Review: Meopta Optika5 3-15x44 ZPlus rifle scope

The Meopta Optika5 3-15x44mm ZPlus is a reliable scope designed to take your rifles out to reasonably long distances, with a generous magnification range that provides high versatility.

With magnification from 3x to 15x, the scope I tested has enough at the lower end for close shooting in thick cover, right up to plenty at the top end for some serious distance.

Meopta Optika5 3-15x44 rifle scope review — The wide magnification range, from 3x to 15x, very much suits a versatile rifle like the Winchester SXR2 pump-action

With good optics and genuine European quality as well, it’s hard to image how you could go wrong at a recommended retail price of just $775.

At 601 grams it’s at the heavier end of the scale for scopes in this size, but with a 44 millimetre objective you’re always going to expect a bit more heft. It’s certainly lighter than similar scopes with a 50mm objective, so will less dramatic effect on the balance of your hunting or tactical rifle.

The adjustment turrets have nice big covers with significant knurling on them that allow you to get a good grip from a variety of angles when you need to do things quickly.

They have clearly marked adjustments and the clicks are solid. There is 60 MOA of elevation and windage adjustment which is about where you’d expect a scope like this to sit with the ¼ MOA clicks.

I had no issues getting a quick zero at 100 metres with this scope and found the adjustments bang on and repeatable.

Both elevation and windage turrets give you the option to unscrew the indicator ring and put it back to zero once you’ve got the rifle shooting how you want it to. This is definitely a nice capability to have, despite a zero-stop not being available.

There are white markings at the base of each turret to ensure everything is lined up well when you are making your adjustments, and for modest field shooting these capabilities were great. I can imagine having a small dope chart on the side of a hunting rifle that gives click indications out to 300 or 400 metres, something very useful with a scope like this.

The magnification ring takes a bit of effort to move but is very smooth. There are various points around the ring to place a throw lever, giving more purchase, but I never felt the need for it in my testing or field shooting. That would have a lot to do with how you want to use this sort of scope. It’s unlikely you’ll ever need to go from 3x to 15x very quickly, but it’s nice to know the adjustment is smooth enough that it shouldn’t cause too many problems.

The ZPlus reticle is very sharp at all magnifications. It’s very thin so suits some of the precision stuff out a way nicely, but it might be difficult to see in some darker hunting situations.

It has MOA markings for both windage and elevation that may suit someone wanting to make quick decisions regarding shooting distances, using the reticle to judge holdover rather than winding the elevation turret after it’s been zeroed. There are documents available that outline how many MOA the markings indicate at 6x magnification, which is important to keep in mind because, being a second focal plane reticle, the scale will vary depending on magnification.

Either way, you’ve got some solid options, and in a package that won’t break the bank. And if you want a simpler crosshair, this scope is also available with the basic ZPlex reticle.

The parallax adjustment turret has the same generous knurling as the windage and elevation turrets so the adjustments should be easy to make on the fly, even if you’re wearing gloves.

The marked distances were accurate and the focus wasn’t as fussy about hitting the sweet spot as I’ve found other scopes to be.

The eye relief was also pretty consistent with the listed specs and I didn’t find the scope fussy when sitting behind it.

I appreciated the quality of glass in this scope for the price you’re paying. Throughout the magnification range in some lower light situations I’d see a little bit of blur around the edges, but not a deal-breaker by any means, especially for this price. You get it with some scopes but it’s important to note that I didn’t find it a hindrance.

The field of view at a variety of distances at the range is very usable. I shot plenty of groups at 100 metres on a Winchester SXR2, which isn’t a precision rifle by any means, but the scope certainly made it easy to shoot within the capability of that rifle.

I also tested it briefly on a couple of other rifles, shooting paper out to 200 and 300 metres, and was happy with how comfortable I felt at the higher magnifications. A variety of ammunition sourced from my local gun shop, Calibre Country in Tamworth, helped me to get a realistic idea of the potential accuracy this scope can produce.

The Optika5 3-15x44mm is a lot of scope in a reasonably tight package. I believe it’s a great choice for someone wanting to stretch their rifle out a little further without having to fork out much bigger money for some of the higher-end European of American optics, and without having to sacrifice capability at closer distances.