Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold Scope Choice

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.