Leupold new VX-2 with a German #4

[35 Whelen]

As many of you already know we are sorta partial to Zeiss Scopes; however I have had a couple of good friends;that are now informing me that this new VX-2 scope with its new coatings; and redesign; is really quite an ungrade from the older VXII . One of my buddies has a few premium scopes; and he says this new model whips his older VXIII at dark; and are a bargin for what you pay for them .[He has just purchased a second one!]
I couldnt stand it any longer; so I ordered one up, just to test it out. As this month, Leupold is offering to make up a CDS turet, for you new scope until the 1st of April; at the custom shop after you supply them with your favorite handload; for FREE!!!! So when I saw they offered the German #4 reticule, in this new model, that was the breaking point. I have used for years, the heavy German reticules, in more than one of my scopes, and prefer for hunting. I decided to order one up from our wholesaler, and see how it turns out, and find out how it compares to our Conquests . I will look forward to posting our findings, and if its as good, as the early reports indicate. Lets hope this American company, has been able to come up with some fresh optics, that hold their own with some of the excellent stuff coming in from Japan and Germany!

 

[BK]

Waiting anxiously for your thoughts.... I have a couple of older scopes I'd like to replace.

 

[SJB358]

Looking forward to seeing how it stacks up Earle. The newer VX2's should be decent and with a CDS system on them, they seem pretty good for the money..

 

[JD338]

Earle,

Looking forward to your report.
The new VX II is basically the older VX III scope so it should serve you well.
The CDS dial work well too.

JD338

 

[300WSM]

As many of you already know we are sorta partial to Zeiss Scopes; however I have had a couple of good friends;that are now informing me that this new VX-2 scope with its new coatings; and redesign; is really quite an ungrade from the older VXII . One of my buddies has a few premium scopes; and he says this new model whips his older VXIII at dark; and are a bargin for what you pay for them .[He has just purchased a second one!]

Ever notice the price of Redfield scopes? Ever notice where they are made? Notice that they too are not a one piece tube and have their very own reticles? Having been deep in the industry I can tell you it has been a long practice of making same scope on same machines and badging and boxing differently. Also pricing them differently as well. Age old optic selling trick. I'm not telling you this scope is in fact the same thing as the new redfield....just saying....it could be and wouldn't surprise me. :?

I couldnt stand it any longer; so I ordered one up, just to test it out. As this month, Leupold is offering to make up a CDS turet, for you new scope until the 1st of April; at the custom shop after you supply them with your favorite handload; for FREE!!!! So when I saw they offered the German #4 reticule, in this new model, that was the breaking point. I have used for years, the heavy German reticules, in more than one of my scopes, and prefer for hunting. I decided to order one up from our wholesaler, and see how it turns out, and find out how it compares to our Conquests . I will look forward to posting our findings, and if its as good, as the early reports indicate. Lets hope this American company, has been able to come up with some fresh optics, that hold their own with some of the excellent stuff coming in from Japan and Germany!

Having said that I hope you love the new Leupold. May I ask you this about your reticle....do you find it more difficult shooting paper with that reticle than a normal duplex? I have a scope with the german 4 reticle and it is the perfect hunting reticle but it is horrible for me on the bench. :roll:

 

[35 Whelen]

300WSM,
I have both the #4 and the #20 German reticules in my Zeiss scope except for one that has the new Rapid Z reticule in it. When I guided in Alaska. it soon became obvious to me that the Germans considered Alaska; As their favorite hunting destination, and it made up about 40% of our clients! So top quality glass, was around us all the time, and we got to see and play with all that great German Glass. And drool over some of the beautiful rifles they showed up with . Of course all this was long before, Zeiss ever decided to build the Conquest line; with a one inch diameter for the American market .
During different hunts as we watched game, I would often ask them to look at the game thur their scope, to compare it to mine. [In those days I owned a couple of Leupold VXIII that were very new on the market at that time; and I considered them the "cream of the crop"] After very little testing, it was obvious that their equipment was vAStly superior, to anything I had. The glass was spectacular; and they all seamed to prefer the heaver reticules in their scopes? So as time went on, I got used to looking at game, with my duplex reticule, and then grabing their #20 & #4 reticules and comparing them, and it became a no brainier that you could see those heaver reticules well past the time the duplex had gone to sleep......................... so I decided almost 30 years ago, that was the way to go for us. As you have probably noticed, alot of what I post on here; is from a lifetime of hunting all over the world, and experiences we have had, But I am not a big paper puncher, so my experience on the bench, is not going to be nearly as involved as many of you guys on this site. I have had no problems whats ever with the heaver reticules, shooting targets, as the center cross hairs are of course the exact same thickness, as they would be with a standard duplex. I am certain for actual hunting, they definitely draw my eye on running game, faster than any other type I have used, and their ability to center me up in very low light, is without a doubt a huge advantage. Compared to guessing where I might be holding with a normal duplex set up.
It is very interesting to me that the Germans find the American "duplex" an unusual reticule to be our first choice? And I am with them on that completely . However I am sure that is something that could start a huge fuss on here; that I am not interested in defending, that is just a personal opinion.
The reason I am going to try this Leupold, is because a good friend that owns mostly German and Austrian glass grabbed one of these new VX-2's; at the shot show, and told me that when he compared it to his older VXIII's; that he found it to be superior in low light to them and equal to them in all other ways! That sounded impressive as VXIII's are a good old scope, and probably a good reference point; or cornerstone to compare back to .
He also told me that they were not quite as good as a Conquest, as he tested them . So for about $200 difference I guess we could expect that? As far as the new scope just being a VXII in a fancy box, that was exactly my thoughts, Until he told me all this stuff about it . So the complete reason for ordering one up, is to confirm that. As I will quickly shoot that down in flames; if he has exaggerated his findings.................................... it is still" good inventory" and will sell like all Leupold's do, this coming hunting season. So I am not worry ed how it rates; one way or the other . Lets hope it does well; as I was very very disappointed with both the VX1 and Rifleman series from this point of view. They do not come up to market standard; at the prices they were charging for them, so while I dont think they were a bad scope; it does seam that they have been way overpriced for what they delivered. So lets hopes this new VX-2 is better than what it replaces. The fact that it is offered with the custom shop turret; and a German #4; was just the icing on the cake. Our shop has been selling the Sightron S1 scope with the German 4; lately as an inexpensive replacement, to customers that would normally buy a Rifleman or VX1, by just letting them look thru both at dark and they sell themselves. So in closing, we are definitely more tilted to wards real hunting situations; when comparing things; and most of my customers wouldn't really care if the scope came in a brown cardboard box; but want it to perform. We will give you an honest unbiased post, on this new scope, as soon as I have a good chance to test it out by day and by night. I am going to say that I have found that saying anything derogatory on here, about a Leupold scope is likely to get a guy in "hot water" and ruffle some feathers as it is like saying a Chevy pickup isn't up to standard. Leupold has been the scope for all of us for years and it is part of every hunters background, me included. I appreciate that and understand that completely . We like to check out new stuff as it comes along and with this new product I am just interested to see if this is a new scope or like you said just a new "box" :wink:

 

[DrMike]

I agree completely, Earl, that the #4 reticle draws the eye naturally to game when in the field. When the shot must be quick because the game doesn't like to pose too long, there is a real advantage. I'm certain your review will be beneficial.

 

[35 Whelen]

Here is what the folks at Leupold are actually saying about all this.
http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/story/132 ... 3gt39htyba :|

 

[gerry]

Have to admit those might be really good scopes and they give you some CDS models too choose from. Very interesting, would like to check them out up close. Thanks for posting about them.

 

[35 Whelen]

UPDATE:
I actually got ahead of myself on this one; and the scope I ordered is not compatable with the CDS system . For some unknown reason they only offer ONE model in the different powers that will accept the caps.[Of course it only comes in a standard duplex] The tech I spoke to had no idea why they did it that way; and said they have had a ton of calls on that; because of the way it is advertised????? If you want a CDS scope you have to ordered the "ONE" model [114404] in a 3-9x40 . And of course that changes as to the different powers; or obj size . He also informed me; that this model comes with the CDS dails already on it; for the general tradjectorys of avg guns and their offer; is only to replace the general caps; with load specific caps; made exactly to that load only . He went on to say that they even figure in the actual slop in the lead screws; as different ser # ranges had different amounts of backlash in them. That data is in the factory records, so when they build the caps all that becomes part of the process to determine the placement of the markings on your "custom caps". I asked him how close they could build them and he said if NOTHING changes from the data you submit to them; they are deadly close, but just changing altitude a few thousand feet of elevation, will start to unwind the precision of the compensation caps..................................... anyway that is the update. My fault for not researching it close enough. Update over.

 

[35 Whelen]

:grin: Well the new VX-2 has arrived and I have looked it over quickly and I am IMPRESSED. This is NOT a new box this is a NEW model compleatly . Of course I have not had a chance to compare it at dark yet but here is what I see so far. Razor sharp optics here right to the edges. Extreame eye relief , longer than any previous Leupold I ever owned. Wider than normal field of view at 3X and just a whisker more than the Conquest on 3X; but at 9X noticeably more! The side to side eyebox blackout is excellent on this new model and you can have your eye all over the place and it does NOT black out on ya. The # 4 reticule is NOTHING like the pictures depict it on the website or any of the ads I have seen on it??????? Again I have no idea why they do this . The reticule is almost the spitting image of a Zeiss very very heavy in the other crosshairs just like it should be. The center wires are however slightly heavyer than the Zeiss ????? So this might be an issue to a real long range shooter, I am not sure on that as it would become a personal thing. I will try to post some pictures later. The adjustments are a new click system and if this scope tracks correctly I am not really sure how much of an advantage that CDS caps would really be as if you just lined up at 200 yards and then counted the clicks to be back on at 300 and 400 yds or even 500 yds with your favorite load and has those clicks either memerized or on a cheat sheet. Any time you ranged an animal at say 400 and it is 13 clicks up just spin off the caps and go up 13 and bingo its about the same difference except you will have to remove the caps???? Whatever. They are like a mini turret style and leave the old coin system for dead............................. nice and very positive . This whole scope looks and feels $400ish........................ came with some new siliconie feeling scope caps. I like this thing a bunch and am already impressed with it. I will post the low light findings later but so far this is a keeper! If I had not know the model of this scope and someone had showed it to me and said what do you think I would have said is this a VX-4?????? As it does seam to be an improvement on my old VX-III's already!

 

[SJB358]

Thats a great report Earle. Sounds like a nice scope. Looking forward to seeing how it works at night.

 

[DrMike]

I have no doubt that this scope will prove popular with many people. It sounds as if it will be competitive with other fine scopes.

 

[35 Whelen]

Ok here is a quick run down on how it seams to stack up against a couple of others I have here to try against it tonite. The VX-3 just left the shop yesterday so I was sorry I didn't have it here to compare it as that looked nice to me when I compared it to the Zeiss scopes . Anyway I did have a VXI 3-9x40 thats two years old, a Conquest, and a Bushnell 4200 Elite, and the Muller 4X16X50mm Tactical Model. The VX-I isn't even close to this new VX -2; it smoked it in every way possible, and there is a big difference there! The Elite 4200 is the same power, and objective size; so its a fair comparison, and it hung right there with it until the last minute or so, the VX-2 had "no edge" on it they both seamed to run out of light; at almost the exact same time. But because the Leupold has the German cross hairs, the reticule was available as long as I could see with the scopes; so the Elites duplex had been gone to bed; long before the German was forced to go! So I am calling them a draw on light gathering, although I did think the Elite cast a very slightly "bluer hue" to its overall projection so I suspect if the scopes were tested in a lab, with instuments that could measure the relative brightness, the Elite may have a very slightly high number??. But to our 55 year old eye, it was basically the samething overall . The Muller has that big 50mm Obj; so I tested them at 6X, so it was projecting an 8mm exit pupil, vs the Leupold 40mm projecting a smaller 6.6mm exit pupil.[Not positive my eye will even dialate to 6.6mm at this point of the journey] So I naturally thought it would show a slight edge............................. well it did NOT . The Elite and the Leupold were right there with it and in the last couple of minutes they both proved to have better lens than the Muller does! Then I am not going to dive into all the reasons for this as there are toooo much support on the site for Leupold's but the Zeiss scope did still hold the top spot for light gathering ability but not by much. The differences would only come into play after most folks had walked out to their truck and were leaving. This new Leupold is head and shoulders more scope than the older model was . Leupold has done a very nice job here, and this new model is impressive. I am happy to report this is a $300 scope for $300 not a $200 scope for $300. I will make a prediction that this is going to be a huge seller for them and will go down in the books as a great upgrade. I would recommend this scope to anyone for mainstream hunting. *****
I think JD 338s assessment that this new VX-2 is sorta a VX-III with a fresh look, is right on. One last comment on the scope is the weight of it, I have a digital postal scale here and this scope weighed in at 10.78 oz so I would think that makes it a great canidate for "mountain rifles" and any situation were extreame lightweight is a consirn?

 

[SJB358]

Great report Earle. Seems like a good all around optic. What are you going to do with it?

 

[Hegland]

Good information Whelen.

I looked at a new VX2 3-9x33 EFR yesterday at Scheels and for comparison took out a VX3 2.5-8x36 they had sitting next to it. It was in broad daylight so no light gathering results, but the VX3 seemed to have a very slight advantage in color and contrast. Granted, this was laying the scope on top of a safe and looking out the window in a metro area, so not a real hunting experience at all. But that's what it looked like to me. Maybe I was just expecting that out of the VX3. I also didn't notice the 1 cm/100 m adjustments until I saw your picture?! Either way, like you said it's just a matter of figuring out where you settle at different ranges and taking note.

Overall, though, I agree wholeheartedly. Looks like a great scope.

 

[CatskillCrawler]

Nice report Earle. I'm happy to hear that Leupold fixed their standing in this price range/class of scopes. I've felt that their lower priced scopes were overpriced for their quality. That reticle stands out nice. Very bold and it does look like the center hairs are still usable as it gets darker.

Thanks.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I guess the bottom line with me is: do I think highly enough of the VX2 to mount one on one of my rifles? I always have scopes that are older and could be upgraded, including two variable VXII's. I guess that I will go take a look at one of these and decide. Thanks for the really thorough reviews guys.

 

[ROVERT]

How does the VX-2 compare in terms of clarity/resolution and contrast? My, admittedly limited, experience with Leupold products is that brightness is very good but that clarity is not quite that of its similarly priced competition.

The Revolution I had was quite bright and had only decent resolution but really lacked in the contrast department. FWIW, most of what I've come across indicates that the Redfield is more closely related to the VX-1 than the VX-2.

I haven't done serious testing with my VX-3 yet, but my impressions so far are that it is very bright but lacking a little bit in clarity. I would say the brightness is on par with my Conquests and Minox. In terms of clarity though, I would say it is a draw when put up against my 4200. I had rifles scoped with Conquests, a 4200, and the VX-3 at the range this morning and the Conquest was the clear winner in resolving targets and bullet holes.

I'm really liking the Leupold so far and think it is a fine scope. I just don't think it is quite as nice optically as what Zeiss and Minox are offering in this price bracket. It could just be the way my eyes see it but it makes me wonder if Leupold is investing more in quality coatings than in quality glass.

 

[35 Whelen]

Rovert,
I really think to get to the very bottom of this you need to do some testing with some quality instruments neither of us probably have access to. There are of course many different ways to try and measure the clarity of a lens. I think when its all said and done though because everyones eyes are different it is going to be almost impossible to get a truely accurite answer. As I think some people diffenately see things differently thru the same scope. Combine this with the fact that alot of folks will stand by the brand they have to the death ..................... and now you have lots of different ideas floating around! I actually believe like you do that these new scopes are a big improvement over the previous models and the reason I mentioned that I saw a very slightly "bluer" contrast with the Elite 4200 in the last few minutes of daylight was I am guessing it may be very slightly higher in contast than the Leupold was. But your almost splitting frogs hairs as they really both quit at the same time. I also think your assesment of the Zeiss and Minox; is the same as what I found as well. So I think the facts are; that Leupold knows the US market, they realized they were loosing it at a couple of different levels, and they have done something about it. When the avg Joe prances into a sporting goods store, and lays down his $300 for a VX-2 he is going to get about the same quality of glass or slightly better than I paid $300 for 25 years ago in a VX-III; so considering the fact that gas was only about .75 cents a gallon at that time . That makes these new Leupolds dam cheap; all things considered. Another reference point was guides made got about $125 a day in the mid 1980s; and this season, guides wages are between $350-400 a day; according to who and where you are. So what cost me almost 3 days work in 1985; I can buy now for a one days pay; and it is a better scope! You cant beat that!