Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

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Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by stephencee » 04 Feb 2015, 11:06 am

I'm looking at some new hunting scopes and thought this.

I'm no aficionado or expect but I reckon the VX-1 is a pretty decent scope :thumbsup:

I'm sure the VX-2 and VX-3 are good scopes, but seems like they're asking a lot for them.

e.g.

VX-1 3-9 x 40mm is $300
VX-2 3-9 x 40mm is $400
VX-3 2.5-8 x 36mm is $550 (there isn't a 3-9 x 40mm VX-3, that's the closest).

VX-1 4-12 x 40mm is $400
VX-2 4-12 x 40mm is $550
VX-3 4.5x14 x 40mm is $750

Basically double the price to go from the 1 to the 3 in an equivalent scope. Hard to justify to to me.

What do you reckon?
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Chronos » 04 Feb 2015, 11:36 am

good glass (and coatings) costs money. There's differences in the light transmission rates between models and that means brighter, sharper images in low light

what you're paying for is performance in the worst conditions. It may mean you gain 1/2 an hour hunting each end of the day so it could mean getting a shot at a trophy you may otherwise have missed

there's not much you can't do with VXi and VXii scopes, i own one of each but the 2 VXiii's i own are on another level, it's up to you to decide what that's worth to you

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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by NukeBOMB88 » 04 Feb 2015, 3:05 pm

Yeah the Vx-3 scopes are just amazing, even under the spotlight it's possible to see a fox with great clarity. Using the Vx-3 on a nice rifle almost feels like bad sport , it's just so easy to nail whatever you want to hit . Foxes don't stand a chance :lol:
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Westy » 04 Feb 2015, 6:48 pm

VX 3 Fanboy here have 4 and 2 mark 4's love the Leopold if you want something nice but not to expensive check out the Sightron range as well
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Bills Shed » 05 Feb 2015, 4:39 am

I am another for the VX3. I do not buy scopes to often and some of my rifles have slightly older scopes. When I pick up the rifle with the vx3 on it, it is still a surprise as the the clarity. +1 for the spotlighting ability, with regards to light gathering. A very good scope.

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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Warrigul » 05 Feb 2015, 8:39 am

stephencee wrote:I'm looking at some new hunting scopes and thought this.

I'm no aficionado or expect but I reckon the VX-1 is a pretty decent scope :thumbsup:

I'm sure the VX-2 and VX-3 are good scopes, but seems like they're asking a lot for them.

e.g.

VX-1 3-9 x 40mm is $300
VX-2 3-9 x 40mm is $400
VX-3 2.5-8 x 36mm is $550 (there isn't a 3-9 x 40mm VX-3, that's the closest).

VX-1 4-12 x 40mm is $400
VX-2 4-12 x 40mm is $550
VX-3 4.5x14 x 40mm is $750

Basically double the price to go from the 1 to the 3 in an equivalent scope. Hard to justify to to me.

What do you reckon?


It is the old price versus use thing, I have one on my .243 and it is a nice scope. It probably does allow an extra minute or two at dawn and dusk when sitting and waiting and it is a joy to use. No point in worrying that you will lose the trophy of a lifetime simply because you didn't have a top notch scope- there is usually more to it that that.

The bulk of my scoped shooting just isn't that critical and I am more interested in a scope that costs as little as possible but still does the job. They need to have a lifetime warranty as well.

ATM the $150 nikko 3-10.5 nighteaters are sitting on two rifles without any issues at all and the 36 and 8-36 targetmasters are still posting as good a range scores as some of the dearer brands.

Don't get me wrong if I had unlimited money I would have Mausers and Zeiss scopes(but the VX3 is up there with the best of Europe as far as I am concerned) but for now it is Ruger, TIKKA, Omark and howa etc with NIKON and Nikko (with one each of a VX1 and VX3 pointing the way).

However, I have a few scopes that have gone from rifle to rifle and when you look at it like that the extra dollars may well be worth considering. $750 over 20 years is only $35 a year.

I guess the main point I am getting across is that don't let dollars dictate whether you go hunting or not, often the cheaper(but well proven) end of the market will do 99% of what you need to do.

It is always nice to have nice gear but never lose sight of the fact that going hunting or target shooting is the ultimate goal not simply having nice things.
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Lorgar » 06 Feb 2015, 12:05 pm

Chronos wrote:good glass (and coatings) costs money. There's differences in the light transmission rates between models and that means brighter, sharper images in low light

what you're paying for is performance in the worst conditions. It may mean you gain 1/2 an hour hunting each end of the day so it could mean getting a shot at a trophy you may otherwise have missed

there's not much you can't do with VXi and VXii scopes, i own one of each but the 2 VXiii's i own are on another level, it's up to you to decide what that's worth to you


Yep, all that.

Stephen, I've got the VX 1 4-12x40mm you mentioned there which I think cost me $380. It's the scope for my backup .308 hunting rifle.

On my main rifle I have the Bushnell Elite 6500 which is about a grand.

95% of the time, they're the same. In daylight hours out to a few hundred metres you wouldn't notice a difference. (I suspect at long-range clarity in the VX-1 would not be as good but I've never looked further than a few hundred metres through it and it's fine at those distances)

At sundown or in low light I can still see through the Bushnell for the twilight period when it's become too dark for the Leupold. With the magnification it's even better than looking with your eyes in some conditions.

Can see that bit further for a bit longer with the Bushnell when light is lacking and/or when it's foggy.

It's a lot of money but like Warrigal says, you only need to buy a top scope once and it'll last a lifetime.
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Tiiger » 09 Feb 2015, 10:23 am

Clarity at long ranges is also better in the more expensive scopes.

This is another area they earn their pay as well as light gathering.
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Mich » 12 Feb 2015, 12:27 pm

Lorgar wrote:On my main rifle I have the Bushnell Elite 6500 which is about a grand.


The 6500 is a great scope.

Well worth the money IMO.
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by bluerob » 13 Feb 2015, 7:42 am

I'm not an expert in these matters, but, interested in what other's think.

I was asking my LGS why such a huge difference between Nikko and Leopold pricing. Some answers are quite obvious (quality of glass, quality of coating, quality of actual scope etc etc). What he said made me wonder.

All scope manufacturers obtain their glass in batches from the same glass manufacturers in China. Some scopes are assembled in Malaysia or other Asian countries, but, the actual glass lenses are all manufactured in China by a few factories.

Some scopes will have glass manufactured to specifications by the brand requirements, maybe like a Leopold 44x?

The LGS person suggested that you could easily have Leopold glass in a Nikko scope. Is this possible your opinion?

When you think about the cost of Nikon lenses compared to Nikon scopes, it does make make me wonder. I know that there's a difference in some Nikon lenses, but......?
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Warrigul » 13 Feb 2015, 8:23 am

I had five deer rifles lined up to test yesterday afternoon, all in the 3-9x range or thereabouts, at 100 they all shot around a 50cent piece size group.

Yep they all shot well, even the s**ty old tasco 3-9x (which really had no right to be sitting on a .300wm) but there was a definate difference between the VX1 and VX3.

If I had driven past a gunshop yesterday arvo on the way home I would have bought another VX3 I reckon but overnight I have turned back into s**ty old cheap scope person again..................
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Wes » 15 Feb 2015, 3:40 pm

bluerob wrote:What he said made me wonder.

All scope manufacturers obtain their glass in batches from the same glass manufacturers in China. Some scopes are assembled in Malaysia or other Asian countries, but, the actual glass lenses are all manufactured in China by a few factories.

Some scopes will have glass manufactured to specifications by the brand requirements, maybe like a Leopold 44x?

The LGS person suggested that you could easily have Leopold glass in a Nikko scope. Is this possible your opinion?

When you think about the cost of Nikon lenses compared to Nikon scopes, it does make make me wonder. I know that there's a difference in some Nikon lenses, but......?


Not in the simplistic terms people say "made in the same place" no.

The glass of two brands could potentially be from the same manufacturer but that doesn't mean they're the same scope.

If you think about it, the various lenses inside a scope are all build and positions to work with each other. I seriously doubt you could pull the lens from a Nikko and put it in a Leupold. The overall scope design would have to be the same for lenses to be interchangeable with different brands.

You don't just whack 2 circles of glass and move them back and forth and say 'ta da' a scope. Looking at models between the two they're clearly different in a lot of regards.

IMO.

Same as people say Tikka and Sako are 'the same' because they're made in the same factory.

Offer anyone a Tikka or a Sako free, who's going to take the Tikka? They're different.
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by veep » 15 Feb 2015, 3:42 pm

bluerob wrote:All scope manufacturers obtain their glass in batches from the same glass manufacturers in China. Some scopes are assembled in Malaysia or other Asian countries, but, the actual glass lenses are all manufactured in China by a few factories.


I do know from some other product experience that while one manufacturer might make for two different brands. (Won't say who because I work for them :lol:)

Anyway, making lots of 'the same' the cream of the crop go to the higher quality brand and if there is some variance and a lower quality batch it's sold cheaper to a cheaper brand.

The same but not the same, know what I mean?
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Westy » 15 Feb 2015, 4:44 pm

I lashed out and bought a Nightforce for my s**ty old Tikka 6.5x55 deer rifle on Friday after having a lot of trouble with my Burris Eliminator scope!!!!!
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Re: Leupold VX-3 hard to justify cost

Post by Rocker » 17 Feb 2015, 8:39 pm

What NF you end up with Westy?
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