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 now makes three scopes, and the 5-27x56mm scope is their flagship 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 Z527 combines everything you want in a scope: the best glass and clarity of image, well constructed body, low, clean and tactile turrets, and a great selection of milRAD reticles. This scope has one of the most popular reticles, the MPCT2, which is a modern, clean milRAD reticle, with some "Horus-like" features for hold-over shooting.
The Zero Compromise Optic ZC527 is 15.24 inches long, weighs 37.9oz, and reaches 35 mil in elevation adjustment and at 21 mil in windage adjustment.
Among all other optics in this magnification range, a very generous field of view of 7m / 100 meters (21ft/100Yds) results in one of the widest in the industry. 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.
The Zero Compromise Optic (ZCO) ZC527 has incorporated feedback from the shooting and scope engineering and design community to gather as many target engagement requirements. With a generous low end of only 5X and a massive field of view of 21 feet, close range needs are fulfilled. Topping out at 27X gives ample magnification for long range target engagements beyond 1000 yards. ZCO felt that somewhere between 25x and 30x was the best long range scope, and that going much beyond 5x zoom compromises optical performance.
Based on an exceptional optical design, with the help of very special lenses and coatings, a brilliant, high-resolution and true-color image is achieved, which coupled with a very high light transmission provides a clear and detailed image even in the most difficult lighting conditions (Mirage, fog, rain...) and in twilight. Thus, ZCO creates an advantage over competing products in sports or a correct response in hunting not possible with other products allowed. The ZCO user receives this balanced image without color fringes or "tunnel vision" in any magnification level as well as in any adjustment of the elevation or lateral adjustment, no matter how extreme.
Zero Compromise has packed this fantastic optic into an extremely robust, user-friendly, precise and absolutely repeatable mechanics, produced in their own manufacturing facility in Austria, with design services located in Idaho. You start to get the feeling of the Kahles - Nighforce DNA.
To round out one of the highest quality packages on the market, ZCO offers features such as a switchable reticle illumination (red/green), an intelligent automatic shut-off, lockable turrets as well as diopters and a pleasant and user-friendly feel.
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 92% and the resolution is best in class.
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. These features are all rolled into a rifle scope, only measuring 15.24 inches long and weighing a mere 37.9 ounces.
This model features locking turrets
The MPCT2 reticle has been the one of the most popular reticles offered. Combining a minimalist MilRad approach while adding certain Horus-like features, the MPCT2 has one over PRS, ELR, tactical and target shooters alike.
Featuring first focal plane excellence, 1 mil on the scope at 100 yards is also 1 mil at 500 yards. You can use the mil cross hairs to determine distance, when distance is not know. Taking a known or estimated target size, multiply by 25.4 and divide by the number of mils, and that gives you the distance in meters. Need distance in yards, multiply the target size by 27.77, then divide by the number of mils on the reticle, to give you target size in yards. Without getting into the math, an 18" target showing 1 mil on the hash marks of the scope is 500 yards distance, so a 36" target with 1 mil would be 250 yards. An average person with a helmet at 6' is 72", and the target is showing 2mils, that is 1,000 yards, and so forth.
Or, you could use your laser ranger finder. haha.
picture credits: ZCO, Jonathan Ocab, Finnaccuracy
Zero Compromise Optics
Zero Compromise Optics
Zero Compromise Optics
Zero Compromise Optics
Zero Compromise Optics
Zero Compromise Optics
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Zero Compromise Optics