Hunting optic suggestions

[Hammer 35]

I'm comparing a couple scopes to update my hunting rig. For chasing coyotes, antelope and deer as well as banging steel as far as I can.

I'm looking at these three mostly:

Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10X40 CDS-ZL
Leupold VX-Freedom 4-12X40 Tri-MOA
Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10X

There's things I like about each of them, things I dislike and some things I just don't know about.

Things I like:
The Vortex's reticle & 30mm tube. The VX-3i's CDS system is nice, as is both Leupy's very light weight. I like the VX-Freedom's reticle as well as a little extra power on the top end won't hurt.

Things I don't like:
None of them have parallax adjustment. The VX3i has a very plain reticle which necessitates dialing for elevation. Both Leupy's have 1" tubes. The Vortex weighs a little more, but only about 3oz, not a deal breaker.

Things I don't know:
Hows the glass compare? The VX-Freedom is the cheapest, but has a manageable reticle, nice light weight and power range. It's gotta be cheaper for a reason though.

If the VX-Freedom's adjustments aren't amazing, but the glass is good, I can just hold for elevation and not worry to much about fiddling with dials, like I would with the VX3i.

Let's get some opinions in here. I'm not married to these scopes, but keep in mind if I can get it at Cabela's I have giftcards there I can use to stretch my budget.

 

[Ballistic Therapy]

I would go with Leupold.
Either one of them will work just fine for what you want.

 

[Hammer 35]

I'm planning on stopping by Cabela's and annoying a salesperson for awhile before making a decision.

Does anyone have any other "must check out" scopes in a similar price range?

 

[TheJediknight]

Leupold Glass

SWFA has some good stuff for good deals. (Best Deal)

Zeiss, Steiner,

 

[Hammer 35]

Leupold Glass

SWFA has some good stuff for good deals. (Best Deal)

Zeiss, Steiner,

I wish I'd bought a dozen of the Zeiss Conquests back when they were about $350-400.

 

[TheJediknight]

I did not learn about Zeiss until after I had been doing this over 10 years....

They say "Don't do it, it will mess you up."

Zeiss will have you re thinking your whole game.....

bought this one.... soooooo clear is all i can say

https://www.eurooptic.com/Zeiss-CONQUEST-V4-1-4x24-ZQAR-Illum-Reticle-62-Ext-Elevation-Turret-Locking-Sing.aspx

 

[TheAccountant]

I would add Meopta to that list. They made the original Conquest for Zeiss. Glass is bright and clear for price. The higher end Vortex stuff is nice, but I would stay away from the rest of it. Same goes for Leupold anymore. SWFA glass is decent but definitely on the heavy side of things. If you don't need it right this minute, I would keep an eye on the classifieds on the national boards. Plenty of good deals pop up there.

 

[Hammer 35]

I would add Meopta to that list. They made the original Conquest for Zeiss. Glass is bright and clear for price. The higher end Vortex stuff is nice, but I would stay away from the rest of it. Same goes for Leupold anymore. SWFA glass is decent but definitely on the heavy side of things. If you don't need it right this minute, I would keep an eye on the classifieds on the national boards. Plenty of good deals pop up there.

I'm investigating Meopta Mepro's and Optika5's right now. Hopefully I'll be able to find one locally to play with a little and see how I like the glass.

 

[428cj]

Burris
XTR III 5.5-30x56 mm
https://www.burrisoptics.com/scopes/xtr-iii

 

[Hammer 35]

Burris
XTR III 5.5-30x56 mm
https://www.burrisoptics.com/scopes/xtr-iii

That looks real nice, more magnification than I need and a little outside my budget though.

 

[TheAccountant]

I would add Meopta to that list. They made the original Conquest for Zeiss. Glass is bright and clear for price. The higher end Vortex stuff is nice, but I would stay away from the rest of it. Same goes for Leupold anymore. SWFA glass is decent but definitely on the heavy side of things. If you don't need it right this minute, I would keep an eye on the classifieds on the national boards. Plenty of good deals pop up there.

I'm investigating Meopta Mepro's and Optika5's right now. Hopefully I'll be able to find one locally to play with a little and see how I like the glass.

I have a Meopro 4.5-14 and it's identical to my Conquest 4.5-14. I think they're solid for the price. Cameraland has a couple open box specials right now but with a little higher magnification than the others you listed.

 

[Hammer 35]

Update/resolution:
Got to play with some glass today.

Online it showed they didn't have the model I was leaning towards, but they had the range finder in stock and I had some free time while the kiddo was napping so I figured I could go and compare similar models and at least get an idea to help narrow it down a little.

They had a couple 1" Leupold's both VX3i's and VX-Freedoms as well as a 2.5-10x and 4-16x Vortex Viper HS. Even played with one of the Leupold Patrol Rifle Optics.

The Patrol Rifle Optic had real mushy adjustments, but was pretty neat. The 1" VX3i's and VX-Freedom's were pretty close in clarity/contrast/brightness and glare. The Vortex's were a little brighter, but glare was notably worse. Definitely noticeably heavier too.

I was waffling pretty hard and about to leave without buying anything, lamenting that they were out of stock on so much. "I was really hoping to try one of the Leupold 30mm tubes, and wanted to see the "Tri-MOA" reticle in person. I'd really like something with parallax adjustment too" and the guy offers to go check the back for me. I'd never ask him to myself, I hate those people but he volunteered so maybe he knows something the website dosen't.

He brings out one of these:
https://www.leupold.com/scopes/rifle-scopes/vx-freedom-4-12x40-cds-30mm

That's the model I really, really wanted to get my hands on. I wanted to see if the 30mm tube made a difference, if the "Tri-MOA" reticle was too busy as some people think so and how the turret adjustments were.

It was definitely the brightest, most clear of the one I played with. Glare was as good as the rest of the Leupold's which is a testament to their coatings. The reticle is a little cluttered near the cross hairs, but not too bad, I liked it better than any of their other reticles. It also has the parallax adjustment I wanted. The turret adjustments are very positive, and the CDS turret is icing on the cake.

Told him to ring my happy *** up!

The CDS turret wasn't something I really wanted, but they don't make an otherwise similar model without it and it is nice. It'll pair nicely with the Sig Sauer Kilo 2000 I also picked up while I was there if nothing else.

It's good glass, and alot of features in a very handy lightweight package for right at $500. It's far and away the nicest glass I own currently.