I recently replaced a Leupold VX3i 2.5-8x36 that I had on my hog hunting 308 bolt gun.
My assessment is that it’s a good hunting scope for no more than 100 yards. It was a great fit for me for hunting in dense woods.
The good: I never had any problems with holding zero. Close quarters performance was excellent. At low magnification- it had great field-of-view (34.5’), excellent eye relief (4.6”), easy eyebox to get behind, and very clear.
The bad: At magnification greater than 6x, eye relief reduced to 3.6”, eyebox narrowed noticeably, and clarity was poor. The magnification adjustment knob was also hard to turn so a throw lever was a necessity.
I replaced it with a Tract Toric 2-10x42 which also gives me great close quarters performance but it has constant eye relief of 4” at all magnifications, eyebox is always easy and clarity is great at all magnifications. Only time will tell how it holds up but I have no complaints
I hear these stories and wonder if " fail to hold zero" is the scope, mounts or rifle at fault. I own different brands of scopes and enjoy the Leupold bashing here on the Fire. Not a dailer, so this scope fills the bill on 3 of my LW rifles. Something is wrong with your scope , or eyes if clarity is bad @ 6X, usually set mine at 6X when hunting. 3.4" is plenty of relief for most calibers. If magnification adjuustment is hard to turn you may have the rear ring "farmer tight".
