Leupold Waterproof VX-6 7-42x56mm Side Focus Rifle Scope Matte Black

My son wrote in competition F-Class about this engineering marvel here in my New Hampshire Rifleman Magazine; a Leupold VX-6 scope for Long Range Target Shooting at 600 yards and was extremely pleased with it. The VX-6 stands for 6x zoom. In one twist of the dial you can go from 7x to 42x as “clear as a bell” when you set the parallax distance with the side-focus.

https://www.leupold.com/scopes/rifle-scopes/vx-6-7-42x56mm

“Tested by and developed alongside F-Class shooters, the new 7-42x56mm delivers dead-on precision at extreme distances. With the widest field of view among competitive scopes and the TAC-MOA Plus reticle featuring an open center, it helps shooters and hunters easily locate targets when taking long-range shots.”

It is, for the money, the finest American Made long distance 7-42x56mm scopes on the market. In 3-18x42mm it is a hunters long range go-to scope but its big brother the Leupold VX-6 7-42x56mm just blows it away for competition target or game shots longer than I care to shoot or perhaps to count the antler points on several deer from say 800 yards away with a steady rest. On top is the large VX-6 3-18x42mm with a 30mm tube and below that scope is the very large VX-6 7-42×56 with a 34mm tube. It can really collect light at sunset.

At 7x it is good for say 10 yards and out to infinity with the side focus. My Weatherby Vanguard hunting rifle is a 6.5 Creedmoor with a 20 MOA ramp. This rifle/scope combo can shoot 1000 yards all day long but game killing energy for deer with this combo is at max for 600 yards. But with a laser rangefinder I can plot a precision round for large antlered Texas whitetail bucks and count antler points too when the prickly pair cactus look like mouse ears in the distance.

It is not uncommon to be set up in a blind and see deer coming in towards the hunter from many hundreds of yards away. On this hunt we will need help in determining age and scoring points, especially when there is more than one big buck to see. Either VX-6 model will be just fine. Longer shots out to 600 yards or more will lean towards the 7-42×56

For long range varmint hunters, the open center on the TMOA reticle allows you to see a ground hog or coyote aim point without obscuring the target at 800 to 1000 yards. At over $2000 for a scope it would be a fine accompaniment for sub moa 1/4 inch capable rifles or a once in a lifetime long range custom rifle costing many thousands. It’s precision elevation and windage are at 1/8 inch at 100 yards or 1 inch at 800 yards per click. This scope has dual bias erector springs for absorbing recoil. From Leupold’s website; “A powerful 6:1 zoom ratio delivers crystal clear images from edge-to-edge throughout the entire magnification range, and the Twin Bias Spring Erector System features berylium/copper alloy leaf springs and 30% more holding force to withstand the most intense recoil and abuse.”

This scope is equipped with 2nd Generation Argon/Krypton Waterproofing; A fast focus eyepiece,

“Features Leupold’s exclusive, proprietary Argon/Krypton gas blend, which nearly eliminates the effects of thermal shock, and reduces the diffusion of gases sealed inside your scope even more than our proven nitrogen technology already does.”

The TMOA Plus™ Reticle hash marks are in MOA (Minute of Angle). When you use a Leupold rangfinder model that can switch from yardage, meters and MOA, the MOA can be set and read thus allowing the MOA hash marks to be utilized.

Most of us have trouble paying for a rifle that costs $2000 but if you want the best US made scope for very long distance then any of the VX-6 scopes should be considered and can range in price from $1000 to $3000 dollars. I have used Leupold for decades! On my Safari they were fantastic with heavy recoiling rifles with the Twin Bias Erector Springs. Yes it is an investment but your $8000 hunt makes it worth it!

© 2018

 

This entry was posted in Big Game Hunting, Optics and Laser Rangefinders, Uncategorized by Ed Hale. Bookmark the permalink.

About Ed Hale

I am an avid hunter with rifle and Bow and have been hunting for more than 50 years. I have taken big game such as whitetail deer, red deer, elk, Moose and African Plains game such as Kudu, Gemsbok, Springbok, Blesbok, and Impala and wrote an ebook entitled African Safari -Rifle and Bow and Arrow on how to prepare for a first safari. Ed is a serious cartridge reloader and ballistics student. He has earned two degrees in science and has written hundreds of outdoor article on hunting with both bow and rifle.