Not a 375, but that Firedot VXR 3-9x40 30mm is a sweet scope, I just put one on a custom 385 Norma on Warne steel bases and Burris rings, really nice.
I have one of these on a 30-06. It's Leupold VX-R 3-9x40 with Ballistic Firedot reticle (Item #111236). I think it's one of the most practical pieces of glass I've ever used, and it ticks all of the boxes that the OP laid out.
Things to Know This scope has a good general purpose reticle, but it takes some figuring out and the right zero. Most experienced shooters would choose something more versatile for routine use in very open country or anywhere that the wind is a problem.
The reticle dimensions are about right for low-light use. This is a second-focal plane reticle, so changing the power setting changes the reticle dimensions relative to the image.
The dot in the center is 1 MOA at the high end and 2.5 MOA at the low end. It appears as a short red vertical line, not as a circle or square. This is a hunting scope, and not the best choice for shooting tiny groups on paper.
The dot is bright enough to see in daylight without going to the highest setting. I wear glasses and I have astigmatism so it flares on the brighter settings, but that’s not the scope’s fault and reducing the brightness fixes it. It’s hard to find truly dark situations around here since I’m in a major West Coast city, but the dimmest settings would probably be fine in very low light.
The reticle makes a good bullet drop compensator. Leupold’s marketing copy implies that from a 200-yard zero, the bottom of the circle will be your 300-yard POI, the middle hash mark will be your 400-yard POI, and bottom hash mark will be your 500-yard POI. The copy does NOT tell you is that this is only true for cartridges with a muzzle velocity north (in some cases well north) of 2,900 fps firing bullets with very high BCs. Fortunately, you can fiddle with the zero and do some test shooting to figure out which distances the aiming marks actually indicate. These figures are for a 180-grain Nosler Partition at 2,750 fps. Your 375 would be similar, but check it to account for the difference in elevation between your location and mine. You have to crank the scope up to 9x for this data to work, but if you’re making long shots in low light then you should have the time to do that.
50 yards: +0.6”
100 yards: +1.8”
200 yards: Zero
250 yards: -3.3”
285 yards: -6.8", or the bottom of the circle
320 yards: -11.0”
355 yards: -16.7”, or the middle hash mark
400 yards: -25.5”
450 yards: -38.0”, or bottom hash mark
All in all, it’s a useful piece of gear for the conditions you described. Once I got it zeroed and figured out how to use the reticle, it was easy to ring 8" steel at 425 yards with it.
Let me know if you have questions.
Okie John
