Last fall, Zeiss announced their LRP S5 FFP precision rifle scope. They claim this scope has the most elevation in its class. Zeiss sent one of their LRP S5 525-56 scopes to us for review. So let’s take a look through it.

Zeiss @ TFB:

• [SHOT 2022] Zeiss Precision LRP S5 Scopes
• POTD: The Zeiss LRP, ZCO 527 and Kahles 525i Reticles – 2000 Yards
• Zeiss LRP S5 FFP Precision Rifle Scopes With The Most Elevation

Zeiss LRP S5 525-56 FFP

The Zeiss LRP S5 525-56 is a first focal plane scope. It has magnification from 5x-25x with a 56mm objective lens and a 34mm tube. What sets it apart from every other 34mm scope with the same magnification range is the fact the Zeiss LRP S5 525-56 has 40.7 MIL/MRAD or 140 MOA of elevation travel! That blows away my 35mm Leupold Mark 5HD which has 35 MIL/MRAD or 120MOA elevation.

There is a really great feature Zeiss built into their turrets. The clicks at every whole number are more pronounced so you can really feel when you hit them. So if I want to adjust my elevation for a mile, 1760 yards, which is roughly 23 MIL of elevation, rather than count all the 0.1 MIL adjustments or look at the turret, I can rotate the elevation turret and feel for the 26 harder clicks.

The windage is lockable but does not have the pronounced clicks since you would rarely be dialing that much windage.

Opposite the windage knob is the parallax adjustment. And outside of that is the illuminated reticle adjustment. Pull the outer illumination knob outwards to turn on the illuminated reticle. Rotate the knob forward to dim it and backward towards the shooter to brighten the illumination.

This LRP S5 525-56 FFP scope features the Zeiss ZF-MRi MIL reticle. It is a proper Christmas tree reticle with open vertices at the center and half MIL on either side top and bottom. You can see a representation of the illuminated reticle below.

To clear up the Christmas Tree reticle, Zeiss only has lines at whole MILs and only numbered the even MILs. Half MIL windage indicators are marked with small dots. Allowing you to see more of your target.

The illuminated reticle is bright enough for daytime.

Zeiss sent their precision rings but unfortunately, the medium height rings were not tall enough for my Ruger Precision Rifle or my Desert Tech SRS-A1 so they sent their tall precision rings. They feature an anti-cant bubble but it is not very long so small adjustments are not as noticeable as other anti-cant bubbles.

 

Zeiss also included their throw lever. Magnification ring resistance is decent but not something you need to fight the scope over. The throw lever makes it much easier to change the magnification.

I followed the instructions for installing the Zeiss LRP S5 525-56 FFP in the Zeiss precision rings. 18in/lbs for the rings and 36in/lbs for the base mount.  I used the proper torque amount with my Fat Wrench and yet I experienced the scope shift backward under recoil. My friend Kythe said it is better to tighten, loosen and retighten the rings three times. After loosening and retightening the rings to the proper torque specs I did not experience any scope movement.

Looking Through The Zeiss LRP S5 525-56 FFP

You already got a sneak peek looking through it when I mentioned the illuminated reticle. But here are some more photos looking through the scope. I mounted the scope to my test rig and brought it out to the place  I like to test optics. The utility shed is 530 yards away.

Zeiss And Night Vision/Thermal

Unfortunately, the time of night I took the night vision images was not ideal for night vision. There was considerable backlighting from the recent setting sun.

If I turn 90º the lighting is better suited for night vision. This tree is 2,000 yards away.

I tried the BAE UTCXII in front of the Zeiss LRP S5 525-56 FFP and I was not disappointed.

Even at 25x, I could still make out the utility shed and some details.

Final Thoughts On The S5 525-56

The glass and turrets are fantastic on the Zeiss LRP S5 525-56 FFP. After resetting the rings, I did not experience any scope shift. I did find the tall rings to still be a little too short especially when mounted on my Desert Tech SRS-A1. I really have to get my cheek low to get a good sight picture. It is not that comfortable. I rather use a one-piece mount and get the scope higher off the top rail. I was hoping I would have enough elevation in the Zeiss, since it has 40.7 MRAD of total elevation, to dial up to a mile. However, with 6.5 Creedmoor and the round I was shooting, I would need 26.5 MRAD of elevation. Since the scope was zeroed I was only able to dial up to 19.5 MRAD and had to hold over 7.5 MRAD. It also did not help having 4-5 MRAD of wind. So I had to lower the magnification a bit to even see 7-8 MRAD down and 4-5 MRAD to the right. But this is not an issue of the scope. Just the challenges of shooting a mile. I need a 10 MRAD base or mount that has 10 MRAD built into it.

The Zeiss LRP S5 retails for $3,599 so it is not cheap. But you know Zeiss makes quality optics and the features of this scope make it a solid choice for shooting long range. For more information go to their website.

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