I have several FIREDOT Leupold scopes.
Decent scopes for the money.
I prefer a GREEN dot. Most of the Leupold FIREDOT scopes use a red dot. I can live with red. But given a choice, GREEN is significantly my preference.
Remember, a $400 scope has $400 glass. Nothing will change that.
The thing that bugs me about $400 Leupold scopes is the TRACKING. Most scopes - Leupold included - do not always track perfectly. Specifically, what happens is, you dial three clicks on the scope, then the next bullet goes in the SAME HOLE as the previous shot, despite the fact that I dialed three clicks. What should have happened when I turned the knob was a three-quarter-minute change in windage point of impact. Then when I fire A SECOND SHOT after dialing the correction, now the point of impact changes. The reason it takes a SECOND SHOT, is because recoil forces of the first shot, after you dial a correction, jar the reticle sufficiently to cause the reticle to actually settle to where you dialed. This is annoying.
Moral of the story is, if you put a small correction on the scope, don't count on your point of impact to actually change until you fire two shots. The reticle may move when you turn the knob. But don't count on it. I've seen EXPENSIVE SCOPES do the same thing. Some people tap on the knobs of the scope after making a small adjustment. I'm not sure that helps. But it probably doesn't hurt. You shouldn't have to do that. But I'm here to tell you, BALKY TRACKING is far more common than scope manufacturers (all brands) are willing to admit.
Remember, you are at the mercy of what I like to call "the pissy little spring." That's the spring located inside the reticle turret, typically at around 7:30 relative to the reticle disc. That pissy little spring is what you are counting on to move the reticle when you make an adjustment - ESPECIALLY when you are turning the knob so as to WITHDRAW tension of the adjustment screw against the reticle. What do you think actually moves the reticle when you WITHDRAW the adjustment screw? -- The pissy little spring.
When you are actually DRIVING the adjustment screw into the reticle disk, you are compressing the pissy little spring. We would think that the positive engagement of the adjustment-screw against the reticle disk, as the screw is being driven INTO the disc, would more-reliably move the reticle. I have found this to NOT be the case. Same behavior. Put three clicks on (driving adjustment-screw INTO the reticle) and the shot may just go into the same hole as the previous shot - or may turn up as an elevation-change when your correction was for windage. I don't have a good explanation for this. I can only speculate that the pissy little spring is engaging against the reticle disk in such a way that it causes the reticle to move in an awkward, and unpredictable manner, until recoil of the gun forces the reticle to settle.
And mind you, I'm talking about some REAL PRECISION SHOOTING in my complaint. Most "deer hunter" types would never notice what I'm talking about when they're "sighting in" with a half-box of shells, and resting over the edge of the truck bed. They never shoot long, regular, series of shots. Just get it good enough to kill deer. If that's all you ask of a scope, a $400 Leupold will serve you just dandy.
If I'm shooting a series of shots, in a precision rifle match, and during changing wind conditions, I try to keep my hands off the windage knobs as much as possible. Better to favor. That's where EXPENSIVE GLASS really shines. Much easier to FAVOR three quarters of a minute with good glass, rather than mess with the knobs, and hope something really annoying doesn't happen. The difference between a 10 versus a 9 for the score of a shot is a big deal in precision shooting. Not so much with deer hunting.
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