Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold Scope Choice

Looking for opinions or experience in choosing a scope, with very specific criteria.

• Must be a Leupold product
• Host rifle is a 6.5x55 Tikka T3x Forest
• Primarily for whitetail, east of the Mississippi, out to 500 yds.
• Typical low light, dusk/dawn conditions
• No budget constraint
  

My first thought: VX5HD 3-15x44 with Firedot Duplex (illuminated)

Your first thought is a very good one.

I own three and they are working great for me.

One on my Tikka .260, my whitetail rifle.

Yep, you picked a good one. Or the VX-6HD version of the same. That is a 3-18x44. If you like the included alumina caps and electronic leveling

Interesting concept. Why does it have to be a Leupold? When I set out to acquire something, my goal is to get the best I can find within my budget. In scopes, that might be a Leupold I suppose, certainly at one time they were my first choice, but it’s a big wide market out there now, and there are a lot of players.

If you don’t care to explain, that’s fine, just curious. Wouldn’t mind seeing a pic of that rifle since Tikkas are rare critters hereabouts, especially that model.

Good luck.

But it's got to be a Leupold pappy!! Strict guidelines here.

I like mine but if I were buying another one tomorrow, I’d probably get the 56mm.

Lost some faith in Leupy newer ones any way bought a vx5 he 3x15x56 wouldn’t hold zero or tract correctly Sent it back Came back with two new erectors....... has been fine since But dang get it right the first time

What’s wrong with that?

I'll explain it this way: I have an opportunity to buy from a Leupold distributor at an unbeatable price.

Here's the best pic I have at the moment with the current Vortex Diamondback mounted.

Nothing at all. It's his choice. Like Pappy said though, there are many choices out there. Leupold has more failure rates than anything I've ever seen though. Even the high dollar ones.

Well, if it just has to be Leupy, seems as though you were done with the OP. Under $1k I would look for a used Bushy LRHSi or LRTSi 3-12X44 myself, distributor price or no.

Nice rifle, by the way. I love Tikkas.

What, and where, are you you going to hunt with this Tikka/Leupy combo, anyway? It might help narrow down some suggestions.

A Meopta Meopro 4.5-14X44, HTR or regular, would stomp that Diamondback all day long, too, at an attractive price and weight. And, I think, keep up with or surpass the VX5 in glass and tracking departments.

VX-6. Heavier reticle. I have a VX5 2-10 w/ firedot, it's nice, but it would be nicer with a heavier reticle.

Primarily for whitetail, east of the Mississippi, out to 500 yds.

Saw that in the OP, hur, hur, hur.

My set and forget Leupy would be a 6X w/Dotz for ~ 500 yds.

Dialing, Bushy Elite 3-12X44 of your fave flave.

10-4. It’s a strange development with Leupold. They were the quintessential American made scope that was the benchmark for good rifle optics but almost overnight they fell out of favor. I’ve used Leupold for years as well as various other brands. I figured that with certain programs Leupold offers the OP had the opportunity to buy a Leupold for a heavy discount and can’t say I’d blame him.

I have 3 Leupold VX5HD 3-15x44 Firedot Duplex scopes and 1 VX-6HD 3-18X44 Firedot Duplex.
All on tikka T3x's They are very good scopes for the money and make a great combo with the T3x. If you have to have a Luppy your on the right track. Yes, there are better scopes available. But they will cost you more than you can get the Luppy for with your deal. I think the VX5HD 3-15x44 with Firedot Duplex is probably the best bang for the buck when it comes to Leupold

Makes sense to me. You’re playing with their money, so to speak. FWIW, the VX-3 and above scopes I’ve had worked fine for me, and had the typical good eyebox and nice view. Since price is not an issue, go long!

The VX-3 is my normal bang/buck shopping range with Leupold, Vortex, and Nikon (no more) the brands I own. I've not had issues with Leupold (Vari-X I, VX-1, VX-3, VX-Freedom) and still believe the American value is there considering the warranty.

I did have a MeoPro 3-9x40 mounted on a beautiful turkish walnut CZ550 (also 6.5x55) but, I decided to let the next person enjoy it since I had the Tikka. Side by side with the T3x/Vortex, the Czech combo was heavy (but dang those Czech's make great gear!).

So even if you're not a Leupold fan, would you turn down an $1100 MSRP scope for 1/2 price? I'm sure some might. Not me.

The Diamondback 3.5-10x50 was an opportunistic (Black Friday) budget purchase and the 50mm objective meant larger exit pupil for low light conditions.

I wouldn't turn it down. I also wouldn't mount it.

It's only a deal if it's what you want.

Commenting on the situation, not the scope.


As far as scopes, to me that seems like a lot of X for deer under 500. And being an SFP, you have to have it all the way up for the reticle subtensions to be accurate, if it is a reticle that has any aiming features. Too much X can be a liability: it decreases FOV, which makes spotting hits and animal reaction more difficult, and it effectuates a longer process to settle in and steady up for shots.

To the OP. I have been using Leupold scopes for many years. I have had to send two back to Leupold. A varix II and vx3. I have not had any problem with the VX5HD or above. As many have said, and I agree, you could get a better scope. There are many. But if you can get a
VX5HD 3-15x44 with Firedot Duplex for $550.00 buy it. If you don't like it, I'll give you $650.00 for it.

Sounds like a solid choice for what you're describing for its intended use. Don't let the anti-Leupold crowd drag you down. You make your own decisions and they don't need to be justified to some person sitting behind a keyboard that you'll never meet.

Rule 1 , never buy a luuuuupole, Zeiss, Swarovski or meopta .

I agree with you that a person should feel and be free to make their own decisions. But, I do question what the utility is in posing a question on an online forum to then disregard certain answers because they don't support a previously entrenched belief?

Whatever the item is, I figure there's valid and non valid rational for feeling positive or negative about it. It's the reader's job to ask the right questions to find out/decide if a poster's opinions and experiences have validity to their own decision making process.

Could not agree more.


What's Rule #2? And if not those 4 brands, then what? NF, S&B, Tasco



I've targeted whitetail at 450yds with the 3.5-10x50 and it's not quite the magnification I'd like, especially for my 60+ year old eyes. Now my 80+ year old friend whose ranch we hunt routinely kills deer at 350-400 yds with much lower quality glass than this.

Heck no, I'll take one please! 1-6 VX-6HD with firedot!

Wreckster84: For that usage I would opt for the tried and true Leupold 4.5x14 with Du-Plex reticle and adjustable objective.
I have several of these and they do great duty on distant Rock Chucks, Coyotes, Antelope and Deer.
Best of luck with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

That would drop down to a VX-3HD. Totally different ballgame, by comparison.
The one mentioned goes lower on the low end, but higher on the high end as well. Just cause it goes that high, doesn't mean it has to be used that high at all times.

If it had to me a leupold product it would be the mk5. LE/Mil on them is very good so I’m guessing distributor may be close.

The Mark series are good scopes IMO. My son has an older Mk4 he used for long range. The reticles, turrets, and overall weight make it more complex and heavy for my hunting preference.

What's Rule #2? And if not those 4 brands, then what? NF, S&B, Tasco

I know you were making a joke by including Tasco, but, like Bushnell, they did offer some legitimate scopes.

Thier earlier Japanese offerings were pretty solid scopes, and most know about the Taco/SWFA SS classic connection.

Certainly the first two options you listed are great brands to be loyal to.

Based on your criteria, I'd be tempted to look at this one: Leupold VX-5HD 4-20x52 (34mm) CDS-ZL2 Side Focus Duplex Reticle

12

I wouldn’t turn down a $1,100 scope for 1/2 price, but I would buy it and turn around and sell it.

My 6.5X55 is a Sako, and the furthest I've ever killed a deer with it is 400 yards. Second furthest was 140. The rest have all been in the woods, 20 - 50 yards. I like to keep a certain balance between the size of the rifle, the size of the scope and the reasonable expectations for using it, thus my 6.5X55 wears a VXIII 2.5 - 8.

My first deer rifle was a Remington 7600 in .270 wearing a Tasco 4x32 Made in Japan. Great scope, still have it.

And buy what (for my application)?

You picked the one.

Agree

Starbuck, I applaud your not giving in to confirmation bias.

As to the 1/2 off MSRP question, hard to walk away if it meets the needs (of the buyer). But, I'm a believer in fixed power scopes and have several M8s, so no help on a VX.

6x FX3

I can't blame him either. It's always good to get a good discount. If I were him, I'd be looking at a vx5 HD or something like that. I will say this, I always hope the Leupolds I get on rifles I buy work out, but it always seems like I'm chasing my tail when dialing in a Leupold. I think a lot of guys here have seen that. Turn the dial and the POI does not change, so you tap on the turret, shoot it a few more times and then the bullet goes where it should. I think guys just get used to that routine and accept it, or don't know their scope is actually doing that. I've seen it too many times with Leupolds, but I still try to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they work right. The majority of them do not. It's a shame really, as I like the aesthetics and lightweight and traditional looks they provide. Sometimes it even seems like the older ones actually worked better. Probably part of the reason why guys search out the old gloss Vari-x IIc models. That and they don't make gloss scopes anymore and they look great on old blued rifles. A lot of guys also want to validate buying one because of the warranty. My thought is I'd rather buy a scope where I didn't have to use the warranty.

I bought one to compare with my Swarovski z5 5-25X52, Leupold VX6 4-24X52, and Bushnell 4 1/2-30X50. It lasted six minutes longer than the others.

The 56mm is the way to go for low light.

Made my choice but ended up not going with VX5. It’s a great scope but opted for this VX3 with 30 mm tube and fire dot reticle.

VX3HD 4.5-14x50

And in another change of direction, decided this would be a better fit to replace the Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44 on an American .308 instead of the Tikka. The HS is a good scope but didn't have the range my eyes needed at 200-300 yds.

What are you shooting at?

I was thinking about the 200-300 yard comment.

Myself I prefer 3x on the bottom (or even less) vs. 4.5x on my whitetail rifle, but I hope it works out for you.

If your looking for a Leupold scope for your whitetail rifle the
VX5HD 3-15x44 with Firedot Duplex (illuminated) is a very good choice. I have 3 and have never had a problem with any of them. I also have a VX6HD 3-18x44 with Firedot Duplex (illuminated) that would be a good choice also. But the VX5HD is more than enough scope to cover the bases with in your shooting range for less coin. Jmo.

Sorry, I just saw that you already made your decision a scope. The VX3HD 4.5-14x50 is a good choice. Good luck.

Big Stick must be busy.

for sure.

After his bender is over he will have 2 weeks of damage control to prove much more is said than done.

3.5-10 should be a good option……as would be the 3-15 you mentioned! I would go with a large tube over a very large objective lens every time! I like to get a good check weld on the stock…..the larger the objective, the more difficult it is ! memtb

No booze on the slope.

The scope you mention is excellent for what you’re seeking. I put that exact scope on my 264 and liked it so much, I’ve put VX5HD scopes with Firedot on my 338 & 375 in 2-10 and 1-5 on my 416. I think the VX5’s are excellent scopes and a good value for what they deliver.

More failure rates? Higher failure rate? Can you quantify?

I have about 45 of them. All are VXII & VXlll models of various vintages, going back to the early '70s. Mostly
2-7X33 or 2.5-8X36, with a handful of 1.5-5X20 in there, as well. None, zip, zero, have ever had a glitch. I set em, and forget em. When I need to adjust for a different load, I turn the turret and POI moves. I guess they never got the memo.

Across the board their failure rate is probably equal with all the others. Every brand has someone squalking about how much of a POS it is and that they would never own another.

It's just on this forum, the Leupold user failure rate is off the charts.

I have been using VXIII's on my deer rifles for over 20 years........NEVER had a failure......Probably never will.

Have been using Leupold’s exclusively for the last 44 years....no failures. Admittedly my style of hunting may not be that demanding.
I also hunt with a Remington 700.

VX3-HD 2.5-8x36 CDS if I was putting a Leupold on a light rifle.

+1 on the FX-3 6x42mm fixed just to be part of the conversation & because that's one of the two Leupold scopes I own (the other being a fixed 3x20 Big Bore). But my shooting is mainly in the woods of Arkansas & Mississippi at less than half your 500-yard requirement with a Ruger #1 in .303 British. So take that recommendation with a grain of salt. It works great for me. YMMV

Having said that, your initial choice of a VX5HD 3-15x44 with Firedot Duplex (illuminated) seems like a pretty solid choice especially if you're getting a significant discount. Since I don't take 500-yard shots, I favor lower zoom magnifications on my rifles so I would probably choose the 2-10x42 instead (but that's just me). My 6.5x55 SE has an illuminated Schmidt & Bender 1.5-8x42 Stratos which has been great for my usage.

The FX 6x42 is a great scope, I have one on my .308 Gunsite Scout. I don’t take many shots beyond 150 yds but there is a friend’s 1000 acre ranch I hunt in South Georgia where the tree line is about 450 yds from my stand. I’ve counted 37 deer grazing at one time, just before dark at that tree line so this will be a rare shot if I’m able to spot a nice buck.

Out of the 20 scoped rifles I own only 5 have Leupold scopes on them. I have a older Vari-x III 6.5-20x50mm, two FX 6x42mm, one VX-3 3.5-10x40mm, and one VX-3i 3.5-10x50mm. That may be a small sample size but I have never had a problem with any of them. As set it and forget it hunting scopes they have been perfectly fine. I find them to have good eye relief, a good eye box and to be more than bright enough to hunt well past the end of legal shooting light. In fact with the exception of the older Vari-X III the others are as good in low light as some of the scopes I spent twice as much money on. In fact only the Zeiss and Schmidt & Bender I have are significantly better in that regard.