Rifle scopes with Zeiss ZM/VM mounting rail

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Introduction

Among other manufacturers who started offering railed scopes on the market, Zeiss is definitely one of the most known. In company of other premium European manufacturers of railed rifle scopes, Zeiss chose its own path with their own ZM/VM mounting rail. This rail was invented in 1990 which means that is in use for a very long period of time. This also means that their rail standard was one of the first if not the first one to replace very well known LM rail standard. Comparing an old LM rail with the ZM/VM rail, the solution from Zeiss does not require any drilling which is a huge advantage for the user besides nicer aesthetics.

The ZM/VM rail is also known as

"Zeiss rail",
"inner rail" or
"M rail" (Zeiss basically put a letter "M" to all of their scopes with integrated rails and therefore, you can always know that you are dealing at a railed Zeiss scope if there is letter "M" involved in the model name).

It is important to know that ZM/VM rail standard is used by many brands nowadays, not only Zeiss.

Zeiss Conquest V6 1.1-6x24

Properties of Zeiss ZM/VM Rail standard

Rifle scopes that are made for using a ZM/VM rail mounting solutions, have an internal dovetail rail on the bottom part of the scope. In this rail there are at least two wedge nuts, milled under 45° angle that are able to slide along the rail (and reach different positions). The scope mount can be attached to these wedge nuts with a use of torx, allen or hex key.

ZM/VM rail mounts normally reach the height between 7-9 mm (for hunting rifles), but can also be higher (up to 23 mm) for modern AR rifles.

Drawing of scopes

Drawing of scopes with (left) and without (right) Zeiss rail, both connected with Picatinny interface

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeiss_rail)

Pros

It is somehow strange that rail mounting of rifle scopes is not more popular or at least as common as mounting with rings. In majority of cases, rail mounting is far better solution. One of the main reasons for it is that using rails offers better stability of the rifle scopes. Such mounts deal with recoil much better, also because of their robustness and reliability. There is no stress or tension provided to the scope tube while mounting or after mounting during the normal lifetime of the equipment.

We should not forget to mention that perfect horizontal alignment between the scope and the rifle is always achieved. There are no subjective factors during reaching horizontal alignment, because everything is already there and prepared for you. You just have to tighten the screws and the scope will be horizontally aligned, perfectly. If you will ever think about changing the scope or putting your old one on the other rifle, there will be no mounting marks on the scope. Sliding the scope on its rail forward or backwards, usually means that it is also quite easier to adjust the perfect eye relief.

Cons

There are really not a lot of disadvantages when using a ZM/VM rail. We have to mention that in some configurations, the setup can be a little high, compared to the same setup using mounting rings. Also, the truth is that German rail solutions are not the cheapest ones.

Brands that use this rail standard

Nowadays, ZM/VM rails are produced also by other European manufacturers besides Zeiss. Let us show you the list of some of the most recognized manufacturers:

Leica,
Steiner,
Noblex,
Meopta,
Blaser,
Schmidt&Bender (only in some of their scopes),
Minox,
Kaps and
Nikon.

These are all the brands that found sense in adopting the ZM/VM rail standard for their scopes. Knowing that all these well reputed brands using the same rail standard from Zeiss, it looks quite promising, right?

Blaser Infinity 2.8-20x50

Conclusion

The reputation of ZM/VM rail is well deserved and probably this is so because we are talking about one of the best and most common rail standards available. We also (always) recommend that if you are in a situation when you can choose between mounting rings or mounting rail, you should always choose rail. All of the advantages are definitely worth it.

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General properties of Low light rifle scopes

The low light rifle scopes category holds those riflescopes that are built to offer the best possible performance at dusk or dawn and when hunting during the night when the moon and the stars are the only source of light.

Best Scopes for hunting

Low light scopes are used solely for hunting and especially in Europe where hunting in low-light situations is very popular.

Low light rifle scopes - Best low light scope

Steiner Ranger 6 3-18x56 scope

Commonly associated features of scopes in this hunting category are:

50 or 56mm objective lens diameter
High-quality glass and coating of the rifle scope
Capped turrets
The illuminated reticle or thick FFP reticle
Low-intensity illumination of the reticle
1 inch or 30 mm tube or rail mounting
Fixed or variable magnification
Minimal magnification ranging from 2x to 4x
Maximal magnification ranging from 10x to 16x

What is the best Low light rifle scope?

What makes a low-light rifle scope the best?

When on a hunt for the best scope, there are many factors to be considered:

a finely adjustable red dot (dimmable),
brightness of the scope,
scope image quality,
fields of use, and many more.

Low-light rifle scope Buying guide

Due to numerous factors, price ranges, and manufacturers always producing new scopes, it is impossible to say which one is the best. However, we created a buying guide to keep you updated on some of the best buys in each price range.

Comparison of Low light scopes - information of low light scopes

Steiner and Leica low light riflescopes

Lens, coatings and magnification in best Low light scope

A good low light rifle scope is one that fits the user’s financial goals, brightness, and provides a quality image, nevertheless. A lower zoom factor means there are fewer lens in the design. And fewer lens result in less loss of light. The coatings are also important – if they are of higher quality, again, less amount of light is lost every time light travels through the lens’ surface.

As for the lens size, the bigger, the better. The magnification of the scope should also not be too high, as this results in a smaller exit pupil, which we do not want for low light use.

But the most important factor to be taken into account is that the scope performs best in low light if it has an illuminated reticle, preferably in the form of a finely adjustable central dot (if the whole reticle is illuminated, it covers up the image of the target).

Can you use a low light scope at night?

Yes, a riflescope can be used for hunting at night, if you make use of the available residual light, such as the Full Moon or starlight, but your observation will not be ideal.

However, if you wish to hunt at night and see the target clearly, you need the help of other night vision optics, such as thermal and night vision attachments, as night vision optics collect whatever little light there is and amplify it. So, without thermal optics, you would only see a silhouette of the animals and no details.

Leica Low light rifle scope

Leica Magnus 2.4-16x56 i scope

Rifle scopes with Zeiss ZM/VM mounting rail

VIDEO

Introduction

Properties of Zeiss ZM/VM Rail standard

Pros

Cons

Brands that use this rail standard