Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Vx5hd vs vx6hd

Interested in how well the vx5hd 3-15 compares to the vx6hd 3-18. Both 30mm tube. The biggest difference I see is the exposed windage on the vx6. It would be a hunting scope and I'm not good enough to dial wind I'd rather hold it and was thinking about the windplex. I've never handled either of these. Opinions?

Was going to PM you but u are over your limit. I have never done a side by side but have used both and agree with general consensus on the interwebs that the glass difference is negligible.

I think a Zeiss v4 is better glass than the vx5hd when I did a side by side with them. 4/16 44 vs 3-15 44

Same glass. More features and 6x power on the VX-6HD. And include the Alumina caps

The greatness is in the eye of the beholder.

It’s the same scope, one just has a 6x erector and one has a 5x.

Glass seemed similar to me when I compared with them side by side. I preferred the eye box on the 5xHD.

Difference I saw were Throw lever, locking the windage vs capped, 6x zoom obviously, and internal level indicator. Internal level indicator is nice feature, but I’m used to using a scope or rail mounted level and it wasn’t a must have for me.

And some more reticle options with VX6HD

Get the VX5 3-15 with the Windplex reticle.

Or a SWFA 3x15x42mm. There's a tank!

Better glass?

Very good glass for sure. I do not own any vx5/vx6 to compare. Personally the only leupolds I still own are about 15 years old or more and they only see "set it and forget it" use. I no longer trust Leupolds for dialing. I now have Zeiss Trijicon SWFA and many NF's.

Fotis meaning sxs comparing my my V4 4-16 44 vs the leupy vx5 3-15 set on the same power over varying light conditions using an Air Force resolution chart I could do just bit later in low light and the clarity/color rendition seemed a touch better in normal day light. Wouldn’t make a difference in shooting a deer, but was definitely a small notch above to my eyes and I look through a lot of glass. Not as picky as Bobby T but close.

That being said it was a representative sample of just those two I had in my hands at the same time.

Same glass, which is to say excellent glass, noticeably better than the VX-3 series, very light for the magnification, but I broke all the erectors on mine (or on the ones I dialed). After getting Leupold to repair them, I sold them on Ebay. I broke 3 in total, 2 VX-6's and 1 VX-5.

Sucks because glass is not as clear as the VX-5's and 6's, but I went to NF and SWFA as most folks have. Also Sightron. The bullets always hit where you expect them to.

But if you're not dialing much...

I'm not a real hater and still use some Leupolds (though never for dialing) on rifles which have flattop actions or bases I've bedded in a jig. The tubes are thin are very susceptible to even minor misalignments in the front and rear bases. Which is why a scope can work perfectly for years on one rifle and crap out immediately when you put it on another rifle.

Just my two cents. Worth what you paid for it.