Description
Rifle Scope Product Details
Leupold VX-3i 6.5-20x40mm Riflescope, Matte Black (170885)
Purpose built with the target shooter in mind, the VX-3i 6.5-20×40 EFR is guaranteed to tighten your groups. With easy-to-turn target dials and an extremely close-focus adjustment, that X-ring doesn’t stand a chance. What do hunters want most in a scope Plain and simple; outstanding performance in low-light conditions and an incredibly tough, lightweight design. The VX-3i delivers this and more. Our Twilight Max Light Management System lets you see details others can’t in those crucial low-light situations at the beginning and the end of the day. Everything we put into the VX-3i is there to help you tag out.
Rifle Scope Product Features
Model #170885 – VX-3i 6.5-20x40mm with Fine Duplex CDS reticle and Matte finish
100% Waterproof, fogproof, and shockproof.
CDS (Custom Dial System) – Simplifies longer shots by eliminating the need for holdovers or ballistic calculations, by using a dial that is customized to your rifle and ammo
DiamondCoat 2 – Ion-assist lens coating for higher light transmission and the greatest level of abrasion resistance
Precision 1/4 MOA finger click adjustments for windage and elevation offer absolute repeatability and dependability over a lifetime of extreme use
Sport type: Hunting
VX-3i 6.5-20x40mm
Magnification Range: 6.5x-20x
Weight: 17.8 oz.
Length: 14.5 in.
Maintube Diameter: 1 inch
Eye Relief (in) – Low: 5
Eye Relief (in) – High: 3.7
Linear FOV (ft/100 yd) – Low: 14.3
Linear FOV (ft/100 yd) – High: 5.6
Leupold VX-3i
Relentless Performance
Purpose built with the target shooter in mind, the VX-3i 6.5-20×40 EFR is guaranteed to tighten your groups. With easy-to-turn target dials and an extremely close-focus adjustment, that X-ring doesn’t stand a chance. The VX-3i delivers outstanding performance in low-light conditions in an incredibly tough, lightweight design. Our Twilight Max Light Management System lets you see details others can’t in those crucial low-light situations at the beginning and the end of the day.
Lightweight, rugged performance
Unparalleled low light performance
Designed, machined, & assembled in the USA
Twilight Max Light Management System
See a more vivid, bright, and clear target image in a wider variation of low and bright lighting conditions. The combination premium edge-to-edge lens clarity, full visible-spectrum lens coatings and glare management provides an extra 20 minutes of shooting light.
Twilight Max Light Management System
Free CDS Elevation Dial
Designed, Machined, & Assembled in the USA
Rugged Reliability
Proprietary gas blend and seals are tested by us to a 33-foot depth and a multitude of pressure changes.
Every Leupold riflescope is designed to survive a minimum of 5,000 impacts on the Punisher, Leupold’s recoil simulation machine. The force of each impact is 3x the recoil of a .308 rifle.
All Leupold riflescopes are tested by us to perform from -40F to 160F.
VX-Freedom VX-R VX-3i VX-5HD VX-6HD
Light Management System Twilight Twilight Twilight Max Twilight Max HD Twilight Max HD
Maintube Size 1 inch 30mm 1 inch, 30mm 30mm, 34mm 30mm, 34mm
Zoom Ratio 3:1 3:1 3:1 5:1 6:1
HD Glass No No No Yes Yes
About the Leupold Manufacturer
Leupold is a premium company for rifle scopes, optics, mounting solutions, and other add-ons used for firearms like rifles and long guns. They innovate and build their scopes and related products by making the most of elements which are durable and long lasting. This includes the Leupold VX-3i 6.5-20x40mm Riflescope, Matte Black (170885) by Leupold. For more shooting products, visit their website.
What You Need to Know About Glass
Rifle scopes enable you to exactly align a rifle at various targets by aligning your eye with the target at range. They do this through magnifying the target by employing a set of lenses inside the scope. The scope’s positioning can be adapted for the consideration of numerous environmental things like wind and elevation decreases to account for bullet drop.
The scope’s function is to help shooters understand precisely where the bullet will hit based on the sight picture you are seeing using the optic as you align the scope’s crosshair or reticle with the intended target. Many contemporary rifle scopes and optics have around 11 parts which are arranged internally and externally on the scope body. These parts consist of the rifle scope’s body, lenses, windage and elevation dials or turrets, focus rings, and other elements. See all eleven parts of a rifle optical system.
Rifle Optic Types
Rifle scopes can be either “first focal plane” or “second focal plane” type of scopes. Finding the optimal type of rifle scope is based around what type of shooting you plan to do.
First Focal Plane Scope Info
Focal plane scopes (FFP) feature the reticle in front of the zoom lens. These kinds of scopes are helpful for:
- Quick acquisition, long distance types of shooting
- Shooting situations where calculations are small
- Experienced shooters who know their aim point “hold over” as well as “lead” relationships for their weapon
- Shooters who do not mind the reticle is bigger and uses up more visual sight room than a SFP reticle
Second Focal Plane Optic Facts
Second focal plane scopes (SFP) feature the reticle to the rear of the zoom lens. In the FFP example with the SFP scope, the 5x “zoom” one hundred yard tick would be 1/5th of the non “zoom” tick reticle measurement.
- Long distance forms of shooting where shooters have additional time to make ballistic computations
- Shooting where most shots happen within much shorter ranges and distances
- Shooters who prefer a clearer optic picture without room used up by the bigger FFP reticle
Ins and Outs of Scope Magnification
The amount of scope magnification you need on your scope is based on the type of shooting you want to do. Virtually every style of rifle optic delivers some level of magnification. The quantity of magnification a scope delivers is identified by the dimension, thickness, and curvatures of the lens glass within the rifle optic. The zoom of the optic is the “power” of the scope. This suggests what the shooter is checking out through the scope is amplified times the power element of what can usually be seen by human eyes.
Fixed Power Lens Rifle Scopes
A single power rifle scope comes with a zoom number designator like 4×32. This implies the zoom power of the scope is 4x power and the objective lens is 32mm. The magnification of this kind of optic can not fluctuate because it is a fixed power optic.
Adjustable Power Lens Optics
Variable power rifle scopes use variable power levels. The power adjustment is handled by using the power ring part of the scope near the rear of the scope by the eye bell.
Power and Range
Here are some recommended scope power settings and the ranges where they may be successfully used. Bear in mind that higher magnification optics will not be as efficient as lower powered scopes because excessive magnification can be a bad thing. The exact same idea goes for extended ranges where the shooter needs to have sufficient power to see precisely where to properly aim the rifle.
Lens Covering for Rifle Glass
All top of the line rifle scope and optic lenses are layered. Lens coating is a vital aspect of a rifle system when purchasing high end rifle optics and scope systems.
HD Versus ED Lenses
Some scope manufacturers likewise use “HD” or high-definition lens coatings which use different methods, chemicals, aspects, and polarizations to draw out a wide range of colors and viewable definition through the lens. Some scope manufacturers use “HD” to refer to “ED” implying extra-low dispersion glass.
Optic Lens Single Coating Versus Multi-Coating
Different optic lenses can likewise have different finishes applied to them. All lenses normally have at least some type of treatment or covering applied to them before they are used in a rifle scope or optic.
This lens treatment can protect the lens from scratches while decreasing glare and other less useful things experienced in the shooting environment while sighting in with the scope. The quality of a single layered lens depends on the scope maker and how much you paid for it.
Some scope producers also make it a point to specify if their optic lenses are layered or “multi” coated. Being “better” depends on the producer’s lens treatment innovation and the quality of materials used in constructing the rifle scope.
Hydrophobic Finish for Rifle Optics
Water on an optical lens doesn’t help with preserving a clear sight picture through a scope at all. Many top of the line and high-end optic producers will coat their lenses with a hydrophilic or hydrophobic coating. The Steiner Optics Nano-Protection is a fine example of this type of treatment. It provides protection for the exterior of the Steiner optic lens so the water molecules can not bind to it or produce surface tension. The outcome is that the water beads move off of the scope to maintain a clear, water free sight picture.
Alternatives for Mounting Glass on Firearms
Mounting approaches for scopes are available in a few choices. There are the standard scope rings which are separately mounted to the scope and one-piece scope mounts which cradle the scope. These different types of mounts also generally can be found in quick release versions which use manual levers which enable rifle operators to rapidly install and dismount the scope.
Hex Key Rifle Optic Rings
Standard, clamp-on type mounting scope rings use hex head screws to position to the flattop design Picatinny scope mount rails on the tops of rifles. These varieties of scope mounts use a pair of detached rings to support the scope, and are made from 7075 T6 billet aluminum or similar materials which are designed for long distance precision shooting. This kind of scope mount is excellent for rifle systems which are in need of a resilient, hard use mount which will not move despite just how much the scope is moved about or jarring the rifle takes. These are the type of mounts you want for a dedicated scope system on a far away scouting or hard target interdiction firearm which will rarely need to be modified or adjusted. Blue 242 Loctite threadlocker can additionally be used on the screws to protect against the hex screws from wiggling out after they are mounted securely in position. An example of these rings are the 30mm type made by the Vortex Optics company. The set typically costs around $200 USD
Quick-Release Cantilever Rifle Scope Rings
These types of quick-release rifle scope mounts can be used to quickly attach and take off a scope from a rifle before reattaching it to a different rifle. Numerous scopes can even be switched out if they all use a compatible style mount. These types of mounts are convenient for long guns which are carried a lot, to swap out the optic from the rifle for protection, or for optics which are used in between numerous rifles.
What to Know About Optic Tube Sealing and Gas Purging
Wetness inside your rifle scope can mess up a day of shooting and your costly optic by causing fogging and developing residue inside of the scope tube. A lot of scopes avoid wetness from entering the scope tube with a system of sealing O-rings which are waterproof.
Info Around Rifle Scope Tube Gas Purging
Another element of avoiding the accumulation of wetness within the rifle optic’s tube is filling the tube with a gas like nitrogen. Considering that this area is currently taken up by the gas, the scope is less impacted by condition alterations and pressure differences from the external environment which could possibly enable water vapor to seep in around the seals to fill the vacuum which would otherwise exist. These are good qualities of a decent rifle scope to look for.
