Custom Leupold VX-3i 4.5-14x56mm SF Illuminated - help with reticle choice

[jp_over]

Friends,

I'm moving toward getting a custom Leupold VX-3i 4.5-14x56mm Side Focus Illuminated Reticle to increase visibility & effective shot placement during early morning and late evening pest gunning. 

This airgun (Taipan Veteran .25 standard) will only be used at 100 yards or less so I'm having the custom shop set the low end of the parallax at 10 yards; I realize this will shorten my top end some and the folks at the Leupold custom shop said they could in fact do this customization.

Here's where I'd like some advice / opinions. Any thoughts on reticles? Here are some of the choices I'm considering.

The scope can be found here:

https://www.leupold.com/scopes/compact-scopes/vx-3i-4-5-14x56mm-side-focus-illuminated-reticle

I'm still stuck between First/Front Focal Plane (FFP) and Rear/2nd Focal Plane.

* Final note, I currently have both the Leupold 6.5-20 & 3-9 EFR scopes with fine duplex reticles. The fine duplex is just too thin for my personal tastes (and old eyes!) and especially so during low light.

Thanks!

Joe

 

[tommyb]

Joe,

I have the Leupold 6.5-20X40 MM EFR scope, which I do love. I have it on my Daystate Regal Xl in .22, and I have a duplex reticle. The reticle if just OK; but truthfully I prefer hash marks or mil dots on my scope reticles, esp. for pest control and hunting. I also want to try for a new FFP scope the next time around, as this is a SFP scope.

I don't have the other Leupold reticles you show in your post, but I do like the TMR illuminated. I have really appreciated using illumination at dusk and dawn with my other UTG scope, and I do miss it on the Leupold. The mil dots look to be a bit big, and I am just wondering if that might be annoying for longer distances vs. using the hash marks on the TMR.

You will love the Leupold glass and clarity, esp. for twilight conditions or low light. Good luck, let us know what you choose and why so we can all learn.

 

[JoeWayneRhea]

Joe I've had the TMR reticle before and or me it stood for Too Many References...It was a bit distracting and I preferred the MilDot . For me personally ( and it's just the way I think I guess) too many refrencre points becomes just visual clutter after a while . I find I'm frustrated when 5 or 6 lil reference points cover a squirrels eye . If you like to have almost limitless aim points then go with the TMR . They Both are Really nice ... I struggle with it every time I deal with the custom shop ....Part of the fun I think

 

[stoti]

I have the TMR reticle on one of my Leupold scopes that I use for longer range deer hunting in the open, out West. I absolutely love it and don't find it to be too much or distracting at all. I have mil dot on one of my long range competition rigs, I like it too, it's a plain old mil dot... simple but very effective, it has worked unchanged forever! Both are great scopes. Deep down, you know which one you like better, go with it. Out to 100yds. and a lot farther, they'll both do what you need, I think it just comes down to what design you like better. I prefer the flat lines on the TMR and I also like having more reference points. You'll be happy with either one...great glass! Stoti

 

[tommyb]

To the OP...first Joe

I have tremendous respect for Joe Rhea's scope reviews and have viewed many of them a bunch of times. They were very helpful to me when I was on a loooooong research escapade for buying a new scope for my DS Regal XL, My wife would say, "what are you doing in the middle of the nigh looking at your iPAD?" She didn't know I was looking at Joe's numerous scope reviews. In fact, the Leupold 3-12X40 EFR was rated #1 in one of his You Tube reviews. Different than yours I know, but it was a Leupold.

Seriously, I may have misspoken and been a bit too fast on my comment on the mil dots being a bit too big with the Leupold you are buying. I have to say that all of those hash marks in fact may be more of a distraction than having fewer reference points, esp. when shooting small game. On my duplex reticle, that is not an issue, but I would not trust it for long hold overs greater than 35 or 40 yards either. 

In any case, you have a couple diverse view points. As Joe said, that's part of the fun in checking stuff out and seeing for yourself.

 

[jp_over]

Thanks for all the input!



Tommyb – thanks for the first hand experience. I really like my 6.5-20 as well but to be honest if I kept it I’d change the reticle. Of course, by the time I spend $200 to change the reticle I could have likely sold what I have and ordered a new custom one. Ah, decisions!

Joe – that’s a good one “Too many references!” ?. I think my mind works similarly in that too much going on in my reticle could be a distraction. I think the mil-dot might be my best choice but I’m concerned about how large the dots might appear. I do wish Leupold offered “hollow” mil dots like Nightforce does.

PS – I’ve watched many of your videos and always found them to be very professional and informative. So, from the peanut gallery, thanks!

Stoti- thanks for the input and specifically opinion on the mil dot. I keep coming back to it and really like that I can get it in a FFP.



All in all, I’m leaning towards a FFP illuminated mil-dot I think since it will keep things simple (both to my eye and in my mind) + I’ve always wanted to try FFP.

I’ll definitely post back once I 1) make a decision & 2) get the scope mounted and tested.

 

[oldsparky]

 

I have a Leupold VX 3I EFR I had the custom shop install the impact 32 MOA reticle. With the thoughts of using this in Field Target. I don't care for the reticle it is to distracting. I had a Aztec with a similar reticle that I didn't care for. I thought I would like that type reticle with better optics. so I bought a new EFR and sent it to the custom shop for a 200 dollar reticle. For my eyes it was a waste of money. 



hope that helps

 

[jp_over]

Friends,

I appreciate all the good advice and solid feedback from your experiences. After a long time on the phone speaking with several Leupold sales folks and custom shop technicians, I've made my decision and placed my order. I'm going with a custom VX-3i 3.5-10x50mm with the following modifications:

1) Side focus/parallax (available on any of the 3i models).

2) 10 yard parallax capability. I'll lose some top end / longer range but am OK with this. Also, the 10 yard parallax coupled with side focus will be very "rough" or imprecise compared to the EFR models which is exactly what I'm after. I'd like to be able to quickly shift from 10 yards parallax - 20 or 30 yards parallax. The parallax measurements on the knob won't be entirely accurate so I'll have to do some testing to get everything set up.

3) Illuminated mil dot reticle, 2nd focal plane. Since all my shooting is 100 yards or less, I don't think I'll get a great deal of use out of the FFP.

Now, it's just the very, very, very long wait! ? ? I think they said 8 weeks +.

 

[ShootistX]

Yeah Tommy,,,,, Joe Rhea is my old buddy.

This parallax thing is tricky if you're air-gunning and want a specific scope, but it doesnt parallax down to 10 yards/meters.

So heres what you do. Go buy yourself a butler creek objective end flip up cover. Drill a hole in it the size of diameter of a cigarette.

When youre out of focus at 10-15 yards just flip the cover down. Yes you will lose some light, but the focus will come into sharpness like nobodys business.

 

[ShootistX]

Oh and on a side note, The Leupold 6.5-20x40 EFR is by far and away the best scope I ever used for an airgun. I recommend it highly.