Welcome back to #SundayGunday. This week, we’re talking optics, specifically riflescopes, from a company that has defined it’s longstanding American-made reputation by building some of the industry’s best: Leupold.
Starting last year, the Oregon based manufacturer began revamping its optics lines, and great news for hunters, they started with the second generation of the incredibly versatile VX-6 HD line, culminating in the VX-6 HD Gen. 2.
So how do you take an already great optics platform and make it better? Well, they did it in a few ways.
First, they played with the guts, the internal controls, specifically the elevation and windage adjustments. The new VX-6HD Gen 2 adjustments use the same design and technology as the company’s much-higher priced Mark-4HD and Mark-5HD optics. Now, the VX-6 HD Gen. 2 scopes will track right along with the companies best offerings. Leupold is calling these new internals, “Competition Grade”, and if you’re looking for precise and trusted dialing for windage and elevation, it starts here.
Next, Leupold looked to enhance the operation of these adjustments, by introducing their new CDS-SZL2 dials that have a push button lock and the company’s new SpeedSet feature that does not require tools to reset them to zero and reset the zero stop. That makes is easy for you to adjust your dials at the range and in the field before a hunt—without having to search for that tiny Allen wrench that likely got swallowed by dark corners of your pack.
Of course, these new dials are compatible with Leupold’s already famed Custom Dial System (CDS), where the company will customize your elevation dial to match your rifle setup’s ballistics. With a CDS dial installed, all you need to do is range your target and turn your dial to that range for precision hits on target. It’s an incredibly fast system and takes the guess work out of dialing for distance. Each VX-6HD Gen 2 comes with a coupon card that’ll get you two CDS dials, free of charge.
Rounding out the feature of the VX-6 HD Gen. 2 line is a fast focus eye piece, a side parallax adjustment knob, Leupold’s aluminum objective and eyepiece flip up caps, and various second focal plane reticle options, including illuminated reticles. The illuminated reticles have a “shake awake” feature, meaning they turn off after five minutes of inactivity, but come back on at the slightest movement of the gun. More impressively, there is now a built-in level indicator. If the lighted reticle is blinking, the rifle is canted by more than one degree, which can mean the difference between a downed elk and a long and disappointing tracking job.
The entire VX-6HD Gen. 2 line consists of a handful of options for a 6X zoom magnification range, from a nimble 1-6x24 which would be great on a lever-gun, dangerous game rifle, or AR-platform, all the way up to a long-range 4-24x52mm beast that’ll have you singling out hairs on the armpit of a big western muley. And like the original VX-6 HD line, all these optics sport Leupold’s Professional-Grade Optics System, which translates simply to the best glass and lens coatings the company offers to help reduce glare and maximize light transmission.
To learn more about the upgraded Leupold VX-6HD Gen. 2 line of optics, visit Leupold.com, and of course, to learn more about the latest guns and gear for hunters, check out the rest of our #SundayGunday videos. While you're here, click the ”join” button in the top corner of the screen and become a member of the NRA—the organization that works 24/7 nationwide to protect your Second Amendment rights.
