Leupold Mark 3HD reviews?

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I have a vx 2 and it's pretty clear for a budget scope. I'd say it's more clear than my discovery and I think that's a great 275 dollar scope. I also have the mark 5 HD with cds dial capabilities and it's really an amazing scope. It's very clear and it stays that way on all magnification. Here's the thing about the cds dial tho. If you do really long range you may want a different scope. It really only has 2 full rotations and doesn't have alot of adjustment. It's designed around powder burners for hunting purposes. It will get my 3006 out to 600 or 700 yards. Not really sure because I haven't shot it that far yet but I know the general math. I would guess that it would get you out to 150 yards or so with an airgun. More if it's powerful less if it's weak. It would be a fantastic hunting scope for an airgun. In fact I might take it off my 243 and slap it on my Texan 457 CF. It does have like 3 or 4 dashes to adjust for wind in the reticle but the rest is plain old cross hair. I love it but it does have a few down sides if your not using it for hunting distances. I would guess that if that's your jam you will not be disappointed with the glass in the 3hd. 
 
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The new Leupold scopes have very sloppy adjustments. Things don't line up, they feel cheap, but the glass is good.

I was a diehard Leupold fan, but the last VX 3... simply disgusting!

To the question, the minimum parallax is 50m (4-12x). For airguns, you want 10m.

HD coating makes cheap lenses look better.

For the money, there are far better options, in my opinion. 


 
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For the money, there are far better options, in my opinion. 


Perhaps, but find me another scope with side-focus(which can be adjusted to focus down to 10M btw), under 17 oz and 13” long @ 4-12X, a Custom Dial compatible elevation turret w/ MIL adjustments(it’s a P5 dial which is the same dial as the Mark AR Mod-1 scopes which although they have no zero stop have full range of adjustment), a good mil-based reticle, HD glass, and a lifetime warranty? To me it has all the right ingredients for a great hunting scope, at least on paper. The only downer for me seems to be the windage turret which according to many is very cheap. Fortunately, it’s a SFP scope with which I usually dial for elevation and use the reticle for windage. Sure, you can get wider magnification ranges, illuminated reticles, bigger/fancier turrets, but all of the sudden your scope weighs 25+ oz! Also, it only has a 40mm objective which means I am able to mount it quite low which is something I’ve found important for <10-60 meter precision shooting. What else on the market is comparable to this scope? I’ve found the 4-12X to be the sweet spot for an all around general purpose hunting scope.
 
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I bought my vx5hd about 5 years ago. Is that when they were making them better? Im just wondering because mine is pretty good. I admit that I don't even touch the windage after I sight it in and it's not very important to me but the elevation dial is accurate. It doesn't click loudly and give that 2000 dollar scope feeling but the cds dial doesn't really work that way any how. I use my eyes to see where I want to go and spin the dial. Its actually my favorite scope I own. It's possible that leupold lost quality since then or that they were even better years before but my scope functions well and is clear. Hope this helps
 
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Radon, The Mark 5 series was Leupold fixing what shooters disliked in the Mark 8.

Whether and how a scope clicks is of little consequence. Original Leupold scopes were friction adjusted without clicking. 

Low-end scopes (under $1400) are where Leupold outsourced Chinese parts to make a cheaper scope. Their flagship model, the VX-III had an additional "i" added, marking this change. Leupold said the quality is the same, but this picture shows the difference. A flimsy piece of plastic for those that didn't go with the CDS turret on a $400 scope. I'm not a scope snob, but I expect quality for my dollar from a brand like Leupold. 


 
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Ah I can see where that could be a frustrating buy. 400 bucks should have better quality especially now days. I have several leupold scopes but 3 are the 4x fixed power scopes that I bought years ago and I paid under 200 bucks for them. The other is the vx5hd. I love both models. Thanks for showing me exactly what you are talking about. I will avoid the new vx3 in future. 
 
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