Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Older Leupold variable scope history.

Vari-X; Var-X II, Vari-XIII, first year with clicks, etc. Tried Leupold's site, no luck. Anyone here knowledgeable on this?

This is pretty good at covering it.

Link to Loopy Info

Thanks.

Everyone is down on Leupold

There's a chart published by Leupold and even that has errors in it.

Thanks again. Looking at an assortment of Vari-X IIs for sale. This helps.

Vari-XIIc are way better with much more windage and elevation than Vari-XII.

Unless they are really cheap you're better off getting the VX-II or VX-2. Better glass, better construction, better adjustments.

You're probably right on the VX-2 but I found a 3-9x40, 1998 mfg. Vari-X IIc this morning in like new condition for $125. Seemed too good a price to pass up.

For $125 that is a nice scope.

I've got one3-9x40 Vari-X IIc, that is reliable as can be. It may be a little older technology, but bad as my eyes are, I cant tell the difference anyway. I truly believe it is a lot better built scope than what Leupold is making these days. Like before, that's a good price for that scope.

Not everyone
I have about 20 o so of them and they perform well

Great price on a great scope. I forget where I got the following but it is long; I don't know the accuracy:

The Rifleman scopes are fully coated with a coating of magnesium fluoride on all lens glass surfaces providing 82% of the available light back to the shooters eye. The windage and elevation adjustments are a silent friction adjustment marked in 1/2" inch increments on the dial. The scopes offer a new Wide Duplex with the thin section opening being twice as open as the Standard Duplex. The scopes are matte finish with a new sleek ergonomic maintube design. No Custom Shop services are available on a Rifleman scope. The scopes are waterproof and are covered by the Leupold Lifetime Guarantee. (The Rifleman scope is basically the old Vari-X II in a new body).

The VX-I scopes are MultiCoat 4 on the exterior eyepiece lens and the objective lens and use an industry standard coating throughout, providing approximately 85% of the available light back to the shooters eye. The windage and elevation adjustments are a silent friction adjustment marked in 1/4" inch increments on the dial. The scopes offer a Standard Duplex reticle or a Wide Duplex reticle. The scopes are offered in black gloss or matte finish. The scopes are waterproof and covered by the Leupold Lifetime Guarantee. Custom Shop services are available. (The VX-I is an improvement over the Vari-X II in that it has the MultiCoat 4 external lenses, 1/4 moa friction adjustment as opposed to the 1/2 moa, fast focus diopter adjustment and the eye piece and objective are threaded for Alumina products



The VX-II scopes are MultiCoat 4 providing 92% of the available light back to the shooters eye. The windage and elevation adjustments are an audible click adjustment in 1/4" inch click increments on the dial. The scopes offer multiple reticle options. The scopes are offered in black gloss or matte finish and some models are available in silver finish. The scopes are waterproof and covered by the Leupold Lifetime Guarantee. Custom Shop services are available. (The VX-II line is basically the Vari-X III optics in the Vari-X II body).

The VX-III scopes use the new Matched Index lens system, providing 94% to 98% of the available light back to the shooters eye depending on the particular VX-III model. The windage and elevation adjustments are an audible click adjustment in 1/4" inch click increments on the dial and low profile adjustments are finger adjustable (no special tools required). The scopes offer multiple reticle options. The scopes are offered in black gloss or matte finish and some models are available in silver finish. Some models are available in a 30mm maintube. These selected hunting models, VX-III 1.75-6x32mm, 2.5-8x36mm, 3.5-10x40mm, 3.5-10x50mm, 4.5-14x40mm, and 4.5-14x50mm scopes provide a simple built-in range estimating feature that uses the Duplex reticle. The scopes are waterproof and covered by the Leupold Lifetime Guarantee. Custom Shop Services are available.



Basically:
Rifleman = Vari X-IIc
VX-II = Vari X-III

The Rifleman is the Vari X-IIc in a newly designed maintube with threading for the Alumina products.

The VX-I has Multicoat4 on the outside lenses and the micro-friction 1/4 MOA adjustments that make it different from the Vari X-IIc. It also is threaded for the Alumina products.

The VX-II has the multicoat4 lens system all the way through and the 1/4 MOA "coin" click adjustments. Basically making it the Vari X-III packaged in a Vari X-II maintube. It has the fast focus eyepiece and is threaded for the Alumina products.

The VX-III has the index matched lens system and the 1/4 MOA finger click adjustments all in the Vari X-III maintube. Of course, it has the fast focus eyepiece and is threaded for the Alumina products.

We re-introduced the AO on the 4.5-14x40mm this year.

There are no real apples to apples comparisons to make here, but the Rifleman price dropped $20 off of the Vari X-IIc price and added the threading. The VX-I added the micro-friction 1/4 MOA adjustments, Multicoat4 external lenses and the threading for the same price as the Vari X-IIc, the X-II has the functionality of the Vari X-III with the fast focus eye-piece and the threading for about $150.00 less and the VX-III has the Index Matched lenses system, 1/4 MOA finger click adjustments, fast focus eye-piece and the threading for about the same price as the Vari X-III.

What are the major differences between scope lines?

With all of the recent changes, it can be difficult to know exactly how each product will perform. Every scope Leupold produces, including the Rifleman, is fully coated (all lenses, internal and external, are coated) and utilizes glass, coatings, and optical systems of equal or better quality than the discontinued Vari-X II’s of the past. Decreased cost associated with the Rifleman line is due to increased efficiency in our production process, not from reduced quality.

To make things easier, a brief summary of our current scope lines has been compiled including the most prominent features belonging to each.

It is important to note that every lens (internal and external) in every Leupold scope is coated, but the type of coatings will vary. “Fully multicoated” indicates that each lens in an optical system is coated with multiple layers of lens coating, such as Multicoat 4. “Fully coated” indicates that each lens is coated with a single lens coating; Leupold uses magnesium fluoride. “Standard multicoated” scopes have a combination of coated lenses and multicoated lenses.

VX-7

New for 2007, the VX-7 line takes full advantage of Leupold’s 100 years of experience. The VX-7 uses ¼-MOA SpeeDial adjustments which eliminate the possibility of losing adjustment covers. DiamondCoat 2 exterior lens coatings provide the highest level of scratch resistance ever offered. Xtended Twilight internal lens coatings work to optimize the wavelengths specific to twilight conditions, making the VX-7 the best low-light scope we’ve ever produced. The use of a 4-to-1 erector system provides a larger range of magnification, making this line the ultimate scope for serious hunters.
LPS

The LPS line uses ¼-MOA, low-profile, finger-adjustable adjustments; a fast-focus eyepiece; and our DiamondCoat lens coatings to provide incredible light transmission values with the addition of remarkable scratch resistance.
VX-L®

The VX-L was new for 2006, and uses ¼-MOA or 1/8-MOA adjustments depending upon model, has a fast-focus eyepiece, and utilizes an objective lens specially shaped to allow large objective scopes to be mounted in low rings. VX-L scopes use a combination of Index Matched and DiamondCoat lens coatings as well as edge-blackened lenses to produce extremely low glare and unprecedented light transmission values.
VX-III

The VX-III line was new for 2004, and uses ¼-MOA, low-profile, finger-adjustable adjustments and a fast-focus eyepiece. VX-III’s are fully multicoated and Index Matched to ensure that each lens has the best possible coating, producing total light transmission values higher than ever seen before.
Mark 4

Beginning in 2004, all tactical scopes are included in the Mark 4 category and will have the same features as past tactical models with the addition of a fast-focus eyepiece and Index Matched lenses; there are two exceptions which include the CQ/T and 3-9x40mm PR. The CQ/T has always utilized a combination of DiamondCoat (external) and Multicoat 4 (internal) lens coatings, and the 3-9x40mm PR is fully multicoated using Multicoat 4. 2003 tactical scopes typically had fully multicoated lenses utilizing Multicoat 4.
Vari-X III

The Vari-X III line (discontinued for 2004 with introduction of VX-III) has seen little change and is still optically the same as those produced in the 90s. Vari-X III’s utilize ¼-MOA click adjustments and are fully multicoated with Multicoat 4.
VX-II

The VX-II line (2003 and older) uses a combination of Vari-X III and Vari-X II (discontinued) technology. VX-II’s also utilize ¼-MOA click adjustments, but the lens coatings are unique. The external lenses are coated with Multicoat 4 and the internal lenses are coated with magnesium fluoride.
Beginning in 2004, the VX-II line is fully multicoated and will perform comparably to the discontinued Vari-X III line.
VX-I

The VX-I also utilizes a combination of Vari-X III and Vari-X II technology, utilizing ¼-MOA friction (non-clicking) adjustments. The external lenses are multicoated and the internal lenses use magnesium fluoride.
Rifleman

Though the Rifleman line of scopes uses a different maintube (for aesthetic reasons), it is optically the same as the Vari-X II (discontinued for 2001). The adjustments are exactly the same as the Vari-X II (½-MOA friction) as are the lenses and coatings. All lenses, internal and external, are coated with magnesium fluoride. Basically, the Rifleman is a newer-looking matte finish version of the Vari-X II that helped build the Leupold reputation. It is important to note that Custom Shop options (reticle changes, target adjustment installation, etc.) are not available for the Rifleman line of scopes.
Beginning in 2005, there were changes to the fixed magnification scope lines, updating them to follow the current convention used by the VX series of scopes; all fixed magnification scopes now have an “FX” designation followed by a number indicating the combination of technologies used in that product. For example, an FX-II will have the same lens coatings and adjustments as a VX-II, an FX-III will have the same lens coatings and adjustments as the VX-III line, etc.

There was also a shift from using the term “compact" to the term “ultralight,” meaning that the FX-II 2.5x20mm Ultralight which was introduced in 2005 will be a fixed magnification scope with ¼-MOA click adjustments, fully multicoated lenses, and will have the compact eyepiece.

Some of this schitt is really over -thinking it....IMO

I can already see we are starting to create an internet "aura" around the Vari-X Leups............





Having owned more than a dozen Vari-X in both II's and III's, and currently own 5, I can tell you they don't always adjust accurately, and rarely precisely. Yes, they certainly seem to be better than current 2's, 3's, and 3i's, and when it comes to sight and forget they're ok, but don't expect every example to be anything close to precise.

Then again, neither have most other older or newer brands I've owned.

What made Leupold what it is was the huge eyebox, quality of glass, and weight, for the price compared to other scopes from the 70's until recently.

As far as my own experience goes some of the best scopes I had were Leupold Vari-XIIc's in 2-7 and 3-9. One of the poorest performing scopes I had was a Leupold Vari-XII, 2-7 x 28mm. That scope was so dim compared to the the IIC in 33mm, plus it had about half the Windage and Elevation. I thought I was upgrading going with VX-3 and VX-3i, but am not so sure. I haven't had any issues but it will P-me OFF if one craps out while hunting! I am not a knob cranker; I set and remember and then use Kentucky Windage and Tennessee Elevation. I am a dinosaur and don't have or use a rangefinder either. 300 yards is my comfort limit; if I extend beyond that it has to be very good conditions and a rock solid position.

Redfield scopes from the 1970's were probably the best scopes at that time in the price range, but since they quit making them and the warranty disappeared I avoid them now no matter how good a condition or price they are.

One thing to consider in the Vari-X line is the dimple on the tube; the rings need to be like 1/4" from that dimple. The VX series moved the dimple to the turret. I believe the dimple has something to do with the Erector Spring(s)

alpinecrick & sbrmike, Agreed the old friction adjustments are not always easy to get adjusted but ime once they're set they stay set. I'll confirm their setting before each hunting season and leave it alone. I read somewhere the internal adjustment system was changed in the early 80s and they eliminated the dimple from that point on.

Do you know if there is a difference between Leupolds labeled VX-II vs ones marked VX-2 or is it just branding?

There are Vari-X II, two vintages of VX-II, and VX-2 and yes there are some differences.