I have a 30-06 that needs a new scope. I'm trying to shave ounces. It will have Talley lightweights. I've always used VX-3 or equivalent (VX3, VX iii, etc). A VX-3i 2.5-8 or 3.5-10 weighs 11.4 and 12.6 oz respectively. A CDS adds another 0.5 oz to both. The VX-2 2-7x33 only weighs 9.9 oz.

After talking with Leupold, it seems the VX2 series has been updated significantly in recent years. The tube material in the VX-3i line is a bit heavier than the VX-2 and the VX-3 has twilight max light system lens vs simple index matched lenses in the VX-2. All told, it seems the VX-2 isn't too shabby for a lightweight scope.

Anyone using the VX-2 2-7x33? Thoughts?

Any other lightweight options to consider?

Thanks.

Bill, open your mind to the 6x36.

I've had a pile of 2-7's. Never used them on anything other than the highest setting, including on close cover elk. Finally saw the light, ditched them, and went to the better 6x36.

The Leupold 2-7 would be a great choice for hunting in the Appalachians. No offence to Brad or any other fixed 6X proponents, but Rhododendron and laurel hells of the Southern Appalachians are unlike any close cover I have seen out West. The 2X setting really has its place where you are hunting. The Leupy VX-2 is a great little scope.

One of my favorite scopes

Yep. My 2-7's 2.5-8's are normally on 3x-4x tops when stalking. I could get by with a straight 4x over a straight 6x

I agree with a 2-7 being tough to beat for any eastern hunting. I have them on several guns. Some of my spots ranges can go several feet to whatever you feel comfortable with. I really like the capability to go down to 2x.

I can confirm that VX-2's made since 2012 are very nice scopes. I have a couple and can no longer justify the expense of the VX-3. Just not that much difference.

I'd just go with a standard 3-9X40 and I'd pay extra for the long range dots even if you do decide on the 2-7X. The 3-9X40 is 11.2 oz. I'm for cutting weight as much as anyone, but less than 2 oz just isn't important and I like the bigger scope.

Unlike Brad I almost never take my scopes off the lowest setting. I zero at the highest setting and confirm zero at the lowest and do 99% of my hunting on 3X. I've made shots out to nearly 200 yards on 3X and if I need more magnification I go straight to the highest setting where I know it is zeroed. Even the best variables will sometimes hit to a slightly different POI at different magnifications. Just using 2 of them limits possible errors.

The VX2 in a 2-7X would be an excellent choice.

Exactly !


My favorite scope.

I completely agree on the 2-7 for the South East. I use one on a 7mm Rem Mag and rarely leave 2X. The VX2 2-7 works on the 7 mag so should fit the 30-06 action as well. I may have to crawl a little on 7X but it's no big deal since any quick shot where I mount and shoot quick will be on 2X.

I have one on a 20" barreled .308 that I use a lot for deer hunting.

It does not appear oversized on the small rifle, has plenty field of view for the typical close-in shots, and the top power is enough for shooting the occasional long shot.

I also leave it on 2X, especially if in the woods.

I am able to shoot during legal hours. The day after Thanksgiving, I had to wait on the clock to shoot a deer that I could see plainly through the scope.

Thanks for the responses guys!

The rifle will actually see more elk hunting time than about anything else, hence the concentration on weight. In the east, I won't sweat 2-4 ounces, but on a backpack, those ounces add up. I'm leaning hard 2-7x33 CDS. Seems stupid to buy a scope when I have 2 VX3i 3-5-10 sitting in the safe but thats a 4 oz difference.

I hear ya - except they weigh the same (6x36: 10 oz, 2-7: 9.9oz) and I like a bit more versatility with 2-7. My scopes spend alot of time on 3 power. The 2 elk I shot last year in the timber were both shot on 3 power - with a 270 moving a 150 at 3000+. Seems oxymoronic <G>

Yep. I have one mounted on a Kimber in 308. Seems about perfect.

My 2-7 VX2 w/ CDS is my favorite Leupold, and I own a few VX3s. Awesome for timber yet I feel comfy placing shots out past 500yds with it as well.

Put a VX-2 2-7x33 that I got here on the Fire on my Savage 99 in .375 Win. Previous owner had Leupold put a Post and Duplex in it. Awesome woods rig IMO.

On the scale, they're not the same. Close, but the 2-7 is .5 oz heavier. Obviously .5 oz is converstaional.

Had a 2-7x33 LRD here last month. Sent it back. Forgot how much more I like the 2.5-8x36 over it. Ditto the 6x36.

The real weight of the 6x36 is 9.5 oz's per electronic scale.

4 of the last 5 bulls I've shot were with 6x at 50, 40, 40, and 80 yards. The 50 yard one was moving through thick timber, and I put the crosshairs ahead of him in a small opening between two trees and shot the second I got a flash of hide. Anchored him right through both lungs. No need for less than 6X, and really I found it easier with more X's to pick the spot well. That was with a 2-7x33 set on 6x. Had enough of those experiences with the 2-7 over the years I just switched to fixed 6X.

Nothing in the world wrong with the 2-7. Have used them from New York to Alaska, Missouri to Montana. These days I just far and away the simpler, brighter, lighter, more durable 6x36.

I ran the numbers on scope tube lengths and eye relief. For a long action Leupold VX-2 3x9x40mm, VX-3 3.5x10x40mm, FX-2 3x36, and FX-3 6x42 scopes work best for me. I don't like having to lean my head forward to get the proper alignment. I mount my scopes so I'm looking through them naturally instead of having to move my head to get a proper sight picture. YMMV

Count me as a big 2-7x fan, I have dozens of them in service. The tubes on the Leupold 2-7x scopes aren't all that long, so you may need to use an extension ring in the front to get the proper eye relief on a long action bolt gun and, for me, on some other actions, like the Remington 760 family.

I'd strongly agree that the VX-2s are superior to their ancestors, but their ancestors aren't all that bad. I have a Vari-X IIc 2-7x28 on a Winchester 70 in 375 H&H that has never missed a beat in over 30 years of service.

I'm sure you could make a fixed 6X work but I prefer lower power for fast moving whitetails in the thick woods. I prefer a 2X or even better a 1.5.

Mr. Clark, you should save money and weight by just using iron sights it sounds like.

The same in Wisconsin's Cedar swamps.Thicker than flies on fresh dogchit.

A 2-7 checks a lot of boxes for me and so does a VX-2.

Or a red dot, they work great on half of a 2 piece weaver mount, can do the scope and mouts for less than 4 or 5 ounces total

Used the 2-7 quite a bit on this 30-06, not cds but had lrd which I liked.

I too dislike higher magnification on a handy rifle in cover. My cutoff is around 4x. Below, my eyes adapt well for seamless, both eyes open, sight picture. Above, the scope over powers my off eye, screws up field of view when swinging on quick close shot.

If a woods gun, light and tough, 2.5ul. Open gun, 6x36. Split the difference, 4x. Otherwise, something like the 2-7 covers a lot of bases.

Or do what I did and listen to our own
Mule Deer J.B.
and got a new SWFA Leupold FX II 3x20 Big Bore and sent
it in to Leupold for a Heavy Duplex
for my Lipseys Ruger 77 RSI 30-06

You can order them direct from the Leupold Custom shop if you are going to swap the reticles and save money on shipping. If you have to pay shipping from SWFA and then to Leupold you only pay shipping from Leupold from their custom shop.

Could you post a pic of that reticle, through the scope, against something in the distance, to show sight picture? Maybe about 50 or 75 yards, against something we'd have an idea of size. Truck, stop sign, cow, target backer?

Thanks

I had a Leupold with the heavy duplex and didn't like it at all. I hunt under a canopy of pines/spruce/hemlock/cedar all the time and the standard duplex has always shown up well enough to shoot well past legal hunting hours. This is in a couple of vx-1 3-9x40's and a vx-2 1-4x20.

I once had a heavy duplex in a 1.75-6 Leupold and didn't like it either. I'd prefer a German #4 type reticle.

Next time my Daughter is over I will get her to try and
take one

I'd like to see the sight picture of the HD in the big bore.

edit to add:

Found the old JB article w/ the HD, put he didn't take a pic of the reticle. Tried a search, only could find one of the guys here, who ordered it w/ target dot. Several had HD, but never posted pic.

I've found that I'm actually faster with a low power scope than with irons. I have to align irons but if my scope is set right,I'm using it just like a red dot with both eyes open,and it's actually faster than aligning two points on irons. I could also have a shot at 20 yards or a shot at 200 on the same day,at the same place.

Everyone sees differently, but Ive got three of them, and three of the 2.5 to 8 and I spent hours early morning and late at night comparing the two models, and any difference is in my opinion very slight. I prefer the 2x7 because its slightly smaller and lighter and to my eyes at least is 99% as good as the VX3. Its also, in Canada, about $200 cheaper, which may have affected my vision.

I put one on a M70 Fwt in .308 this past deer season. It's a great little scope and my second in the 2-7X range. My first was a Bushnell 3200. Both have pros and cons. The biggest con of the Leupold for me is not having a hydrophobic (water repelling) coating like the RainGuard coating. Unlike the Bushnell, the Leupold doesn't suffer from the tube effect. I hunt in the foothills of the Catskills and usually keep it on 2 or 3 X for hunting in the thickets we have and will only crank it up to the 7X for zeroing the scope or shooting to check the zero.

Not through a big bore but may help. The distance to the truck is about 140 yards.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/6102889/reticle_pics

Thanks, was wanting to see how it looks in the big bore. For whatever reason, the same reticle is not always consistent between models, or at least I think it looks different.

I dislike a standard duplex on a lower powered LEU, but I did have a HD on a 1-4, that I never disliked. Have had as many #1 and #4 that I have not liked, as I have liked, depending on who did them. Have need for a long tube scope, vs 2.5UL, and was thinking that 3x, w/ maybe the HD would do. Just need to get a feel for the sight picture first.

Although the 2.5-8 is my fav, the 2-7 is all the scope a guy needs for the kind of hunting I do in the Rockies. I own at least one in every generation of Leup 2-7's.

Tough to argue with the simplicity of a fixed power or the versatility of a variable...........

Casey

Exactly. With a varible like the 2-7 on low power it is easy to leave both eyes open and "see" in front of a fleeing critter looking for an opening--I've killed a number of elk in the spruce/fir elk jungles that way. Anything beyond 3x, and it becomes more difficult.

Casey

I mounted one on a Model 722 in .308 that had the barrel trimmed down to 21 inches, after having a heavy duplex reticle installed by Leupold. My shots are all in the 100-yards-or-less category in the swamps and forest clearings of south Georgia. The HD works great in this type of terrain. The scope fits the rifle well, and works great for my type of hunting. I' m completely satisfied with it. YMMV.

I bought a VX-3 1.75-6x32 heavy duplex a couple of years ago and out of the box had issues with the elevation turret. When the scope arrived at Leupold I inquired about the cost of having a German #4 installed. Was told since they needed to take the scope apart anyway there would not be a charge. Got the scope back fixed with the German #4 installed. I seriously like the scope. It's mounted on a 30-30 which may seem like overkill but I don't care.

Not my experience. At least beyond 35 yards.

Shots closer than 35 yards are very common here. I rolled a doe on a dead run with a 90 degree, left to right crossing shot from 10 yards this past season. Was tough enough with my 3-9 variable set on 3x. Sure wouldn't have wanted to try it with 6x.. Shots like that are precisely why my usual heavy cover still hunting/driving rifle wears a 1-4x variable.

I've shot game as close as 10', and agree, the lowest possible setting is the one you want. A 2X or 3X is superior in every possible way to a 6x in that instance.

But beyond 25 yards, I find, even in "the thick", the 6x is not only NOT a handicap, it can really be a help "threading the needle."

Yeah, that's why I like the 3-9 variables on most of my general purpose deer rifles. Set them on 3 for the close shots when on the move through heavy cover and dial them up as needed to avoid the obstacles on the longer shots.

I think a 6X is about the best all around scope and I have a little more confidence in the mechanicals of the fixed. This year however,I may have found my new favorite scope in the Vortex Razor HD LH 1.5-8X32. Only time will tell how durable it is but in every other aspect I have never had a scope I like better for the type hunting I do.

I like the 2-7x33 Leupy's. I have (2) VX-1's with heavy duplex, a VX-II with a #4 and a VX-2 with a post and duplex reticle. All reside on lever guns. Will be purchasing another for a recently acquired .444 Marlin.

.444 Marlin VX2 2-7

Well I just picked one up for $311 with LRD reticle. It's gonna replace the VX-6 2-12x42 I have on my 338-06. Seems like a reasonable price for what it is and save me nearly a 1/2 pound in the process