question about AO on Leupold vx-III

[mbuck]

I have the opportunity to purchase a leupold vx-III 4.5-14x50mm scope, B&C reticle, at a very good price. i'm not in love with the B&C reticle, but it will work. I've been looking at scopes for some time, and the 4.5-14 power is exactly what I'd like.

its going to sit on top of a 6.5x55. The rifle is to be used for hunting purposes - varmints up to deer - at short to mid-range distances (500 or less). In addition, i like punching paper or knocking over targets a little as well.

this scope does not have an AO on it. Most of my scopes are 3-9's, or 3-10's, so I've never had a real need for AO.

Am I going to miss out by not having the AO with a 14 power scope? i'm going to buy the scope - its new in box and for the price i simply can't pass on it. the question is whether i put it on this rifle for its intended purposes.

i'd appreciate any comments on the need for an AO with a 14 power scope.

[Jamie6.5]

As long as it has a parallax adjustment on it you're good to go. AO isn't the only way to achieve that. The ads for it Ive seen say it is a "side focus/parallax adjustment."

Hope that helps.

[J E Custom]

Originally Posted by mbuck

I have the opportunity to purchase a leupold vx-III 4.5-14x50mm scope, B&C reticle, at a very good price. i'm not in love with the B&C reticle, but it will work. I've been looking at scopes for some time, and the 4.5-14 power is exactly what I'd like.

its going to sit on top of a 6.5x55. The rifle is to be used for hunting purposes - varmints up to deer - at short to mid-range distances (500 or less). In addition, i like punching paper or knocking over targets a little as well.

this scope does not have an AO on it. Most of my scopes are 3-9's, or 3-10's, so I've never had a real need for AO.

Am I going to miss out by not having the AO with a 14 power scope? i'm going to buy the scope - its new in box and for the price i simply can't pass on it. the question is whether i put it on this rifle for its intended purposes.

i'd appreciate any comments on the need for an AO with a 14 power scope.

I prefer the side focus over the AO system .It is faster and I can adjust the scope for maximum
clarity and if it has side focus it has a 30mm tube .

J E CUSTOM

[MachV]

I've got that same scope and though I prefer a side focus the lack of adjustment only means you have to have a consistant check weld on the stock. On the bench it works great but under field conditions its a little trickier!

[Moman]

I'm with J E on this one. I like that scope with the 30 mm tube and side focus. Recently, Leupold has made some improvements to the erector and lense coating on this series calling it the VX-3 instead of the VX-III. The one inch tubes were upgraded to a dual spring erector system, the 30 mm already had it. If this is a 30 mm tube, you should be alright. If it's the one inch tube, I would make sure it's the new series of VX-3's with the upgraded system.

[CS T]

The Leupold 4.5-14x VX-3 do not a AO or side parallax unless they are the Long Range models. I recommend AO / Side Focus on scopes 12x and above. For a lot of hunters they will not need the AO or Side Focus unless they are going for precision shots.

We sale a lot of Leupold and we stock a lot of the Mark 4 models.

Mike @ CSGW