Over the years I’ve owned 3 Schmidt and Bender Ultra Shorts, and for one reason or another I was always left wanting (mostly in the reticle department) so when the K318i with SKMR and ZC420 with MPCT reticles were announced I began to speculate how good these optics would be and whether they would rival the reigning Ultra Short champion – Schmidt & Bender. Two makers stood out – Kahles with the K318i and a newcomer to the sport – ZCO with their ZC420, I was so enamored with all the new releases I started a thread on the Hide called “ 2018 – Year of the Ultra Shorts” where I highlighted a number of scopes from different manufacturers, but it was the alpha level I was most interested in. Right before SHOT 2018 I was thrilled to hear about all the new Ultra Short scopes that were coming to market to challenge the reigning champion and original innovator of Ultra Short style scopes – Schmidt & Bender.
![schmidt bender ultra short reset zero schmidt bender ultra short reset zero](https://www.longrangehunting.com/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi42.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fe326%2FAAC_Blackout%2FP4F_zpsykiw1mtn.jpg)
![schmidt bender ultra short reset zero schmidt bender ultra short reset zero](https://www.schmidtundbender.de/images/stories/tz/tz-3-20x50-PMII-UltraShort-590.png)
Three scopes walk into a bar, the first is a ZCO, the second a Kahles and the third a Schmidt… and so the joke goes, but in reality, it was 6 scopes, and Minox joined the party as well and the punchline of the joke is… well read on and we’ll get there.