Leupold VX-6HD 3-18x50mm Illum Varmint Hunter Scope 171575

I used this scope on my Colorado elk hunt and Nebraska deer hunt mounted on my Savage 110 in 280 Ackley. I really like the low weight of the scope and the optics are bright and clear (as good or better than my Nightforce SHV 4-16 x 44mm and NXS 50mm). In fact I was able to take my deer the exact minute that legal shooting light occurred in the morning. The 3-18 magnification range is pretty much perfect for me. 15x or 16x is fine, but I really appreciated having that little bit extra. Also this scope comes with a great set up their flip up lens caps. My main source of disappointment comes from the illumination and reticle level features of the scope. The reticle level feature was one of the main selling points for me, but I found it pretty frustrating to use. First of all it doesn't tell you whether to correct clockwise or counter-clockwise. The whole reticle just blinks when you're outside a certain range (seems to be about +/- 5 degrees). Although it's usually pretty obvious which way to correct in quick hunting situations it's just one more thing to think about. And it order for that feature to work you have to have the illumination turned on. Turning the illumination on/off requires pressing a button on the side turret knob instead of turning a ring like pretty much every other scope on the market. The downside is you can't just glance at the turret and see if it's on and what setting it's on. You have to look through the scope and then keep pressing the button to cycle through the intensity levels. Moving on to the reticle itself I like the ballistic drop reticles such as this Varmint Hunter reticle and there aren't many scopes on the market that still offer these. They're great for fast shots under 600 yards once you set them for your ballistics. It would be nice if they had hash marks for the 350, 450 and 550 yardages. Out past 600 yards you can just dial the elevation turret for drop. The Zero Stop seemed to work well although the CDS-ZL2 clicks are pretty mushy. I do like how they are low profile turrets which is a big plus for a hunting scope (as opposed to the really tall ones on tactical scopes). Overall it's a good scope, I'm just disappointed in the illumination controls and the reticle level so I'll probably end up putting a bubble level on it anyway.

huge step up from the Vortex Viper I was using. Clear, lightweight and love the zero stop. Worth the money and just as good as the high end optics

I have been a long time Leupold customer with everything from scopes to binoculars to range finders. Their products are always high quality. I love this new scope. It tracks very well out to 500 yards ( have not shot any further). The glass is crystal clear and the lighted reticle is very nice in the first minute of morning and the last minutes of the evening. It comes with flip up lens protectors. You can not go wrong with this scope.