Quick Leupy VX3hd 2.5-8 x 36 REVIEW

Picked this up last week from my local Manawatu Green Machine ( I like to support my local retailer when I can & have a long relationship that works both ways, I do work for them & they get most of my business ) & I was well looked after on price, plus they had one in stock.

This is the third VX3 2.5-8 x36 I've owned, probably one of the best bush scopes Leupy make & ironically was the scope that was on the ARX when I got the set up from BRADS ( He actually reamed me senseless & I've never fully recovered lol ) I swapped it over for a VX5 firedot scope as where I was hunting was a dark hole with lots of overgrowth - Pungas but that spot is now off limits ( thanks to windmills being erected in the Turitea water catchment ) but the VX5 was abit big for such a cool little bush gun so back to the great little VX3 but now in HD & with a lockable CDS aww yeah movo's


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It's pretty much the same dimensions & specs as the past models, into some Talleys & off to the HB for a sight in mission, the 30arx is a cool little gun 125tmk's doing 2680 fps so a good 300yard rifle so a great combo



The Positives

The lockable CDS is great, has a max of 14.5moa, the zero stop is mint, easy to zero & reinstall after sighting in, great positive clicks & the machining on the turret itself are pretty sharp so ya not going to worry if your hands are greasy or wearing gloves & has a great throw leaver ( unlike the knee bleeding shit one that comes with a VX6 )


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The Negs

* You don't receive an Allen key in the box to take the turret off anymore ( make sure you pack a 1/16 to the range )

* The clicks on the turret don't line up once you get a few MOA's under your belt

* The numbers on the zoom don't line up either

* For some fucked up reason once you have removed the CDS when sighting in there's no "flat head" grove in the adjuster ffs, so you need to use a spanner / plyers & you lose all the feel of a adjustment clicks


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Glass


I stacked this scope up against some others that are currently in the safe , top - bottom ( all set on 6 & 8 power ) perving at a large Oak Tree from my back deck ( all I've got living in the central city ) but looking a bark n leaves n shit actually works quite well & in different light conditions.

VX3hd
VX5
Z5
VX6

As expected the small objective lens was always going to put the little scope on the back foot, but it performed quite well for what it is, glass quality was good for a 1k scope, colour was good, the plex reticle is nice'n'crisp & the glass is pretty good across the full field of view. It's not a VX5 ( which is my pick outa the four scopes, great features, far better eyepiece, value for money & glass ) biggest disappointment was my Z5, haven't look through that girl for a while, still great glass but she has a real sweet spot & is terrible towards the edge of the FOV.


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Conclusion


I love the little HD VX3, it's not perfect by any means but then it's not a 3k scope, the zero lock CDS is awesome, it's still really light weight, well made & a great NZ bush scope with great features like the cds & nice little throw lever

Get into it boys n girls



Chur chur

Its about time u fixed that gun bro

Hahaha Amen brother


PS - & I need to fix my avatar, it's shite lol

Looks like a decent scope, and the HD glass will be a big plus. But I'm not too excited about the design decisions Leupold have made here. At the very least, they could have allowed people the option of choosing a VX3HD without the CDS turret or tactical zoom ring knob?

I liked how svelte the VX3i's were. There are bugger all scope manufacturers making minimalistic, 'trim' scopes these days.

Great review Philipo. Cheers mate

Nice review thanks Philipo.

I have been thinking for a while about getting a nice light compact scope to put on the 223 ( which would mean taking the vx6 off of it:huh: )

In an 8x max mag scope I dont think I would want or need a cds on it tho....a boon and crocket or lr duplex would be ideal.

It would be similar weight and dimensions to a vx1?

But the big question.... with this scope will the rifle be minute-of-dot or minute of A4-page :P

Nice write-up bro, the throw-lever looks mint.

Good review

I have an old VX3 2.5-8 and a VX3i 2.5-8
They are both very good for what I have them for
Mainly as per yours, good for close shooting and stretching it out if needed
Seriously good value for money and you have to accept that even this HD model won't be perfect at its price

But then pretty well everything else will be a lot bigger and have a 30mm main tube

Thanks for the review. I have one on order so good to hear.

Phillipo,
Good review but can you rank them for glass based at the same mm of exit pupil, eg 6 or 7 mm at dusk irrespective of power setting.

I am or was a big power of the older vx3’s in 2.5-8 x36 scopes but the little Z3 3-9 x 36 far eclipses them on little gathering and image quality in my op.

Be good to know if the new glass has closed the gap?

Also interested in quality of glass, mine will be compared to a vx5 also and I’m hoping it will
Come close to stacking up...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Philipo

Hahaha Amen brother


PS - & I need to fix my avatar, it's shite lol

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The avatar looks ok to me the words anyway lol :P

Love those scopes, I have an older VX3 not the "i" on my 9.3x62 it's just perfect for it.