Being an ol' fogy, it's tough to change how you've done things......and what you've used for decades, BUT....technology has come up with some winners in the optics area........it seems.

Tossing around going variable.....and with a lit dot reticle.

Probably the VX-R 2-7x33 but I would appreciate answers to a few questions from those who own them. I'd RATHER have a VX-5HD in 1-5x24.......but I'm not sure I'm "that brave" yet. I DO like the fact that the eye relief does NOT change going from one power to another on them though. Yeah, yeah.......the others don't change "much"..........but I notice it and don't like it. Not one bit.

FWIW, shots over 200 yards are few and far between. 90 percent under 150 yards. 300 yards is about extinct in my area unless I go sit in a picked cornfield along this brushy creek I've watched for a decade. Lordy have I seen some monsters walk that ditch. No hunters either. One got blasted at the end of the ditch in a small woods. (LONG ditch bank) 11 point 227 lbs.........gutted. OMG mass in the rack.
Was pretty awesome though. A young lady's first buck.

I've seen a couple I think are larger on occasion, through binoculars.
First and last light.....and often in heavy fog is when they seem to travel during shooting hours.....except chasing a hot doe. No rules then.

It has me thinking dual X with a lit dot.


While these reticles have an adjustable range of brightness, just how much area does the dot cover at different yardages? I think both are rear focal plane.

and

Would you buy one again and if not the one you bought..........WHICH one and why?

I'm a total ignoramus when it comes to lighted reticles. Any insight would be appreciated. EITHER is more than I've ever spent on glass so.......asking for experiences, good and bad.

Right now its a toss up between the two. (and 300 dollars LOL)

God Bless
Steve

Steve- I haven't bought one yet but looked at a similar scope - 1.5X5 VXR. I have a black bear hunt over bait this Fall and think the lighted ret would be valuable. 2X7 Leupold has been my favorite rifle scope for many years so the one you mentioned would be a dandy. I'm working with a Hawke Endurance 2X7 Doug at Cameraland offered awhile back. It is a fraction of the price of Leupold…I'ld much prefer the VXR but will probably stay with the Hawke for now. Hopefully, someone will respond with actual experience with the one you want. Good luck getting on one of those Hoosier bucks!

Steve,

I'll caveat that I have no experience with the VX-5 in question. But I surmise that even if the VX-5 (and 24mm) has a skosh better coating(s), I don't think it's enough to overcome the larger 33mm objective of the VX•R 2x7. I have a couple of the VX•R models - one in 2x7 and use it exactly like you're wanting to do. It's a solid, utilitarian optic - though the crispness of view is nothing to write home about.

The size of the dot is inconsequential for what you're going to need to do - it'll flat-out work. And brightness steps have a broad range of adjustment down to damn near nil.

You might ask yourself if the bit of eye relief change between the two (and whatever Leupold calls the spinner atop the VX-5) is worth the extra $450.

I like the way the Leupy dots work. The one I had was easy to adjust so as to only light the center of the crosswire, without overwhelming the view at all. The auto-off is nice too. With the light off, it just appeared as a normal crosswire. The reason I sold it had nothing to do with the illumination, but rather the open turrets of the Mark AR Mod 1 it was in.

I have a VXR 2-7X. It's a great scope. Good eye relief, good field of view & the dot is great for quick acquisition. The dot & crosshairs in the 2-7X is 1 MOA at 100 yards.

I have several VX-6’s with an illuminated dot or B&C reticle and when it really starts approaching those last few minutes of legal shooting time and your eyes are adapted to the low light you’ll probably have the dot turned just about all the way down.

This is all great info. I am appreciative of those taking the time to reply.

It will be helpful for me to be able to order one not worrying (too much, LOL) about "them new fangled doohickey" lighted dots.

God Bless
Steve

I have a 3-9x40 VX-R with the Firedot 4 reticle. Works well enough, and I couldn’t see much difference optically to the VX-3 it replaced. Only gripe is I’d rather have a rheostat than the push-button method of adjusting the brightness. I have astigmatism so I keep the dot brightness pretty low. I will say that I prefer my Zeiss Conquest in low light, and they aren’t illuminated.

ETA: I am glad that I got a scope that only has the center dot illuminated, I’ve looked through some with parts of the crosshairs illuminated and that was much too busy for my liking. YMMV

Steve,

We’ll let others who’ve used our Firedot reticles weigh in on recommendations, but we thought we’d help out with the technical bits.

The illuminated dots on the Firedot reticles are pretty small, in fact as small as the fine lines of the reticle itself. On that 2-7x33mm VX-R, the fine lines and the dot will cover about 0.4MOA at high power, and about 1.1MOA at low power (0.8” to 2.3” at 200yds). 0.3MOA to 1.7MOA on the VX-5HD 1-5x24mm (0.6” to 3.6” at 200yds).

Really, either would be a great choice, but the VX-5HD would give you a much larger field of view at minimum power for those fast close shots (123ft@100yds vs 43.8ft@100yds on the VX-R). Hope this helps, and if you have any questions at all give us a shout at 1-800-LEUPOLD or [email protected]!

I just wanted to welcome you to the 'fire and say it's great to have a tech rep chiming in. Don't be a stranger here.

Welcome Leupy guy. Good to have you here. Hope you brought your Kevlar clothing with you.

For a one on one, full season, state of the art, non-technical, un-bias report with field use on each one.....maybe Leupold can front me a set of them.

(nothing ventured.........etc)



God Bless and thanks to all, once again
Steve

Steve- even if you don't get the loaners for a field report, pretty neat that you received a personal response from the company! Very cool!

Using the email address they provided above, I've been fortunate to always get replies much like the one provided here. I actually HAD an email out to them on the size of the dot but.......as one can understand, it takes a bit to get a reply.

I just thought I'd ask the users of the scopes the same as well.

God Bless
Steve

That's a good point - one I completely overlooked.
Thank you for pointing that out. And welcome to the campfire!

The VX-5HD has nice big view and better glass but the PLEX reticle also has a much wider spacing between the heavier posts. However with the illuminated dot shouldn’t be a problem in low light.

Are you referring to the wind-plex? It appears wider than the firedot duplex but isn't the one of interest. I hadn't noticed that before however.
Thanks
God Bless
Steve

No I’m talking about the Firedot duplex. All the vx-5HD and 6HD have Wide PLEX reticles even the non illuminated models.

I'm sorry but you've been mislead I believe.

The VX-5HD 1-5x24mm CDS-ZL2 model 172367 has a "FireDot Duplex (Illuminated) Reticle"


https://www.leupold.com/scopes/compact-scopes/vx-5hd-1-5x24mm-cds-zl2

Examples of both are shown on page 2 on this page.

You are correct on the wind plex being wider but the model of interest does not have a wind plex. Others I've checked have or have had both as well.

no offense intended, please.

https://www.leupold.com/reticles?page=2

God Bless
Steve

I had this scope and have a picture of it’s reticle. Send me your number and I’ll text it to you.

Trust me I’ve had the 1-5x24, 2-10x42 and 3-15x44 all FIREDOT and one 2-10x42 regular Duplex reticle and all were basically identical. They are all much wider spaced PLEX than what Leupold shows you on their website.

ok, thanks

For those perhaps interested, this youtube video in about the VX-5HD 2-10x.

At 3 minutes (best to start just previous to that time) it shows the and I quote "standard duplex........with a dot" which is my preference and how to adjust it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDTPvLubDx0

This way any confusion on what I THINK it is, or is not, can be eliminated as all can decide for themselves.
Regardless if Leupold's "name for it" is correct or not, it is fine as far as a type of DUplex (not PLEX..??) it is. No circles, no MOA dots/hash marks etc. Wider posts and narrower crosshairs.. (aka a duplex)......with a lighted dot. HOWEVER wide it is....is a moot point to me.

I apologize that this got off subject of the questions asked.

God Bless
Steve

I liked the glass in the VX-5 HD, but the reticle was not what I was wanting at the time. I really like the firedot duplex in the VX-R series, so when the 5HD was introduced, I called Leupold with some questions. I was told not once but TWICE by Leupold that the firedot duplex in the 5HD would be identical that that in the VX-R 3-9x50. My questions regarding glass quality and how the 5HD compared to the VX-6 were answered with vague generalities that sounded almost scripted. Anyway...I went ahead and ordered one -- and was met with pure disappointment when I opened the box. I sold it shortly thereafter. It is indeed starkly different from the duplex in the VX-R and is a fairly thin version of a wide duplex, with significant spacing between the heavy portions of the horizontal bars. I'll see if I still have an image of the reticle or can find one, but it looks nothing like the graphic Leupold uses.

Thank you. As said, I've seen one in person. Wide or not wide, it is acceptable to me for my uses.

I'd much prefer "too" wide and too fine to one that's the opposite. The only thing I was unable to do was look through it at anything at a distance. I've yet to have an issue seeing duplex reticles during legal shooting times for more than a half century.

Since on a rifle, pointing it out the window with people walking by was not an acceptable choice hence the questions on actual dot size at distances.

Thanks.
God Bless
Steve

Leupold 3-15x44 Firedot Duplex Illustration on the box it came in.



Photo of the actual reticle.

I can live with thinner reticles WHEN there’s illumination. I do like the VX-R reticles, and the glass is nothing to sneeze at for comparing to other stuff. A BX5 with illum is likely a good bit better, but I wouldn’t step over a deal on a VX-R just to pay more in most uses.

Steve,

I purchased a VX6 with a Firedot. The price on the scope was a steal and it just happened to have the Firedot. I didn't really care one way or another at first; however, after using it I don't think I would purchase another scope without a lighted reticle. While I have never really had to much trouble with near dark shots with a regular reticle, the Firedot makes it very easy. I turn my dot on the lowest power and there is no glaring at all. I can simply see a tiny red dot where I need to aim. My brother used my rifle as well and he said the same thing - it's a neat thing to have.

Thanks again to all!

God Bless
Steve