Description
Last update on July 4, 2022 // Source: Amazon API
Rifle Scope Product Details
Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x56mm Riflescope
Rifle Scope Product Features
About this item
Model #171390 – VX-5HD 3-15x56mm with Illum. FireDot Duplex CDS reticle and Matte finish
100% Waterproof, fogproof, and shockproof.
ZeroLock CDS-ZL2 (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
Twilight Max HD Light Management system – Adds up to 30 minutes of shooting light, best in class glare reduction, and edge to edge HD lens clarity
Illuminated Reticle, ideal for lowlight conditions, with Motion Sensor Technology – Automatically deactivates after 5 minutes of inactivity, yet reactivates instantly with movement for increased battery life
Sport type: Hunting
VX-5HD 3-15x56mm
Magnification Range: 3x-15x
Weight: 22.3 oz.
Length: 13.58 in.
Maintube Diameter: 30mm
Eye Relief (in) – Low: 3.7
Eye Relief (in) – High: 3.82
Linear FOV (ft/100 yd) – Low: 38.3
Linear FOV (ft/100 yd) – High: 7.7
Leupold VX-5HD
Relentless Performance
Let there be light! VX-5HD 3-15×56 gives you all of the flexibility of its 44mm counterpart, but with the 56mm objective bell, it maximizes as much exit pupil light as your eye can handle. From the mountains, to the open plains, to range day, this scope has the ability to dominate them all. The VX-5HD defines relentless versatility. Its wide magnification ranges give hunters and shooters the ability to adapt to any environment. Rugged and reliable, the VX-5HD is ready for your next adventure.
Lightweight, rugged performance
Unparalleled low light performance
Designed, machined, & assembled in the USA
Twilight Max HD Light Management System
Representing the pinnacle of our in-house lens design, the Twilight Max HD systemis built to deliver unbelieveable image quality in the harshest of lighting conditions.
Twilight Max HD Light Management System
Free CDS Elevation Dial
Designed, Machined, & Assembled in the USA
Rugged Reliability
Proprietary gas blend and seals are tested 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 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 long gun scopes, optics, mounts, and other components used for guns like rifles and long guns. They design and manufacture their scopes and related products by using materials which are resilient and long lasting. This includes the Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x56mm Riflescope by Leupold. For additional shooting products, visit their website.
Optic Details
Rifle scopes permit you to specifically align a rifle at various targets by lining up your eye with the target over a range. They do this through magnifying the target by employing a series of lenses within the scope. The scope’s alignment can be dialed in to account for many natural elements like wind speed and elevation decreases to make up for bullet drop.
The scope’s purpose is to help shooters understand precisely where the bullet will hit based upon the sight picture you are viewing using the optic as you line up the scope’s crosshair or reticle with the intended target. A lot of modern-day rifle scopes and optics have about 11 parts which are located within and externally on the scope body. These parts consist of the rifle scope’s body, lenses, modification dials or turrets, objective focus rings, and other components. Learn about the eleven parts of rifle scopes.
Rifle Glass Types
Rifle scopes can be either “first focal plane” or “second focal plane” kind of scopes. The kind of focal plane an optic has determines where the reticle or crosshair is located in relation to the optic’s zoom. It literally implies the reticle is behind or before the magnification lens of the optic. Picking the most ideal sort of rifle optic is based upon what kind of hunting or shooting you plan on doing.
Info About First Focal Plane Optics
Focal plane scopes (FFP) come with the reticle in front of the zoom lens. This triggers the reticle to increase in size based on the level of magnification being used. The result is that the reticle measurements are the same at the magnified range as they are at the non amplified range. For instance, one tick on a mil-dot reticle at one hundred yards without having “zoom” is still the corresponding tick at one hundred yards using 5x “zoom”. These kinds of scopes are useful for:
- Quick acquisition, far away kinds of shooting
- Shooting circumstances where computations are small
- Experienced shooters who know their aim point “hold over” and also “lead” equations for their rifles
- Shooters who do not mind the reticle is enlarged and requires more visual eyesight space than a SFP reticle
About Second Focal Plane Scopes
Second focal plane glass (SFP) come with the reticle behind the zoom lens. This induces the reticle to stay at the very same size in relation to the volume of magnification being used. The result is that the reticle measurements adjust based on the zoom employed to shoot over greater ranges since the reticle measurements represent various increments which can vary with the zoom. In the FFP example with the SFP scope, the 5x “zoom” one hundred yard tick measurement would be 1/5th of the non “zoom” tick reticle measurement. These varieties of optics work for:
- Far away forms of shooting where shooters have extra time to make ballistic estimations
- Shooting where most of the shots happen within much shorter spaces and ranges
- Shooters who desire a clearer optic picture with less space taken up by the enlarged FFP reticle
Details on Rifle Glass Zoom
The level of scope magnification you need on your glass depends on the type of shooting you desire to do. Virtually every type of rifle glass supplies some level of magnification. The volume of magnification a scope gives is established by the diameter, thickness, and curves of the lens glass inside of the rifle optic. The magnification of the optic is the “power” of the scope. This implies what the shooter is observing through the scope is amplified times the power aspect of what can normally be seen by human eyes.
Fixed Single Power Lens Rifle Optics
A single power rifle optic or scope will have a zoom number designator like 4×32. This means the magnification power of the scope is 4x power and the objective lens is 32mm. The zoom of this type of optic can not fluctuate given that it is a fixed power optic.
About Variable Power Lens Rifle Optics
Variable power rifle scopes use variable power levels. The power adjustment is performed using the power ring part of the scope near the back of the scope by the eye bell.
Power and Range
Here are some advised scope power levels and the distances where they could be effectively used. Consider that high magnification scopes and optics will not be as practical as lower powered optics since too much zoom can be a bad thing. The exact same concept applies to extended ranges where the shooter needs to have increased power to see where to best aim the rifle at the target.
Info on Rifle Glass Lens Coating
All modern-day rifle scope lenses are coated. There are different types and qualities of lens coverings. When thinking about high end rifle targeting systems, Lens covering can be a critical component of defining the rifle’s capability. The lenses are one of the most important parts of the scope due to the fact that they are what your eye sees through while sighting a rifle in on the target. The covering on the lenses offers protection to the lens surface and also improves anti glare from refracted sunlight and color visibility.
HD Versus ED Lens Coatings
Some scope makers likewise use “HD” or high-definition lens coatings which use different procedures, chemicals, components, and polarizations to draw out a wide range of colors and viewable definition through the lens. Some scope producers use “HD” to refer to “ED” meaning extra-low dispersion glass.
Single Finishing Versus Multi-Coating for Rifle Scopes
Different optic lenses can also have different finishings applied to them. All lenses generally have at least some type of treatment or coating used to them prior to being used in a rifle scope or optic.
This lens treatment can safeguard the lens from scratches while lowering glare and other less beneficial things experienced in the shooting environment while sighting in with the scope. The quality of a single layered lens depends on the scope producer and how much you paid for it.
Some scope producers similarly make it a point to define if their optic lenses are covered or “multi” covered. Being “better” depends on the producer’s lens treatment technology and the quality of materials used in building the rifle scope.
Rifle Glass Lens Hydrophobic Finishing
Water on a lens doesn’t assist with preserving a clear sight picture through a scope at all. Numerous top of the line and military grade scope makers will coat their lenses with a hydrophobic or hydrophilic finishing.
Rifle Scope Installing Alternatives
Installing approaches for scopes are available in a couple of choices. There are the standard scope rings which are separately mounted to the optic and one-piece scope mounts which cradle the scope. These different types of mounts also typically come in quick release versions which use toss levers which permit rifle shooters to rapidly mount and dismount the scope.
Rifle Glass Mounting Solutions with Hex Key Rings
Standard, clamp style mounting scope rings use hex head screws to mount to the flattop style Picatinny scope mount rails on rifles. These types of scope mounts use a couple of different rings to support the optic, and are often made from 7075 T6 billet aluminum which is designed for long range accuracy shooting. This type of scope mount is excellent for rifles which need a resilient, sound mount which will not move no matter how much the scope is moved or abuse the rifle takes.
Quick-Release Cantilever Rifle Scope Ring Mounting Solutions
These types of quick-release rifle scope mounts can be used to quickly take off a scope from a rifle and reattach it to a different rifle. Several scopes can also be switched out if they all use a similar designed mount. The quick detach design is CNC crafted from anodized 6061 T6 aluminum and the mounting levers attach solidly to a flat top style Picatinny rail. This allows the scope to be sighted in while on the rifle, taken off of the rifle, and remounted back on the rifle while keeping the original sighting settings. These types of mounts are useful and beneficial for shooting platforms which are shipped a lot, to remove the glass from the rifle for protection, or for optics which are chosen for use between a number of rifles. An example of this mount style is the 30mm mount from the Vortex Optics brand. It generally costs around $250 USD
Rifle Glass Tube Sealing and Gas Purging
Moisture inside your rifle optic can destroy a day of shooting and your expensive optic by triggering fogging and creating residue inside of the scope tube. Most scopes avoid moisture from going into the scope tube with a system of sealing O-rings which are waterproof.
Glass Gas Purging
Another part of preventing the buildup of moisture inside of the rifle scope’s tube is filling the tube with a gas like nitrogen. Given that this space is currently occupied by the gas, the scope is less altered by climate changes and pressure variations from the external environment which could potentially permit water vapor to leak in around the seals to fill the void which would otherwise exist. These are good qualities of a good rifle scope to look for.
