the V8, it is not overpowering or too bright to annoy you when in use and it does not seem to move when you change your eye position which some cheaper scopes do.

I have not mentioned within the that the V8 does have side parallax adjustment, I rarely needed to use it. The adjustment turret for the parallax was smooth and was very good for fine adjustment.

The Zeiss Victory V8 has a true 20x zoom with an 8x optical range, at maximum mag it performed very good for those long shots but for hunting I do suggest the best mag is the 12 to 15x just because of the field of view is far better.

A few suggestions on setting up, do not forget you WILL need 36mm rings for this, there is a rail version but those are less flexible in their use. Use the app it really is a big help, you can get all you need to know about your scope from there and know your ammo.

This is a professional scope with professional features.

The price for this scope is around the £2500 mark which is very much midway priced of its closest competitors and gives excellent value for money.

I have been running this scope alongside the Zeiss Victory RF 8×54 Binoculars. These binos are fantastic and if your budget can stretch to it you will not regret it. The binos can connect to the Zeiss app via Bluetooth where you can set up multiple profiles for calibres and rifles as well as different scopes and send the dialling data or DOPE to the binos so when you range your target it will also tell you the adjustment, an excellent partnership for in the fields target acquisition. I will be doing my next review on these binos alongside all the Zeiss products I have.

What can I say, it has been a pleasure yet again to test this scope. The Zeiss Victory V8 is truly an amazing classed rifle scope.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review, catch me on my next review of the Zeiss Victory RF binoculars.

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