• Leupold VX6 3-18x44mm CDS Illuminated Rifle Scope Review

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    Published on 10-30-2013 09:30 AM
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    The latest fad in the optics world these past few years has been the move to utilizing a higher magnification zoom lens in rifle scopes. For decades the industry standard was either a 3x (3-9x, 4-12x, etc.) or 4x (2.5-10x, 4-16x, etc.) zoom lens, but in recent years we have seen an ever increasing number of scope lines featuring 5x, 6x, 6.5x and even 8x zoom lenses. Swarovski has their Z5 and Z6 scope lines, Zeiss offers their HD5 series, Bushnell has their Elite 6500 series, and Leupold has their VX-6 series.

    So what is it that has made these high power zoom lenses the “hot trend” in recent years? The biggest benefit is that they allow for a more versatile range of magnification on a variable power scope. For instance, using a 3x zoom lens we would have to choose between say a 3-9x and a 6-18x power rifle scope. Replacing the 3x zoom lens with a 6x one we would get a 3-18x power scope giving us the low-end of the 3-9x and the high end of the 6-18x all in one scope. This extended variable range greatly increases the versatility of the scope making it far more useful in far more situations. The premise is that now you can have a variable power scope on your big-game rifle that offers 2.5 power magnifications on the low end for close in shots on dangerous game, yet still have 15 power magnifications on the high end for shooting at plains game animals from several hundred yards away.

    As good as that sounds, there is a downside to higher power zoom lenses – and that’s the price. Higher magnification simply costs more, and the higher the magnification you use in the zoom lens the higher the quality of the lens has to be to get the same image quality as you would from a lower magnification zoom lens. This is because any impurities in the lens would also be magnified to the higher power and thus be more apparent when looking through the lens. That is why 3x and 4x zoom lenses have been the industry standard for so long, and it’s why all of the rifle scopes with higher power zoom lenses carry a premium price tag.

    Today we’re looking at one of Leupold’s new VX-6 models, specifically the 3-18x44mm CDS with Illuminated Boone & Crockett reticle (# 115004). Leupold’s VX-6 series was launched in 2012 as their new flagship series, and was available in several models featuring either a 1-6x or 2-12x variable power range. For 2013 they expanded the series to include new models offering 3-18x and 4-24x variable power ranges.

    The Leupold VX-6 3-18x44mm rifle scope features Leupold’s Diamond Coat 2, which is Leupold’s most advanced exterior lens coating. This coating protects the exterior surface of your objective and ocular lens from becoming scratched by the dirt and dust that comes with use in the field while hunting. Another VX-6 standard feature is the Xtended Twilight Lens System. Leupold claims that this lens system lets you stretch the time of your hunts earlier in the morning and later into the evening because the index matched lenses with wavelength specific lens coatings will transmit more low-level light.

    Many VX-6 models (including our test unit) feature Leupold’s FireDot Illumination System with Motion Sensor Technology (MST). The system utilizes a push button located on the left-hand side of the scope opposite the windage adjustment turret. In the case of models with a side-focus (like ours), the button is integrated into the center of the side-focus knob. The system features 11 illumination settings which are adjusted by depressing the button repeatedly until the desired intensity is reached. Once at the upper or lower end of the range, the dot will blink several times to indicate that that is the highest or lowest setting and it will begin going back the other way the next time the button is depressed.

    A unique feature of the FireDot Illumination system is the integrated Motion Sensor Technology (MST). This system automatically shuts down the illumination after the scope has remained motionless for 5 minutes to conserve the battery. Once the scope moves again the system turns the illumination back on so it’s ready to go when you raise the scope to your eye.

    As is standard for most any scope of this price range and quality, the VX-6 series features fully multi-coated lenses, is both nitrogen and argon purged, is fully waterproof and fog-proof, and it carries Leupolds Limited Lifetime Warranty. They also feature ¼ MOA finger adjustable pop-up/rezero turrets, blackened lens edges to reduce glare, Twin Bias Spring erector system for precise and reliable adjustments, a fast-focus eye piece, side focus parallax adjustment and a 30mm main tube. This specific model being reviewed also features their Custom Dial System (CDS), FireDot Illumination with Motion Sensing Technology (MST), and the Boone & Crocket ballistic/ranging reticle.

    The overall length of the 3-18x44mm VX-6 is approximately 13-5/8” and the weight is listed as 21.80 oz. Eye-relief is 3.70-inches at the lowest magnification and 3.80-inches at the highest magnification. Field of view at 100 yards is listed as 38.00-feet (low) and 7.00-feet (high). Total range of both elevation and windage adjustment is 75.00 M.O.A.

    For testing purposes I mounted the Luepold VX-6 atop my custom Savage chambered in .22-250 Ackley Improved using a Ken Farrell base and Burris Signature Zee medium height 30mm rings. This rifle consistently shoots ½-inch to 3/4-inch groups at 200 yards with my pet load of an 80-grain Nosler Custom Competition bullet over 39.3 gains of H4350 powder and a CCI BR2 primer in Norma brass.

    Optically I was very impressed with the VX-6. It wasn’t overly sensitive to eye alignment at any magnification setting like many scopes can be, the image was plenty bright and the colors looked warm and natural with high contrast, and the sharpness of the image was excellent and remained so all the way out to the edges. Light transmission was plenty sufficient to permit accurate shot placement and target identification in low-light conditions well beyond legal hunting times. A larger 50mm objective (Leupold offers this same scope in a 50mm version) might offer a little more light transmission, but it’s not really needed unless you’re doing nighttime predator or varmint hunting – in which case you’d probably be using a light of some sort anyway.

    Mechanically the Leupold VX-6 offered little to complain about as is the case with most Leupold products. The adjustments were crisp and precise with a prominent tactful detent on each click, but no audible click. The movement of the magnification, fast-focus eye piece and side-focus were very smooth and not overly loose or stiff through their full range of motion. The FireDot system worked as designed and without any complications as well, though I’m still not sure I prefer it over a rheostat-type dial simply for the sake of quick “at a glance” setting verification. It does however greatly streamline the lines of the scope and eliminates one overly large potential snag point by incorporating the button into the center of the side-focus knob.

    As an added bonus, Leupold has finally included plastic lens caps to protect the lenses during storage (at least for the VX-6 series) – the absence of which is something I have been complaining about for several years now. Leupold also offers their Alumina screw-on, flip-up aluminum lens caps of you want something more user friendly and robust, but they’re a bit pricey at $80/set.

    If there’s one glaring drawback to the Leupold VX-6 3-18x44mm CDS with illuminated reticle, it’s definitely the price. At around $1,200 (street price) this VX-6 is an expensive scope, and while it offers a ton of features for that price it’s still expensive and many will shy away from the VX-6 because of that. However, it should be noted that relatively speaking the VX-6 is actually quite a bargain considering the only truly comparable model from any competitor is the Swarovski Z6i 3-18x50mm with illuminated ballistic reticle. The Swarovski Z6i costs nearly three times as much as the Leupold with a street price just shy of $3,300, so yes - in the grand scheme of things the Leupold VX-6 really is a bargain.

    Now if I can only figure out a way to afford to keep it…


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    Contact Information
    Leupold & Stevens, Inc.
    P.O. Box 4985
    Beaverton, OR 97075-04985
    www.Leupold.com
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