Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics VX-3L Gimmick or Legit??

Is that crescent thingy cut out of the bottom of a 50mm objective a helpful feature all things considered, or just a gimmick?
Tim

No gimmick.
Doubles as an ice cream scooper.

Never used one but I think the design makes sense. A scope mounted low is always desirable and if you need a "moonlight" scope that oughta be it.

It's a gimmick in my opinion. I don't get the obsession with mounting a scope as low as possible. I've got a couple of 56mm obj. scopes and the mounting height is fine.

I totally agree with the statement about mounting as low as possible. Doesn't work for me either.

I don't have a VX-L so I can't comment on them, but I really don't like the bolt upright head position required by a 56mm conventional scope.

It all depends on how fat your cheeks are!

The idea that so many folks talk about not using large diameter objectives so they can get a good cheek weld is pretty funny. Take a look at the scopes at the range. Many have as much as quater inch of clearance between the bell and the barrel.

+1

Often how low a scope can be mounted is limited by the eyepiece to bolt handle clearance, rather than bell and barrel. For example, I have a 1" tube 6x42 Swarovski that needs medium rings for this reason. Even so, I line up behind it just fine, with a solid, repeatable hold.

Scopes that need high or extra high rings just don't "come together" nicely for me on that rifle.

50mm is about my limit, and that's only on certain rifles.

I own a Leupold VX-L and a weaver with a regular 56mm lens and i prefer the VX-L ,it just sits in a more normal position on the rifle when mounted down low like intended.

Regardless of how many folks on the Campfire think the "scoop scope" is a gimmick, Leupold sells the hell out of them, especially in the South. Which is why they're still being made, a number of years after their introduction.

Funny you should mention that. In hunting Oregon exclusively, I have seen exactly one VX-L, mounted on a Weatherby MK V.

I would agree that rifle choice is an often overlooked determinant of how low you can mount your scope. As i recently pointed out here, i mount a full 56mm objective lens on low mounts.

I like the idea of the leupold scope, i just worry that that cut out is likely to produce effects that will decrease the optical quality of the scope.

I'm sure your info is right Mule Deer, but I've been hunting in the south all my life and I've never seen one of those scopes mounted on a rifle. I've seen a few sitting in the case at gun shops, but never seen anyone actually using one. Most guys that are going to spend the $1000 or so they ask for them are going to opt for the better european glass instead. Looking at the prices they ask for them you can buy a meopta 3-12x56 for about $200 cheaper than you can the VX-3L 3.5-10x56. I got a good deal on closeout for a swarovski PH 2.5-10x56 about three years ago and was about the same as a VX-3L would have cost. I just don't see them as that good of a deal, whether or not the barrel cutout is a gimmick.