Can anyone tell the difference from Vari X1 to Vari XIII Leupolds?

[Just Duke]

My failing vision is forcing me to scope everything I own. With my eye sight I don't know if it would benefit me going with the higher price Leupolds for a levergun at under 100 yards.
Any help would be appreciated.
Duke.


Leupold VX-I Riflescopes 2-7x33mm Shotgun N*** Dark Earth Md: 63355


Leupold VX-I Riflescopes 2-7x33mm, Shotgun, N***, Dark Earth

Built specifically for turkey hunters, in partnership with the N***. Features: - Emblazoned with the N*** Logo. - The new Dark Earth anodized finish available on the N*** Edition Shotgun scope is tough as nails, and will blend well with any camo pattern. - The Leupold Turkey Plex reticle subtends a turkey’s head at maximum magnification, crown to wattles, at 40 yards. - Standard multicoat lens system delivers the excellent resolution, brightness, and contrast needed to pick game from cover. - Parallax is preset for 75 yards. - Leupold’s legendary ruggedness ensures your scope is ready for a lifetime of hard hunting. - Absolute waterproof and fog proof integrity is guaranteed for the life of the scope. Specifications: Model: 2-7X33mm N*** Type: Shotgun Reticle: Turkey Plex Finish: Dark Earth
Mfg No: 63355
Manufacturer: Leupold

Shipping Information
Weight: 1.5 pounds.
Dimensions: 14 (L) x 3.5 (W) x 2 (H) inches.:

SKU: 46526

http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/LEVERACTIONSHOOTERS/BENELLI/leuppic63355.jpg

[BCall]

My dad has mounted a couple of the VX-1's for some guys lately. The biggest thing I don't like about them is the adjustment turrents are not click adjustable, just friction. Other than that, they look like great scopes for the money, and if you rarely change the sights, friction turrents might not even matter. I just prefer click adjustments. Billy

[peter nap]

I'm in much the same boat as you. I'm getting older and have diabetes to boot. It's worked my vision over. I'm sticking with a peep on the lever actions for now, but have had to scope everything else.

I have a few of the VX-1's and am really happy with them. I'm not sure that the VX-III would be of much more value at 100 yards.

[Shiloh]

My dad has mounted a couple of the VX-1's for some guys lately. The biggest thing I don't like about them is the adjustment turrents are not click adjustable, just friction. Other than that, they look like great scopes for the money, and if you rarely change the sights, friction turrents might not even matter. I just prefer click adjustments. Billy

Me too. It is adjusted per click, not click and a quarter.

Shiloh

[cajun shooter]

As has been stated it's in the adjustments of the scope. If you are going to sight in and leave at one setting then the VX-1 will work. Friction scopes can not be precise when you are changing settings. Another thing to consider is the amount of shooting. If only 50 rds or less or 500 or more. I don't think the VX-1 will take the abuse a 111 will. You also have a difference in warranty I think as they are made in different places. The 111 is made here.

[oleycow]

Also, the lenses on the VX II and VX III have a coating on them. I own a VX II the coating is green, I believe the VX III is purple (not sure) My understanding that the coating is supposed to help protect the lens as well as help for clarity.

the greatest asset of my Leupold VXII that I love is the amount of light it pulls in in low light conditions. It allows me more confidence in early morning and later evening times in the woods.

I cannot Justify the cost of a VX III but I bought my VX II for less than $200 from Reeds Sports in Minnesota about 5-6 years ago. Love it

[Doc Highwall]

Duke, part of the difference is the lens's are polished finer and the anti reflective coating are better on the VXIII. Also the tolerances for say the erector/zoom assembly is better on the VXIII. For a hunting scope that stays on the lower power most of the time, the VXI and VXII are ok, But if I was using it for competition I would chose a VXIII.

[dualsport]

Does Leopold have factory tours? I'd like to see the place.

[softpoint]

I am a big fan of Leupold. BUT, I am afraid they are going to price themselves out of buisiness. Ionly have one VX1, a bunch of the old vxII 's and just 3 of the vxIII.
Leupolds warranty on the vxIII is as good as it gets. I have even had old vxII scopes that they didn't even make anymore warranteed with a new replacement scope of current manufacture.
The downside to that is you pay for that warranty when you buy one, whether you ever need it or not. I also like the Zeiss Conquest line of scopes. Of course thier premium scopes ,like other premium German optics are very pricey.,the Conquest scopes I believe are assembled here in the States:smile:

[fredj338]

Lens coatings, click adjustments & I believe quality of lenses. For the money, the VXIII is pretty much the only scope I will use on a big game rifle. I have tried other brands & either broken them internally or they just don't gather as much light in early & late hours. JMO, buy the best scope you can afford. Cheap glass is cheap glass & is the weak link i a good hunting or target rig.

[peterthevet]

Hey Duke (hi from Australia) - the II and III series have the fancy pants coating on them as mentioned above also the III has a different inert gas inside the scope,so zero chance of any condensation. The good news..........to my knowledge there is a lifetime warranty on all their scopes no matter how old,no matter what model and no matter if owned by more than one peson!!! Pretty much unbeatable warranty.Sounds like you want a variable power......don't forget to check out their low power fixed scopes - prob. be perfect for your application. Cheers Peter

[Just Duke]

I am a big fan of Leupold. BUT, I am afraid they are going to price themselves out of buisiness. Ionly have one VX1, a bunch of the old vxII 's and just 3 of the vxIII.
Leupolds warranty on the vxIII is as good as it gets. I have even had old vxII scopes that they didn't even make anymore warranteed with a new replacement scope of current manufacture.
The downside to that is you pay for that warranty when you buy one, whether you ever need it or not. I also like the Zeiss Conquest line of scopes. Of course thier premium scopes ,like other premium German optics are very pricey.,the Conquest scopes I believe are assembled here in the States:smile:

We had a flat in town across the way from the Leupold factory so we didn't have to drive so far from Washington. I have stopped in before from time to time.
The employees told me the gal that owns the place NOW! is more concerned with the Water Purification end of the business and really didn't give a rats **** about the scope end of the business when I strongly suggested to them they need to put a scope on their off shore supplied scope lensed Mark 4. Typical with the granola crunchers:takinWiz: in Oregon. [smilie=b:
I used to set behind old lady Leupold in church and can say she was a really nice old gal. Like 80 something. I since though have never gone back to church going on 15 years.
Anyway I finally got my light on the Mark 4 after haranging them in the lobby telling them if they didn't move with the times they would one day drive by their buildingand see the sun bleached shadow of the old sign behind the new sign of someone that DID! move with the times.
My grandfather chief design engineer of the Norden Bombsight Factory in Shelbyville Indiana told me if I didn't move with the times I would get run over business/technologically wise.

[wallenba]

I got bad eyes too, can't see close up unless I have my bifocals on. That's why I love these things on my Leupolds http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?pageNum=1&tabId=10&categoryId=8751&categoryString=657***&brandId=937

[rob45]

Lens coatings, click adjustments & I believe quality of lenses. JMO, buy the best scope you can afford. Cheap glass is cheap glass & is the weak link i a good hunting or target rig.

Fredj338 pretty much summed it up.

Scoping a levergun is slightly different than, say, a bolt action. The primary advantage of a levergun is the ability to be fast-handling; your goal is to keep it that way even after scoping it. Whether discussing the "low-end" model or "high-end" model, any Leupold shines in three main areas over the other manufacturers, regardless of cost: light weight, durability, and eye relief.

Weight
Size for size, the Leupold scopes are lighter than the other manufacturers. Weight (and how it is distributed) is a very important factor in determining the handling qualities of your gun. This does not matter if you're comparing the VX-1 to the VX-3; they are all the same weight range, and the primary difference is in the lens coatings.

Durability
All Leupold scopes, regardless of which "line", are known for durability. This is very much due to the light weight mentioned above. Rather than give an entire dissertation on the effects of inertia, suffice it to say that the lighter the scope, the longer it will live, all other qualities remaining equal. Leupold knows this; that is why they have that type of warranty. Don't think 2 ounces makes a difference? Shove 2000 rounds through your gun and see which scope lives longer- the lighter scope will usually win.

Eye relief
Hands down, all Leupold scopes have longer eye relief than the other guys. Hard-kicking guns are not the only reason for long eye relief; speed of target acquisition is an important benefit. In my experience, the longer the eye relief, the quicker I can pick up the target through the scope. I'm not sure why, but scopes with short eye relief make me spend more time "fishing" for the correct sight picture. Perhaps due to the fact that the shorter the eye relief, the more critical a consistent cheek weld becomes.

Regardless of which Leupold you purchase, all of them will have the above mentioned qualities. With that said about Leupolds in general, let's look at the differences in their various lines.

Friction adjustment vs. click adjustment
I have yet to be able to find a difference in the reliability of either one. The friction adjustment stays put just as much as the click-style. The primary advantage of the click adjustment is not repeatability or reliability, but tactility. The ability to feel your adjustments becomes important in the field only if you're using the adjustments to compensate for long-range variables in trajectory. Important when shooting prairie dogs at 400 yards, but not important on any application for which the typical levergun may be used. Take your pick.

Tube construction
The top-end models typically have one-piece tubes, while the more economical models have two-piece tubes. In theory, the one-piece tube is more durable, but I have yet to hurt a two-piece tubed scope. The older I get, the more clumsy I become, so all of my scopes take some pretty hard knocks and falls, and I still cannot tell any difference in the two.

Parallax
Leupold sets their shotgun/muzzleloader scopes to be parallax-free at 75 yards; their rifle scopes are set for 150 yards. For the ranges with which you're concerned, parallax will probably be less than an inch; not enough to matter on a levergun. Parallax becomes an issue with high magnification; you're not sticking a 10X scope on your levergun, so don't worry about it.

Coatings
This is the largest factor (as far as price is concerned) between the various "levels". The higher-end scopes not only have multiple lens coatings, but they have coatings on ALL of the lenses inside the scope. The difference becomes very apparent in low light- instead of guessing at a shadow, you can actually see that deer or hog or whatever. Also of importance is that multiple coatings reduce glare from the sun. One of the outdoor ranges I frequent faces east, and early morning shooting is more difficult with a VX-1. If I am using a VX-3, I can see the target considerably easier. So the number (and quality) of coatings has a huge impact on the types of light conditions under which you can still get a good image.


Conclusion: Any of them will be more than adequate, but if you can afford it, get the VX-3. You definitely "get what you pay for".:wink:

Leupold has specs for all of their models on their website:
http://www.leupold.com/hunting-and-shooting/products/scopes/

Good luck.

[RoyRogers]

Eye relief
Hands down, all Leupold scopes have longer eye relief than the other guys.

Not ALL the others, but many of them. For instance, the Zeiss Conquest 3x9 has a constant and full 4" across all powers. My eyes are still good enough to see the difference in image quality between a vx1 & vx3.

[awaveritt]

I think as they are made in different places. The 111 is made here.

I bought a 3x9 vari x I recently and was concerned about Leupolds being made offshore. I emailed the factory and they assured me the vari x I were made in Oregon with all the rest. Just thought I'd clear that up.

Having said that, I think the Vari-x I series represents a great value and, as has already been stated, the biggest shortcoming is the lack of click turrets, if that matters.

[Bullshop Junior]

Sure, the price.

[wilddog45]

Vari X-III's are the scopes I prefer,especially with a sunshade on the end. Sometimes you can find used ones at gunshows at reduced prices and send them back to the factory to have them reconditioned for free.

[jsizemore]

I'd check to see what the eye relief is for that shotgun scope. Some are considered intermediate eye relief. Long for pistol, close for rifle. One 3-9 Vari-X1 I loaded for had 1/2 minute adjustments with no clicks. It still kills plenty deer.

The last time I looked at a brochure from Leupold (mid-90's) the scope innards on a 1 & 2 were made of plastic. That being said, I bought a Vari-X11 target scope and never had an issue with it.

[TAWILDCATT]

I have a leupold v1 thanks to a very generous stranger. it is a very good scope.and sets on my mauser.but for a lever gun or a sks,I have a $13 scope from CDNN.little more now.I works fine for what I use it for.not over 100 yds.and set and left.I am not into suicide specials like 50cal BMG.I am much older than most here.and I had cateracts removed.I see real well now.better than I ever could.:coffee:

[rob45]

I'd check to see what the eye relief is for that shotgun scope. Some are considered intermediate eye relief. Long for pistol, close for rifle.

The Leupold shotgun scope that Duke is considering has a nominal eye relief of 4 inches and is designed to be mounted above the action, just like a "normal" riflescope.

Leupold's IER (intermediate eye relief) model is commonly known as the "scout" model; it has a nominal eye relief of 9 inches and is designed to be mounted on the back end of the barrel (in front of the action instead of over the action).

[Lawnjockey]

I use vx III 4.5 x 14s on my scoped big game rifles. I boroowed a friend's 270 one time with a vx II on it and I could really tell the difference at dusk and dawn, the vx III is much better in low light.

I have also tried a couple of other specialty scopes by Leupold. Their rimfire scope isn't any better than a no name $30 scope. I went back to the iron sights on my CZ 452. I also have their muzzle loader scope on my Omega and I am not impressed. Quite frankly I don't like the busy recitle that never quite matches reality. As far as I am concerned a plain duplex reticle is the way to go.

Check out samplelist.com for good prices on used optics.

Jocko