Introduction
As the sea of riflescopes deepens around us, it can often be challenging to know what to pick. It seems every time I open my Instagram there is a new optics company trying to get my attention and money. And because I am both a humanitarian and a rifle-junkie, I chose to take a leap for you the reader to put eyes on all of them to gain insight for prospective buyers. Today we are looking through the brand new Zero Tech Trace X 5-25×50 riflescope. Building off of the companies Trace line of scopes, the Trace X line offers all the popular features that zealous riflemen are after.
I’ve been using this scope now for four months, in anticipation of its official release to the market. It fits nicely into my collection of precision rifle optics, and should therefore get a good comparison to its peers. With production facilities in both Japan and China, there are Zero Tech scopes in the premium quality tier as well as more affordable options.
Zero Tech has been around since 2018, which might not sound like a long time. Though the company maintains that their team has decades in the optic market, design and engineering. Originating in Australia, Zero tech has spread quickly across the rapidly advancing optics market to include North America, Europe and Africa. They manufacture scopes, binoculars, spotting scopes and smaller sights like red dots.
The Zero Tech Trace X 5-25×50
The Trace X scope is built on a 34mm tube, which has become the preferred option for precision shooting aficionados. With a 50mm objective lens up front, and a 5x variable zoom the Trace X also has the power to compress great detail into your view.
I like the all metal construction, with no rubber or plastic features to get damaged. The magnification ring has a removable throw-lever, with two different mounting locations to avoid occlusions with bolt handles and fingers. There is a metal locking ring on the ocular adjustment diopter, to allow you to lock the focus which is a nice touch.
On the erector housing you’ll find the typical trio of turrets. Up top there is a 10-MIL elevation turret marked with 1/10 MRAD marks. Loosening the two Allen screws allows you to remove the turret cap, exposing the zero-stop underneath. It is a very robust aluminum ring that can be zeroed at any location. The elevation turret itself has 33 MRAD of elevation in three turns of the turret.
On the right side you’ll find a capped windage turret, it too has 10MRAD per turn, but is labeled 5R or 5L depending which direction you turn it. I like having the windage capped, as I rarely dial windage outside of zeroing. Opposite the windage turret there is a battery housing and push-button control for the reticle illumination. This is stacked on top of the parallax focus adjustment in a clean seamless look which is nice.
Trace X Specifications
| Magnification | 5-25X |
| Objective Lens | 56mm |
| Tube Diameter | 34mm |
| Focal Plane | First Focal Plane (FFP) |
| Material | 6061-T6 Aluminum |
| Zero Stop | Yes |
| Turret Value | 0.1 MRAD per click |
| Internal Elevation Adjustment | 34 MRAD |
| Internal Windage Adjustment | 17 MRAD |
| Parallax Adjustment Range | 20m to infinity |
| Exit Pupil | Low: 9.5mm; High: 2.2mm |
| Eye Relief | 97mm |
| Field Of View @100 Meters | Low: 8.3m; High: 1.6m |
| Dioptre Adjustment | -3/+2 |
| Waterproof | IPX7 |
| Reticle | Illuminated RMG-H |
Mounting and Initial Impressions
Initially I planned on mounting the Trace X to my Desert Tech SRS M2. This is one of my favorite rifles, and it is boringly accurate and repeatable. Which is an excellent host when testing a scope. The SRS M2 uses a 30 MOA canted scope rail, to that I attached a set of Vortex rings that gave me perfect height for mounting the Zero Tech scope.
Once mounted, I did a little bit of looking through the scope. My first thought was that its quite bright, and clarity was also very good. Changing magnification as I looked over the details of trees and other landscape details gave a general positive impression.
Shooting the Zero Tech Trace X
Over the course of several weeks and various trips to the range and into the mountains, we put the Trace X through its paces. We do a lot of shooting in these mountains, chasing squirrels and Marmots at high altitude and often long-range. Miles of open country covered in trees and brush also give excellent opportunities to view and engage targets through the Zero Tech scope.
My SRS kitted out with the 6 GT barrel is one of my most reliable and predictable barrels. Which would make a very solid test platform, as I’ve got years of hard dope from shooting with many other high quality scopes.
My first trip would be a to rifle range, to get a solid zero and test some of the tracking and zero-stop. Most of that work was done at 100 yards, where I would shoot groups and make sure everything was buckled down. After I felt confident that I could drop bullets through other bullet holes with the Trace X, it was time to hit the real world range.
In the field
Luck would have it that I would be able to test quite a variety of conditions due to some odd summer weather patterns. Not only was I able to read mirage through the triple digit heat of summer, but I’d also get to shoot through clouds and rain. Even some frozen precipitation would hit us at nine-thousand feet. And later still the haze of distant wildfires would test the sharpness of the Trace X lenses.
Some of these conditions would closely represent a typical day of deer or elk hunting in these mountains. And I like seeing how my equipment stands up in less than ideal weather.
Optical Clarity
Zero Tech uses Schott lenses which are famous for high quality image transfer. My initial impression was very positive, the image was bright and the details crisp. Whether looking at the ragged edges of bullet holes in paper, or the hair of small animals rustling in the breeze.
The focus/parallax has a broad sweep of adjustment, which made it easy to find the best image when focusing. Shooting the scope in early morning light as the sun rises, as well as the aforementioned clouds and smokey skies proved the Trace X’s lens quality look to me. Those of us who have been around scopes for a long time can certainly appreciate the optical performance compared to the price. We once paid two or three times the cost for scopes that offered less than this one. But as I mentioned, the sea of scopes continues to rise and competition is making a performance like this more affordable.
Reticle
Reticles can be very subjective to the shooter. I think the RMG-H reticle gives a great balance of subtensions without clogging the view within the scope. For those that prefer the Christmas tree style reticles you might prefer the RMG 2 or RMG 3 reticle.
Elevation is marked at half and whole MIL’s, numbered from 1 to 10. While the windage is subtended in .2 MIL and .5 MIL for the first 3 MIL’s and then switches to whole and half MIL’s out to 8 MIL’s. The windage is numbered even only. The open center with a dot makes for a perfectly fine aim point without cluttering the area.
Parallax and Focus
Removing parallax from your target image is easily done with the long parallax adjustment on the Trace X. Making images easily analyzed by the eye. Getting a sharp focus of both the reticle and the target can be done nicely using the Trace X’s controls. And that sharp focus makes the scope an excellent tool for precise shooting.
Repeatability
Over the course of this past summer, I’ve been able to work the knobs of this scope repeatedly. Swapping it from one rifle to another, zeroing and re-zeroing, setting the zero-stop. All this the scope does very well, staying set and tracking true. Regardless of the conditions, it went right along with whatever shooting activity I had planned for the day. Riding along on bumpy dirt roads for miles on the back of ATV’s caused no problem for the Trace X.
Value
With an MSRP of $899, I expect the Trace X will find a following among shooters looking for value coupled with performance. The Trace X falls right into that meaty bit of the optics market with great performance to cost ratio. With all the competition, this scope has its work cut out, but it has the pedigree to do very well.
Pros and Cons
Zero Tech’s Trace X has a great set of lenses, which produces sharp images. Even in the triple digit heat of summer, I was very pleased with my ability to pick out prairie dogs through the mirage. Strong turrets with crisp clicks and a solid zero-stop make it a great choice for dialing corrections. The broad parallax adjustment gives great alignment of reticle and target, giving marksman with taste little to complain about.
The only issue I had on occasion, was the push-button illumination. While transporting a rifle in a soft case, the illumination had been turned on. I am not sure if it was me accidentally pushing the button when loading the gun into the case, or if it got bumped during transport. Either way, I was surprised to find my reticle blazing red once I got on the firing line.
My Verdict on the Trace X 5-25×50
I’ve spent several months now playing with the Trace X, and putting it to good use in the various shooting applications I enjoy. Its given the opportunity to see how this scope stands up to the many others that I often use. Perhaps the most obvious thing I’ve learned during that time is how the optics world is changing. One used to have to spend a great deal of money for a reliable precision optic with features like these. The Zero Tech Trace X is a great example of how that is no longer the case, you can get a great riflescope for a reasonable price. And you can still get the features like great optical quality, reliable tracking, great reticle, zero-stop and more. It really does make it hard to justify spending a thousand or two dollars. I expect this trend will continue, and we will see additional great optics coming from manufacturers like Zero tech.