Since it has been on Leupold's website for a few days and there are no posts about it yet I thought I'd post it here. As anticipated given the recent factory rebate on in-stock VX-s scopes, Leupold's VX-3 line has been upgraded. The new generation models apparently will be named VX-3i. It appears that there has been some redesign of the actual scope body as well as the optical components. I haven't really looked at the specifics yet, although I did notice that the 1.75-6x32 is no longer listed.
New generation of Leupold VX-3 range announced
- Thread starter CanadaBoy
- Start date
I suspected that something like that might happen as Wholesale Sports had big discounts in December on their VX-3 scopes and Leupold had the mail-in rebate as well. I couldn't really resist the bargain prices for a VX-3 so I had to pick up one!
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
probably not fluting but I understand they are dropping multi-coating in favour of a newly developed single coating and changing from nitrogen to hydrogen gas purging to keep the weight down.I wonder if they will add fluting to the scope body
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
There are no more illuminated reticle scopes available with the VX-3i range, only with the VX-R and VX-6 ranges, also the VX-3i scopes now use side focus for the parallax adjustment. The only one inches scopes that Leupold now offer with a illuminated reticle are the ultimate slam shot gun and the Hog and Mark AR scopes. One none subjective advantage Leupold scopes seem to have over the competition is that they are lighter in weight. I also like the motion detected reticle illumination that Leupold seems to have standardized on.
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And don't get fooled again...
Nothing wrong with the good optics of Leupolds .
Just some 22 year old marketing student trying to just his/ her existence in the company.
Chasing the market propaganda to drive up sales.
Either you like Leupold or you don't, easy as that.
But, I will watch for the new scopes and see how they measure up.
Thanks for the heads up from New Scottland!
Rob
I was the only Canadian dealer on the Leupold Dealer Council for 2.5 years. I have met the executive team including their marketing department and didn't notice anyone in their low 20's. Anyway Leupold has been upgrading all of the their model lines for the past several years. It was time for the VX-3 because past changes have been minimal. Leupold realized from our input on the council and from sales in the recent past that they were not getting the same market share in the mid high end so they decided on a complete overhaul and also reduced SKU's in the line by almost 50 %. They also reduced their VX-3i line by about $100 per scope at retail compared to the VX-3 (we will not see all that difference due to the currency fluctuation against the old scopes). Time will tell if they made the right decision but anyone stagnant in modern manufacturing will soon be left behind. When I was at the Leupold factory someone had to follow me around even to the washroom because I was a foreign national and their contract with the US government required it. To make me feel better they told me they also had to accompany Rob Furlong around when he visited. Phil.
the_blacksmith
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fort St John, BC
So, why not upgrade the erector system? I know 3x is enough, most of the time and for most situations, and I'm sure someone will come on and preach how nobody needs more than a 3x fixed for hunting, but it's a pretty tough place to live out there in $700+ scope land when everyone and their dog is running 4,5 and 6x erectors. I have to say, I really like the ability to turn down the scope power at twilight and shoot in low light, and then crank the power up to 15x+ and shoot a coyote at 600yds with the same gun. But 3x is probably more in line with grandpas ol 303, so why would anybody ever need anything else?
I'm kinda confused by leupold's 'redesign' here. Smacks of lower cost of production, putting 'lipstick on a pig'. If I was a betting man, these 'new' scopes will not be as reliable as the old ones. Nothing is upgraded, everything is cheaper... When is the last time a price drop was accompanied by a superior product? And let's not forget that age old marketing ploy, adding an 'i' to the product line. They didn't even have the sense to have it mean something.
I'm kinda confused by leupold's 'redesign' here. Smacks of lower cost of production, putting 'lipstick on a pig'. If I was a betting man, these 'new' scopes will not be as reliable as the old ones. Nothing is upgraded, everything is cheaper... When is the last time a price drop was accompanied by a superior product? And let's not forget that age old marketing ploy, adding an 'i' to the product line. They didn't even have the sense to have it mean something.
They have the VX-6 which although more money offers a much wider magnification range (6x) at a higher price range. Most consumers are satisfied with 3x magnification difference and that is why Leupold chose this and reduced the retail price. Like I noted earlier I was part of the market survey (at the dealer level) and we suggested they remain at the 3x range. Most customers did not view the VX-3 line as a "pig". The choices that Leupold made were not done in a vacuum and I think the end result satisfies the majority of consumers. Lower cost production was achieved in reducing the available models by 50%. You might want to contact Leupold USA with your opinions...I know I did. Phil.
