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MINOX ZP5 FOR DRIVEN HUNTS?

The perfect allrounder?

A great friend of mine invited me on a 3-day driven hunt in Sweden, with additional opportunities for spot-and-stalk and nighttime hunting for wild boar. I knew I wanted to bring my MINOX X-range binoculars, but what about the rifle scope? It had been a couple of years since I last participated in large, organized driven hunts typical of Sweden, and knowing the terrain often varies significantly, I wanted to cover all bases. I needed something that would be useful for dynamic shooting as well as longer-range opportunities, while maintaining good handling both on the ground and from high seats.

Agony of choice

I settled on my ZP5 3-15x50 paired with my Sauer 404. I have used this scope for years and have the utmost confidence in it. I know it can handle both short-range, fast-paced situations and long-range shots without compromising in any area. The gear was sorted, the car packed, and off we went.

Deceiving appearances

At first glance, the ZP5 series might not seem like an obvious choice for driven hunting, with its open turret design, overall dimensions, and tactical look. Perhaps this is true for the typical driven hunt in Poland or Germany, which often takes place in dense woodlands or lowland areas, where fast shots at short distances are the norm. However, this is a high-end, feature-packed scope that has delivered for me whenever I needed it. In my experience, it certainly has its place, even for driven hunts. Our hunting program included long driven hunts during the day (typically 1-2 drives spanning 8-10 hours), spot-and-stalk in the hours before sundown, and nighttime stalking for wild boar. The ZP5 performed in all situations and was easy to pack and carry throughout the hunts.

Various hunting situations

Sweden is a beautiful country with very rough and diverse nature. As such, the driven hunt scenery presented many different vistas, including dense woods with dimly lit, narrow windows of opportunity, and vast open marshland with potential long shots. This is where the ZP5 3-15x50 definitely provides an edge.

The ZP5 has immaculate optics. The glass offers very high light transmission, is crystal clear, and provides superb contrast. These features, coupled with the low magnification of 3-5x, a great field of view, and an illuminated reticle, made it perfectly usable in the dense woodland areas. Similarly, adjusting the scope to 10-12x provided more than enough resolution for long-distance shots, allowing for confidence in every shot.

Flexible usability

The medium-to-long-range shots in hunting scenarios are where I think the ZP5 3-15x50 excels, which is often the case on driven hunts in Sweden. The contrast and clarity of the glass make target identification quick and enable precise shots. I found this particularly useful at a post where the landscape alternated between dark forest and open land bathed in strong sunlight. I was able to track a roe deer moving through the forest and transitioning to the open land without any problems.

The dimensions and weight of the ZP5 3-15x50 balance very nicely on my Sauer 404, offering a smooth swing during shots at moving targets, which was also apparent in this particular situation.

Is the ZP5 ideal for driven hunts?

Depending on the situation, I think it can be. Of course, it doesn’t match a red dot or low-power optic for short-range and fast-paced shooting, but for everything else, I think it’s a very solid option. I know I’ll be bringing it on my next driven hunt as well.

Autor

Alexander Reese

Alexander is an avid bow- and rifle hunter based in Denmark, where he spends a lot of time chasing elusive roe bucks and majestic stags, but he also frequently visits Sweden, Germany and Poland. Alexander has started to combine his passion for photography and hunting in finding ways to communicate and portray what we as hunters value so much about getting out in the wild. In our modern society, he finds it important to help position hunting as a sustainable way of providing for oneself and family, and to honor what so many people see as a deeply rooted tradition.