Leupold VXI 2-7x33

[John828]

So, I need a new scope, but I want to be practical. I don't want a fixed power, and I don't want a 3-9 or more even though that seems to be the trend.

Application: Going on a Remington 798 in .243, hunting in south Arkansas where most shots will be less than 50 yards, but I could conceivable have a 250 yd opportunity in a clear cut or down a high line. So I picked out the Leupold VXI 2-7x33.

Anybody else have the VXI? It's on Leupold's lower end, but seems to be a great value at $199.

 

[lipadj46]

I think the VX-I and VX-II scopes are the worst value out there today but I must be in the minority because budget scope buyers seem to flock to them I should just give up. People like the 3-9x40 because it is very versatile and that seems to be the sweet spot for bang for your buck. I think this Elite 3200 would be a much much better scope than the VX-I plus they have Rainguard now which is a real good upgrade, and hey they are less money:

322732M Bushnell 2-7x32 Elite 3200 Rifle Scope
Matte
Multi-X
1"
Rainguard
Click here for Free Waterproof Jacket Coupon
SWFA: $174.95

Plus if you buy before 12/31 you can get a realtree waterproof jacket because we all need one of those . I actually have the jacket and it is a good freebie. Everyone goes on about the Leupold warranty but these elites have the same lifetime warranty and bushnell customer service is good.

 

[John828]

Thanks lipadj, but I had a bad experience with a Bushnell once. Ever seen those Salvador Dali paintings with the melted clocks? I think he snuck in one night and repainted my crosshairs because they looked "melted." Weirdest thing I ever saw. Granted it was a cheaper model.

Since then, I have owned several pairs of Leupold binoculars and love their clarity and quality, so it seemed logical that their scopes would be of the same craftsmanship.

 

[oregonhunter]

For the money you cannot beat Leupold and their free lifetime warranty.

Never understood why people could dislike their product.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I have two of the Vari-X II in 2-7x.
Also a very similar Vari-X III in 2.5-8x.

These are my favorite scopes. The VariX-III is my favorite, and is on my favorite boltaction, a Rem. M7 in 7mm-08.

All three have been bought "used". My first one, bought in 1975 had to go back to mfgr. in 1987 for reattachment of reticle from 1980 incident where it was dropped (rifle it was on) from a shooting house. Scope was still functional, but crosshairs were "crooked". Leupold honored warranty and replaced reticle with Leupold Dot at my request. Also replaced internal O-rings, recharged with Nitrogen, and replaced front and rear objective lenses as coating had been "rubbed" from them while hunting in bad weather over number of years. Total charge was $29.00 which included shipping.

Leupolds are a true bargain. Even the "Rifleman" series are decent scopes with a 1st class company supporting them.

My two other 2-7's are on a Interarms MkX in .338/06. (Same action as the M798). This rifle was wearing the first 2-7x when it "jumped out of the shooting house door" in 1980 and was then in .30'06. The scope was bought used in 2005 when rifle was rebarreled and restocked.

The first 2-7x is now, and has been since 1984 on a Custom M98 in .257Roberts. Rifle, scope, sling, and 5rds of ammo weight 7.2lbs. This rifle has taken over 100 whitetail deer, 1 mule deer, and about 60 prararie dogs. My wife and daughters killed there first deer with it, too.
Wife claims its "her rifle"..........

Your choice of scopes is infallabile.

 

[3pairs12]

I have owned several Leupolds and all have been great. I even took advantage of the lifetime warranty on a fixed 4 power that was 40+ years old. They repaired it with no questions asked.

 

[Walkalong]

It's on Leupold's lower end, but seems to be a great value at $199

The $199 Nikon Buckmaster is a clearer scope by far.

I love my Leupold 2.5 X 8 Vari-X III.

 

[lipadj46]

See the Leupold marketing machine has paid off once again

Well the Bushnell Elites are made in Japan and are not to be compared with the ones made in China and the Philippines. Plus they have a lifetime warranty and a 1 time no questions asked replacement like if you ran it over with your truck or something (same warranty as the Leupy). Plus they are the only budget scope with a hydrophobic coating which is worth the price IMO not only for the fogging but it also is a coating that increases light transmission.

If you feel comfortable for the Leupold go for it but just know that for $200 hundred bucks any good scope in the Nikon Monarch & prostaff/buckmaster, Bushnell Elite, Burris Fullfield II lines etc will be better scopes for less money. Leupold VX-III is as low as I would go with Leupold but as we will probably see many here will disagree with me but go over to the optics talk forum and ask about budget scopes.

One thing the Leupold VX-I has going for it is the warranty and you can have the M1 and M3 turrets added if you like in the future otherwise it is about $50 overpriced because it says Leupold in it.

 

[oregonhunter]

My love for Leupolds has nothing to do with their marketing scheme. It comes from the old timers who trust their quality and the fact that it takes me 20 mins to knock on their door.

When you have a 40yr old Bushnell elite 3200 yada yada that still functions like new, I may believe in their quality.

 

[lipadj46]

OK let me know when a VX-I or VX-II of today's quality lasts 40 years and we can have a beer if we are not dead by then. I do have a Bushnell Sportview 3-9x on my shotgun that is almost 25 years old and I have never had any problems with it year after year. I don't discount Leupold quality on the VX-III's and above but I do not think the VX-II's and below are worth it for the price but I will stop banging by head against the wall :banghead: ...

Leupold is a great scope company and I give them credit for their customer service, custom shop, marketing prowess and their overall depth of product lines. IMO they have been resting on their laurels and relying on their reputation while other scope companies have been hustling to catch up and have surpassed them as far as value for the money. They did upgrade their VX-III line so we will see how the features and price stack up against the 4200's, Monarchs, Conquests and Sightrons now.

I do not have an irrational hatred of Leupold I would gladly buy a VX-III or mk4 if the price was right and I would definitely recommend a mk4 as the entry level professional target/tactical scope of choice. Their M1 and M3 turrets are high quality and very repeatable and hey you can get them put on a VX-I if that floats your boat.

 

[MMCSRET]

Look at Sightron before you jump. The are every bit as good as Leupold and have a better warrantee. Sightron lets dealers warrantee their scopes, you don't have to call for authorization and then ship and wait. With Sightron, you walk into your dealer with your run over, flooded or bent scope and they change it and you are off and running.

 

[smitty_bs]

I don't have a Leupold and won't jump in on that banter. What I want to comment on is your desire for the 2X7 power. I have had a Redfield Widefield in 2X7 on my Remington 700 for 27 years now and have hunted in South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin and Michigan. Never a problem. In the east, keep the dial somewhere between 2 and 4 power. In the west feel free to crank it up. The 2X7 scope will serve your needs for big game hunting. Get one and be happy. By some qualtiy ammo with the money you save over the 3X9.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

The VXI/Rifleman are great cheap scopes.

Have had Bushnell and Nikon and consider them garbage.

Have a couple Burris Full Field II's that are US made that have been good----not sure if I would trust the newer Asian made ones though.

When you start getting to VXIII prices---its time to start looking at the Ziess Conquest line.

 

[Lonestar.45]

Could someone please other than Leupold make a nice top quality GLOSS finished scope?

I have old BDL's and other walnut/polished blue guns I want to upgrade optics on, and GLOSS finish is the only way to go on such a pretty gun. I dare anyone to find a nice Burris, Sightron, Nikon, or Bushnell gloss finished scope. If they exist I cannot find them. So my choices are Leupold, and Leupold. Not bad, but would be nice if there were more out there to choose from.

But I digress. I think the VXI 2-7x33 is one of the best scopes out there for a lightweight .243. Great company, nice product, I don't think you could go wrong picking one up.

 

[John828]

lipadj46,

Beginning to sound like a Nikon rep.

John828

 

[John828]

Could someone please other than Leupold make a nice top quality GLOSS finished scope?

I've felt the pain, or at least the anguish. And not to mention rings and bases.

I want to comment on is your desire for the 2X7 power. I have had a Redfield Widefield in 2X7 on my Remington 700 for 27 years now and have hunted in South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin and Michigan. Never a problem. In the east, keep the dial somewhere between 2 and 4 power.

Great advice, less is sometimes more 'specially with magnification." Besides that, all one can find in the "big box" stores is 3-9.

 

[lipadj46]

lipadj46,

Beginning to sound like a Nikon rep.

I think I was actually recommending Bushnell this time . Guess I will stop steering people towards good quality budget scopes and just mutter VX-II like a zombie anytime someone wants a good cheap scope sounds like that is what people want to hear

I am not sure about my posts here but in some of the optic forums I usually recommend Bushnell Elites, Nikon Monarchs, Sightron, Zeiss Conquest and Super Sniper because I think they all offer good bang for the buck. Everywhere though there are people who get really offended when you say anything even slightly negative about Leupold even more so than the regular type brand internet pundits.

 

[zammyman]

In the $200 price range I prefer the Nikon Buckmasters to the VX-I. The Bushnell 3200 scopes are pretty dark- not a very good low light hunting scope in my opinion. Next to a Buckmasters and a VX-II it was by far the darkest!!! In the $300 range I've loved the VX-II 3-9x40, great scope, very bright at night! I haven't had a chance to compare it next to a Nikon Monarch 2.5-10x42 (which is about 80 more), so I cannot give a good opinion on that one.

 

[owlhoot]

I've had a Leupold 2x7 VII on a Sako .308 for 35 years. Use it every season. Still as good as new. Funny thing. I paid $204. for the scope in 74. At that time the dollar was worth about five times what it is worth today. If you can still get the same scope for the same money, what's not to like? I have a Leupold 3X12 on another rifle, and frankly, I prefer the 2X7. It is MUCH smaller and lighter.

BTW, I've had a couple of Bushnell scopes in use for about the same period of time. They still work just fine too.

 

[MCMXI]

I ordered a Leupold FX-II 6x last week from Optics Planet for $300 delivered. When you consider that good optics will last a lifetime they're actually a bargain compared to other parts of a rifle, particularly the barrel.

Well the Bushnell Elites ... have a lifetime warranty and a 1 time no questions asked replacement.

Bushnell's LIMITED lifetime warranty is only valid for the original owner. Leupold's LIFETIME warranty is FOR LIFE for any number of owners!! This is particularly important to someone buying a USED Leupold scope and may explain the increased cost often associated with Leupold products.

Leupold VX-III is as low as I would go with Leupold

From Leupold's web site ...

"Beginning in 2004, the VX-II line is fully multicoated and will perform comparably to the discontinued Vari-X III line."

I sold a Vari-X III on Ebay last year that I'd owned for about 10 years. I sold it for $550 and it was still perfect so I'm not worried about buying a current Vari-X II model. Currently I have six Leupold Mark 4 scopes, an FX-II on order, and a Vari-X II that is 10 years old and still perfect after 1000+ rounds on a .308 and .300WSM. I buy Leupold scopes for a number of reasons including quality, clarity, reliability, warranty, features etc. Are there other excellent scopes out there ... sure, but I don't have any experience with them so I stick with what I know works and if it doesn't work, I know where to send it and how long it'll be before I get it back.

 

[lipadj46]

and may explain the increased cost often associated with Leupold products.

Yes that is exactly the reason why Leupolds are priced higher than all their competitor's comparable models. Not because they are better optically or more robust mechanically it is because every single gold ring model has the unlimited Leupold warranty. I guess that is good for some but I don't want to pay an extra $50-$200 up front so the guy who buys my used scope has a lifetime warranty. I'm sure it is good for those who buy and sell used scopes though.

 

[MCMXI]

Yes that is exactly the reason why Leupolds are priced higher than all their competitor's comparable models. Not because they are better optically or more robust mechanically it is because every single gold ring model has the unlimited Leupold warranty.

But what does it say about a company's confidence in their product when they're prepared to offer an UNLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY?

 

[lipadj46]

My Hi Point Carbine has an unlimited lifetime warranty and I hear people dog that thing all the time. That reminds me I need to send mine in.

Leupold builds the warranty into their cost like if Best Buy forced you to buy the extended warranty for your camera you buy there. I don't think their scopes are any more or less durable than any other good quality scopes.

 

[longdayjake]

Yes that is exactly the reason why Leupolds are priced higher than all their competitor's comparable models. Not because they are better optically or more robust mechanically it is because every single gold ring model has the unlimited Leupold warranty.

That and maybe because the point of impact doesn't seem to change at all when changing powers on the scope like it does with the $200 bushnells. My least favorite gun became my favorite gun after I took the Bushnell off and put a VX-III on it. There is a huge difference between the VX-II and the Bushnell elite. I cant speak for the VX-I however because I don't own one. Another huge difference between the Bushnell and the Leupold is EYE RELIEF. The Leupold is miles ahead in that department.

 

[MCMXI]

I don't think their scopes are any more or less durable than any other good quality scopes.

You may well be right on that but so far I'm happy with what I have. I'd really like to try other brands such as Nightforce, Zeiss, S&B, Nikon, Bushnell etc but as far as I know they don't have a loaner program ... that sure would be great though!

Hey, if someone here has a Nightforce that they wouldn't mind "swapping" for a Mark 4 for a couple of weeks then let me know ... I'll send you one of my Mark 4's once your Nightforce gets here.