Looking to get a Leupold VX-R 3-9x40mm FireDot Duplex reticle scope.

It would go on my DDM4V11 16" with SD3g trigger.

I actually would prefer the VX-R 4-12x40mm, but I dont think I would like the Ballistic Reticle due to the thick crosshair and circle around the red dot.

Opinions on glass quality, like/dislike the illuminated reticle, etc?

Thanks!

I've had one of the 1.25-4 VX-R's on my Noveske for years.



Damn good scope for the price. Honestly I think I like it more than my Nightforce 1-4

love mine

Thanks for the reply.

Which firedot reticle came with your VXR?  Any particle reticle do you think you would prefer?

Glass quality about equal to the Nightforce??

Whch VXR do you have and which reticle?

I own this VX-R Patrol 3-9 TMR Firedot mounted in an ADM QD mount on my 16" 5.56 AR. I love it.

It's my first magnified optic, so I'm afraid I don't have a ton of experience to compare it to. Glass looks great to my novice eyes. I knew I wanted a milling reticle when I was shopping because the optic may someday ride on a .308 I don't own yet so a BDC wouldn't transfer well. Also really wanted illumination and cannot find anything lacking in that Firedot TMR reticle. Absolutely perfect for my needs. Would have dumped the extra $ on a 2-12 VX-6 if that reticle had been an option and I don't regret getting what I did. Mil dots + a little experience and a dote book can accomplish the same thing as a BDC and more.

My main surprises where all positive when I took it out for a spin. Close range shooting was more natural than I'd feared: 3x is a little more magnification than I'd prefer up close, but the Firedot + both eyes open really didn't change my par times any noticeable degree. Rifle handles a little top-heavy after getting used to my Aimpoint. I did sometimes lose the dot when shooting odd positions, but tightening up my focus on a solid cheek weld fixed that problem. I actually started using the optic in dry practice because it makes me tighten up my form. At 9x I can usually spot my own hits at 100 yards: maybe that's no great feat, but since it was my first glass I was pretty thrilled. Also pretty happy about the mounts return to zero: fired a 10 round group from 100 yards removing/reinstalling the scope between each shot and holding the rifle differently while remounting it each time: group size was consistent with any other group it shot that day.

Hope my experiences help somewhat. Be happy to help answer any other questions if I can.

I have just the firedot 4-12x.  I love it. the best way to describe it is that  its a 12x aimpoint.

just think about it, a 12x aimpoint.

 
TMR


Got it cause I hate learning new reticles and my LTR has a TMR on it


Glass isn't better than the nightforce

I've had a Vxr patrol in my 16" ar15 for a year or so and love it!   I recently bought a Vxr 2-7 for my new ar10 deer rifle so far live that one too!

Thanks a lot for all the feedback guys!

Wasnt considering the Patrol at first, but I'll look into it now.

I have a .308 Savage in which the TMR reticle would work out great with.  Currently have a 3-9x Nikon that came with the 116 Savage package.

I have a 3-9 on my 6.8, great scope, good glass. Only thing I wish was it had capped turrets, but the turrets do have a great feel. I'd buy it again.

Have a 2-7 love that scope...with it's capped turrets

I have a VX-R Patrol wit the Firedot SPR reticle.  Excellent glass quality, and a good reticle for a working, practical rifle.  Combined with it's lightweight, it's my favorite for a duty rifle.

The reticle sucks for 3-Gun though.

The Leupold VX-R 30mm scopes are probably the best all around scope and best bang for the buck for use on an AR-15.

The 1.25-4 or 1.5-5 magnification allows you to dial down the magnification and turn on the illumination for short range combat style shooting doubling as a red dot.

For fine accuracy at longer ranges simply turn the illumination way down or off and dial up the magnification for precision work.

Great eye relief and motion sensing battery technology makes for a screaming deal. You get an excellent scope and mounted for around $600.

Very happy with my Patrol.  Agree with all above observations.  Larue LT-104 mount and mated with an offset mini reflex for the close in stuff.  Get Leupold's metal screw in fold flat Alumina lens caps.  They are much better than the plastic crap out there.

Take a look at the accupowers as well. I have both the VX-R 3-9x40 and the accupower 3-9x40 and I perfer the accupower. Built tougher,  better reticle, built in power lever.

How is the reticle better than combination of accurately marked MRAD turrets and matching TMR MRAD reticle with motiion activated .3mil Firedot? How is it tougher with a 1" main tube vs thicker 30mm?

As an owner of 4 leupold scopes (CQBSS H27, VX-6 3-18x44, VX-R 3-9x40, Redfield 2-7x33) I'm a leupold fan, but I'm sorry bud I perfer the accupower to the VX-R. The OP asked about the VX-R not VX-R the patrol. The TMR is only offered in the patrol. So if you wanna talk about the patrol, me personally I wouldn't consider a scope with exposed turrets without at least one of the following, zero stop, locking turrets or second rev indicator. Just too easy for those turrets to get bumped and cause you to get lost in the turret, especially on a turret with knurling on it like the VX-R patrol. In this price range your not going to get those features, and still get good glass so I'd rather have capped turrets. With the VX-R (non patrol) the turrets don't even zero out leupold puts that golden washer underneath the dail that has a slit in it and you move the slit to line up with the zero, but the washer on mine moves during shooting so I don't like that system. The turrets on the accupower  can be lifted then spun freely onto zero and pushed back down. However I still perfer the MOA reticle in the accupower I have to the TMR, and its much better than the LRV in my VX-R.  ...cont.->

Dupe

Dupe

I also have the VX-R Patrol with Firedot and aluminum Leupold caps, and am very happy with it so far.  I've only had it out to the range a few times, but it does what I bought it for very well--and I think they are lighter than a lot of comparable optics.

Yes, how is that 1" main tube more rugged?  

I guess my experience with the  Patrol is different than your experience.  In three years the illumination has never flickered or changed intensity unless I purposefully adjusted it.  A dial would probably not work with the turret location of the battery, motion activation curcuit,  emitter diode and fiber optic tube all there together.  Seems like there would not be sufficient space.  The buttons work fine.

The turrets have a full 6 mils per rotation, so I've never had to pass zero to get to 700 yards, which is as far as one can shoot a 5.56 before it goes subsonic, anyway.  I'm not losing track of where I am, like I might with a 5 mil per rotation turret passing zero to reach a holdover.  I do understand your point about inadvertent movement of exposed turrets.  That did not happen to me. But, as a precaution, I removed each turret cap and attached a small strip of Velcro felt to the inside circumference of the cap and replaced it.  That creates quite a bit of extra friction. They are still adjustable, but require considerably more effort, while still being able to feel each .1 mil click.  I just don't see a need for zero stop with turrets that get you where you need to be without passing zero.  I've never needed a cat tail power ring on any of my scopes (about two dozen at the moment from many different manufacturers) but there are aftermarket ones available for those who desire that.

OP asked about 3-9x40mm VX-R Firedot scopes.  The Patrol is one of them.  The TMR reticle is MRAD like the Patrol's turrets and works well.  The .3 mil (1 MOA) motion activated dot is a unique feature that really makes sense for me.  No fuss, always ready with no button or knob to activate it.  A medium intensity setting is pretty much set and forget, anyway, except for adjusting down for very low light or for the rare condition when full noon sunlight bright  is needed.  It can easily be made that bright.  Useful even in bright light if the background is a dark structure that would have little or no contrast to the reticle stadia.

I think we just have different ideas of what we are looking for in a midpowered illuminated optic.  That's good and does not make one of us wrong.

The velcro mod on the turrets you say? Sounds like some rugged mil spec stuff right there.

Yes I'm aware that you're trying whole heartedly to draw me into a 30mm vs 1in debate. I've told you that I own both scopes, if you don't want to listen to my opinion or don't agree with it that's cool. I'm glad you have your own opinions on optics as well.  Have you handled or shoot with a trijicon accupower, ever seen one in person even? I don't think me stating my opinion that the accupower is more rugged is that unbelievable or even unexpected.  Given that leupold is most known for making lightweight hunting scopes at a price point which is what all VX series scopes are, including the VX-R,  and trijicon is known most known for making mil spec combat optics such as the ACOG.

They're also known for making absolute turds like the SRS.

Not everything is an ACOG.

VCOG is a flop as well in most circles. And, yes, 1" main tubes are thinner and weaker.  Don't have to try hard.  Making a turret a little harder to turn with friction (felt) simoly works.  Could use rubber as well.  And claiming that hunting scopes don't have to be rugged is not a winning argument.  If you've spent much time in remote locations in difficult terrain and bad weather, you'd know that.  Is the Accupower used by any combat units?

Again do you have any experience with the accupower?  Yeah, yeah, the main tube the illumination system isn't as good, nor is reticle, the turrets have velcro in them, the power ring isn't as nice, the glass isn't either, but, but, but the main tube, the main tube.

Sucks when you buy something and then they come out with something better, but its bound to happen.

I can't do much commenting on either.  But....

That post tickles me...lol.

Ran out of quotation limits on the above, but here is where I think we are:

In other words, Roamin simply declines to answer my questions and bases his decision primarily on personal preferences.  That's fine, but hardly objective.  I find that a bit humorous, too. I have, indeed, carefully examined and looked through several  Accupower scopes with some interest in considering a purchase..  The experience did not impress me for the factors that matter to me. So, I did not buy.

While I found the glass quite clear, it was no more so than that used in VX-R scopes.  I did not find it to be optically brighter. Ilya Koskin, (Optics Thoughts) highly respected in use of very sophisticated optics evaluation and comparison testing, recently compared the VX-R glass on a 4-12x40  to some several competitive scopes (Vortex Razor HD and Zeiss Conquest among them)  and was very impressed.  I agree.  

Yes,I don't like the 1" tube.  Thicker 30mm tube will be stronger.  I did not like the turrets.  Unless they have been changed, the turret adjusters are plastic! That is a part subject to friction and wear.   I needed exposed MRAD turrets for this application, so I could read the mil markings and dial elevation.  I typically dial elevation and use the reticle for hold offs if time permits.

I did not like the reticle, a personal choice.  I admit that some of this is subjective.  The motion activated perfectly round FireDot is a better choice for me.  The same motion activated button control  system has proven to pass military durability standards in the DeltaPoint Pro which is being evaluated as one of the final choices to replace EoTechs.  

The Accupower simply does not ring any bells for me.  It's a good scope, but not for what I need. On the other hand, Leupold 's very innovative FireDot reticle, put in in a stronger 30mm main tube scope with exposed turrets (and no plastic adjusters) and the quality of the glass did impress me.   It may not be a Mark 4 or Mark 6, or a duty grade NF in the "drag it against the rocks in the mountains of Afghanistan", sense, (nor do I think the Accupower is) but it really works for me at the $600 price point.  I didn't mind stiffening up the turret caps internally with a strip of felt for added friction, although they really did not need it. At least it is inside a metal and the adjuster against which it makes contact is not plastic.

Actually I did anwser your questions and I was very upfront with you about me basing my opions on experience with both scopes I made no mystery of this. Pehaps you should flip back to the 18th and 19th posts in the thread where I took the time to post a long summary of my reasons for my preference to the accupower over the vxr. I'm not sure if you're not acknowledging the answers I've already given you to intentionally be rude or.......??????

I'm mearly trying to give product advice to a fellow ARF.com member to the best of my ability to help another get the absolute most out of hard earned $$$ and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that and I will not apologize for it.

Bellow is a quote from another post where I had answered your questions,  yesterday.

Now if you'll allow me to excuse myself from this lame debate, I'll even let you have the last word.

"...cont.... I'm not an engineer,  I suspect nor are you, however from shooting with and handling both my VX-R and accupower there is zero doubt in my mind that the accupower is more rugged but that's not to say the VX-R is overly fragile."

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I know, right? lol!

Thanks guys. You all confirmed my desire to get 3-9 patrols for my SPR and R700 in .308Win. I appreciate you guys.

You did well, sir.

VX-R 2X7 on my White Oak SPR. Perfect low end and high end and the VX-R line is long over due from Leupold. Actually affordable and I do like 30 mm tubes.

Thanks for all the feedback.

I ended up ordering the Leup VX-R 3-9x Patrol with the TMR reticle.

9x @ 250yds





Trijicon Accupoint 3-9x


The reviewer did say there was no distinguishable difference in clarity and brightness between the leup and trijicon 3-9x.
http://forum.snipershide.info/showthread.php?t=95010  Sorry for cross-referencing another forum.

Maybe its just me but the picture of the Leupold makes the glass quality and light transmission look light years ahead of the Trijicon. FWIW anyways. I wish my thread on the Leupold would have gotten this much attention. All of this information was what I was looking for.

Or perhaps the sun when behind a cloud in between shots or the exposure settings the camera where changed. Even when I mount my PVS14 behind the scope I notice no real difference in light transmission, you'd think poor light transmission would stick out like a sore thumb with nightvision.

Or, perhaps, you might simply be mistaken about the light transmission and contrast properties of the VX-R.  It's ok, really.  Even if one accounts for possible differences in the ambient light that might not be fair to the Trijicon, the sharp, bright image, the full range of accurate color, the virtual absence of CA, and the amazing contrast in the photos of the VX-R speak for themselves. Again, not knocking the other scope, merely pointing out the obvious regarding the optical performance of the VX-R in the photos of it.

Since we're referencing another forum here in which a review and comparison of these two optics was done maybe the original reviewers thoughts would be of value.


"We could not distinguish any difference in brightness or clarity between the Firedot 3-9x40 and the Accupoint 3-9x40."

"I wouldnt judge optical image quality with the camera pics
To hard to get it right
Pix are more for reticles"

MS556 I've stated that I thought there was something obscure about the pics of the accupoint and VX-R posted above and it seems that the owner of the pics agrees with me. In the pic of the VX-R there are sandbags or something that appear to be supporting the scope however they are also blocking ambient light from around the scope. This could serve to make the camera automatically use more sensitive light settings which could explain why we are seeing such a difference, in combination with the sun set/rise time of day that the vxr pic was taken.

The Trijicon glass can be beaten pretty badly by a Leupold however its gonna cost you a lot more $$$$ than you paid for your VX-R. Leupold has glass that will do it but they'll charge you for it. Trijicon is not known for poor glass quality don't kid yourself into thinking that one of their products can be smoked by another product in the same price range. Here's a pic of my Leupold Mark 8 CQBSS this is a $3, 500 scope and yes it has better glass than the trijicon and if you want that significant of a difference in performance that's what it going to take. Followed by a pic of the accupower. I took these with my phone and so neither pic is representative of the glass quality of either scope but I feel they do represent the difference of how far apart the scopes are.


CQBSS ^^^^


Accupower ^^^

I believe we now agree that the VX-R has glass at LEAST as good as the Accupower.  Thank you, Roamin,  for finally backhandedly conceding the point by the source you quote.

No thank you for your budget suggestion of the velcro in the turret mod. I may need to use that one day on the CQBSS.

Also I don't approve you putting words in my mouth here, especially in this smart alec kinda way.

Really?  Are you here to merely argue?  Do you have anything more to offer regarding the actual subject of this thread?  Sorry your source agrees with us that the accupower glass is no better tban VX-R.

Maybe you can come back when Trijicon offers motion activation to the illumination in the Accupower so we can discuss which company does a better job with that feature.

For those still following us, Firedot, is, as far as I know, unique in the industry for daylight bright (when needed) motion activated, always ready, rapid on target illumination.  It dramatically extends battery life while still being left on and ready.  I'm at over three and a half years now on the original battery.

Original battery huh, that's great just great. So do you change the velcro when you change the battery or does it last longer?

Sorry I did not introduce that source to this thread and thus that's not my source. Again you're changing details to suit you're argument. I'm not here to agrue but you need to learn to allow others to state their opions w/o changing facts around to discredit their opinion when they don't share the same ideas you do.

OP made his choice, and the childish arguement continues