Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Early 90s Vari-XII vs Vari-XIII

Good morning,
I have an early 90s Browning A-bolt Medallion 300 WM. It currently has a Vari-XII 3-9x50 duplex of the same vintage. I’ve thought about replacing it with a Vari-XIII 3.5-10x50 or possibly something else. Low light performance is important, as the legal hunting time extends to 1 hr past sunset here. This is not a rifle I hunt with often and I’d like to keep it looking period-correct. Thoughts?

If you like how it works as it is, I would keep it that way. I have had lots of Leupold variables of that vintage and find them to be a bit of a crap shoot. Some gave trouble with holding/wandering zero. Others worked great once sighted in.

I don’t think you’d realize any significant optical quality or reliability advantage in a switch, and you just might be worse off on the latter.

Can’t recall anyone worried about keeping something from that time “period correct”. Usually that’s reserved for earlier stuff. No matter; everyone has their own notions. I have a bunch!

If you’ve tried the current scope and not found it lacking under the lighting conditions you expect, I‘d call it good. The III might have very slighter better light transmission, but I doubt very much you’d be able to tell. Modern scopes OTOH, even cheaper ones, probably will outdo both. If it’s really important, I’d forgo the nostalgia and buy a good modern scope.

Alternately, you might find an older European model with a big objective, but some of those from that time might have issues with weather-proofing, or so I’ve read.

At some point during the years of marketing the VariX III scopes, Leupold started manufacturing them with a "lense multicoating" that they claimed produced better light transmission. If I remember right, this was only on the VariX III scopes and not the VariX IIs. So if you are looking to keep a "period correct" scope, the VariX III with the multicoat may be what you are looking for.

“Period correct” might be the wrong word. I’m trying to preserve the look. I don’t want a new scope because they’re not available in gloss. And big turrets might look strange. It’s not a rifle I use often.

Gotcha. Gloss is tough to find new.

Have you tried the 3-9x50 on your hunting grounds at the end of shooting time?

The D inference between the two in the early 90s was that the Vari-X II had "fully coated" lenses, but the III had "multi-coated lenses." That's what Leupold to ld me. I have a 3-9x50 Vari-X II with heavy duplex.

So the III is a better choice in all respects except price.

I can't remember for sure...but weren't the old II's friction adjustments, and the III's 1/4" clicks?

That’s what I recall to. Also the II series was magnesium fluoride coatings and the III was the newer improved coating (can’t remember the name) and was fully multi coated. The III series should be the better scope.

Agreed, but I’m not at all sure the difference will be enough to accomplish what the OP wants, or worth the cost. If it was important to me to have solid low-light performance, neither would be my choice.

Just got a 3.5-10 Vari X III mounted up on a gun. The scope appears new as it sat in a safe since 1988 or so. Wouldn't ya know it... it doesn't track worth a $hit! Back to Leupold it goes!

Then leave it the way it is. What's wrong with the scope that is on it?

Bingo

What??!!!! No, say it aint so..

Ok thanks everyone. I’ll just leave it alone.

Just remember that lower power allows more light to reach the eye. They are very good scopes.

Scopes can develop tracking issues simply by sitting around for a long time w/o the adjustments being used. In essence, the mechanical components want to 'remember' where they were. In technical terms, it's referred to as mechanical hysteresis.

The late Dick Thomas of Premier Reticles gave me this advice. He said this was the first thing they did when servicing a scope that came in with a tracking complaint:


Warm up the length of the scope tube with a hair dryer and slowly run the w/e adjustments back and forth to the limit of the travel in both directions 10-12 times (be gentle when you feel it get to the end of the travel). Then check it to see if it tracks correctly on the gun.

Over the years, I've 'fixed' a half dozen or so scopes by doing this.

For what it's worth.... -Al

Thanks for posting this Al, makes sense to me. I've been told of the need to exercise the adjustments on rear target iron sights and it makes even more sense for scopes with their more complex mechanisms.

There are early Vari-X III's that also have friction adjustments, but, the III"s were the 1st series to move to 1/4MOA click adjustments as well.


Multi-Coat 4. It's got a greenish tint when the light catches it rather than the blueish tint that the Vari-X II series had up until the change-over to the VX series.

Mike, routinely exercising precision measuring and adjusting tools to their limits is pretty standard Q.C. proceedure in the precision mfg'ing world (aerospace, medical, precision tool and die, etc).

Makes sense to me, too.

Good shootin' -Al