Photos by Michael Anschuetz
Leupold didn’t cut quality with the new VX-Freedom.
Last March, I never grew tired as I patiently waited for a mature tahr bull to join a herd of nannys for an evening graze. Although the gathering never happened, the afternoon of scanning gave me time to consider the scope mounted on my rifle: a VX-Freedom 4-12x40mm that I was using to hunt three animals during the next seven days in New Zealand.
With temperatures ranging from the high 80s on day one to near freezing the next, we hiked up the Southern Alps’ Dobson Valley. When the temperture rose again, I was faced with glassing through dense fog that produced moisture on both lenses before being showered by torrential rain. However, it wasn’t a fight between me and the scope, as the coatings on the lenses — the same used on the lenses installed on Leupold scopes for the U.S. military — beaded up and shed the moisture out of view.
“Our new VX-Freedom line delivers the versatility and performance hunters and shooters have come to expect from the Leupold brand, all while remaining budget-friendly,” said Tim Lesser, vice president of product development for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “Whether you’re looking for your first scope or your 40th, there will be a VX-Freedom that suits your needs.”
Besides water-wicking coatings, the lenses are abrasion resistant. The low-profile power ring provides excellent grip without interfering with a tall bolt throw.
Lesser was right. When Leupold launched the VX-Freedom line at the 2018 SHOT Show, they were prepared to offer the most popular magnification ranges including 1.5-4x20mm, 2-7x33mm, 3-9x40mm, 3-9x50mm and the 4-12x40mm. These are all scopes with 1-inch maintubes given second focal plane (SFP) reticles, which means that the reticle size
