Zero Compromise ZCO Precision Riflescope ZC420 with MPCT1 reticle

Quite possibly one of the best First Focal Plane long range scopes, built by people who want to build the best scopes, with legacy expertise from Kahles and Nightforce

You probably have heard of ZCO, and you probably know enough to wonder what the buzz is all about.  The people at ZCO are designing and making some of the best precision riflescopes with Schott glass, and joint design in the US and Austria, with primary manufacturing in Austria.  A small group of top scope designers and shooters formed ZCO back in the 2018/2019 time period with the mission to build the best long-range optics in the business, sparing no cost and cutting no corners. 

ZCO currently makes only a few scopes, and the 4-20x50mm scope is the more compact "mid-magnification" scope, and clearly one of the alpha scopes in a very small peer group of names like Kahles, Minox, Tangent Theta, Nightforce, Schmidt & Bender and March.  We probably left one or two out.  But there is the top tier of scopes that consistently wins ELR and PRS tournaments and is tested and bears out the best of the best in design and manufacturing.  Sure, there is the occasional Leupold, US Optics, Steiner, Sig Sauer or Vortex, but this one group of alpha scope manufacturers are consistently just top shelf.  And in just a few years, Zero Compromise has joined this prestigious group of well-designed and well-built scopes with superior glass.

Zero Compromise's goal is not to just build riflescopes.  They say that they strive to build the absolute best riflescopes in the world, not skimping on quality, and using the best materials and techniques to create scopes that the shooter has long sought.  All at prices that are no cheap, but clearly not the most expensive either.

The Zero Compromise Z420 provides a great platform for precision shooting with an "ultra short" format and mid-level magnification that is perfect for light to medium caliber precision rifles and AR platforms.  The Z420 is well suited for PRS competition as well as tactical and all around shooting:  the best glass and clarity of image, well constructed body, low, clean and tactile turrets, and a great selection of milRAD reticles.  This small scope is ideal for any application where size and maximum performance are paramount. The Z420 scope has a clean, cluttered reticle, ideal for those who "dial-in" their shots, and a more open upper reticle to make watching the travel of your bullet, and more importantly, finding where your misses go.  Don't be fooled by the clean simplicity of the MPCT1 reticle.  Compare this to a S&B P4F or a Nightforce Mil-R reticle, for example.  Sometimes less is more.

Many compare the exterior measurements of the Zero Compromise Optic ZC420 to the Schmidt and Bender 5-20x Ultra Short.  It is a tad longer at 12.8" long, and weighs 34.8oz, and reaches 35 mil in elevation adjustment and at 20 mil in windage adjustment.  Quite impressive, and it does this with a 36mm tube.  ZCO put no boundaries in their design, and rather than trying to force their design into a 34mm tube, 36mm just came out to be the optimal tube.

Among all other optics in this magnification range, a very generous field of view of 28 feet at 100 yards results in one of the widest in the industry for ultra short scopes. Outstanding light transmission and exceptional resolution are just two attributes of the best optical design ever developed, complementing some of the very best mechanical properties in the industry.

Optical performance is optimized. – Optical engineers at ZCO have created what they feel is the optimal balance of clarity, light transmission, and resolution in a compact package. Performance like this is rarely seen in this magnification range and objective size. Color rendition is natural with a slight enhancement in contrast for the finest view possible. Total light transmission to the eye is best in class at 92%, compared to 90% in a similar scope from Schmidt and Bender.

Mechanical construction balanced – precision shooters demand ultimate reliability, and ZCO has developed one of the more robust construction techniques in the industry to deliver.  Mechanical engineers have designed some of the most well respected rifle scopes in the world, and have gone several steps further for increased durability, repeatability, and ruggedness. Hardened steel components are used in high wear areas such as the internal click mechanisms for the elevation and windage turrets to ensure a lifetime of repeatable adjustment values. Optical lenses are mechanically locked in place as well as bonded along the edges for total and complete structural integrity. ZCO has worked at other scopes manufacturers, and they know how others build their scopes, and ZCO has developed techniques and methodologies to deliver what they believe is the best rifle scope ever produced.  The leadership and engineers and craftsmen at ZCO have a passion for excellence and listen to customer feedback.

Enhanced features – ZCO products are built for the most demanding users, so Zero Compromise believes they offer the best features never before seen in a single product. Shooters can have enhanced ergonomics with locking turrets, multiple illumination settings including levels compatible for night vision equipment, fast focus locking diopter, true to indicated parallax adjustment with zero backlash, large adjustment range for elevation and windage travel, built in Return 2 Zero, and easily reset turrets once zeroed. 

This model features locking turrets

The MPCT1 Reticle

The Mil Precision, Competition, and Tactical (MPCT) 1 reticle is a reticle designed for those shooters that prefer a highly advanced but straight forward reticle. This is a very clean mil based reticle offering 0.2 mil marks along entire vertical and horizontal stadia. The eye is drawn to the center where a floating dot provides precise reticle placement on target while the corner quadrants remain open for target observation. A 0.1 mil ranging bracket is placed between the 4 and 5 mil points for accurate ranging capability and keep the view uncluttered.

Note:  This is the Gen 1 version of the MPCT1 reticle, for lack of a better description.  The 2024 model is the MPCT1X, and is every so slightly different.  Like other great scope makers, what is good about ZCO, is that their reticles do not change much year to year.  That is because they studied the optics and fine-tune to market requests, and are not reinventing the reticle every season like some brands.  The only difference between this reticle, which is a 2023 model, and the 2024 model is that the "X" reticle only goes up 1/3 of the way from center, and this reticle goes all the way to the top.