Leupold has been a household name in the hunting industry for well over half a century and the gold ring has always been a mark of excellence. This holds true with the launch of the VX-5HD.

Leupold wanted to provide the same optical clarity and light management system as their flagship high-end riflescope, the VX-6HD, but at a more affordable price. You would expect a manufacture to really cut the quality to make such a huge difference in price. However, Leupold has delivered on a high-end product with great quality, which is extremely dependable.



The 30mm tube is built from 6061-T6 aircraft quality aluminum and is extremely strong and lightweight, tipping the scales at a mere 22.3 ounces. The 30mm tube allows for you to get a full 75-MOA of elevation and windage adjustment. Each tube has second generation Argon/Krypton waterproofing, which, nearly eliminates the effects of thermal shock and reduces the diffusion of gases sealed inside your scope, even more than Leupolds’ previously proven nitrogen technology.

Each scope comes equipped with a custom dial system (CDS) which has a zero lock and a double revolution of the turret. What this means is that you can get two full revolutions of your turret, giving you 38-minutes of elevation adjustment with a custom turret. The zero lock pops out once you have returned to zero and as you rotate one full revolution up, the zero lock goes below the surface to make this obvious at a glance. This is the same setup as is available on their high end VX-6HD. Most importantly is Leupold includes one custom turret with the purchase of each scope. It has 5-times magnification, which gives you a good spectrum to choose from when talking about the 3-15, 2-10 and 1-5 models. This is one of the areas where Leupold was able to reduce the cost from their 6-time magnification model in the VX-6HD.

The Twilight Max Light Management System is the same and it delivers an unbelievably crisp image. The lens coatings are applied that maximize light transmission in blue and red, balancing colors to develop the highest possible contrast. Glare is controlled with special mechanical structures. This means you can see antler tines in dark shadows well after legal shooting light. It provides side focus parallax adjustment as well as push button illumination for the crosshairs. Each scope has a vast array of available reticles to choose from, but the Firedot Duplex is my hands down favorite.

There are various models to select from as well. The short range and dangerous game rifles should be topped with the 1-5X24. The next level of magnification is the 2-10X42 and the high-end magnification is the 3-15X44 or the 3-15X56. Regardless of your choice, the Leupold VX-5HD is both a great scope and an excellent value. With Leupolds’ Gold Ring Guarantee backing up all of their optics, you have confidence knowing the VX-5HD will last you a lifetime.