Article and photo by Mike Hammond
Not much can be added to the description or specifications that Minox’s ZX5i 2-10×50 BDC rifle scope development team included in the user guide for this scope.
The ZX5i, fitted with the Leupold Mark 4 base and rings made attaching this rifle scope to the Heckler-Koch 308 AR-15 style platform about as easy as you can get, making your friendly gunsmith’s skills unnecessary to install the ZX5i scope to the rifle. After laser bore sighting the scope to the gun, it was time to head out the door, fire up the truck, make a stop for some ammunition and get to the gun range to finish the sighting-in process.
Shooting at the 25 yard target, making adjustments to the windage/elevation as necessary by turning the adjustment knobs, it took surprisingly few rounds of ammunition to have the rifle shooting 2 inches high and dead on the center of the target. Several follow-up rounds showed how reliable and stable the internal parts were making some of the shot placements hard to find because of near identical entry points. Aligning the rifle scope to the one hundred yard target confirmed the workmanship and engineering that went into the Minox ZX5i, which was as stated in the users information booklet. Slowly firing five rounds, a 3/4 inch group top to bottom, left to right, was what was left on the target. Moving out to the two hundred yard target and firing five rounds, a 1 1/2 inch group was the end result. The ZX5i is capable of acquiring accurate point of impact placement at much greater yardage; that will have to be tested later at a rifle range set up for long range shooting.
I have not considered a Minox rifle scope in the past, mainly because I was satisfied with the performance of the other leading rifle scope manufacturer’s products. When something has proven its reliability and performance in field conditions, especially when used to take the life of an animal or to win a shooting contest, change doesn’t come easy. However, we don’t depend on open sights as much as we used to, because something better, more reliable came along for us to use. That being said, I will take a chance from time to time and try other products and manufacturers like Minox.
After acquiring the ZX5i and testing the scope I am definitely looking at the Minox mid- and higher range of optics such as the ZE 5i 5-25×56 and the 5i TAC to replace some of my aging, well-used and trusted rifle optics. Give Minox a try for yourself. Dollar for dollar you will be hard pressed to find a better rifle scope.
(Editor’s note: Member Mike Hammond, through a proxy, bought the rifle scope donated to RMOWP by Minox for the auction at the Bryce Canyon conference, and wrote the following review.)