Any thoughts on the Leupold vx-5 3-15x44 fire dot?
I must be the only guy on the planet that's not a big fan of the VX5 and VX6 scopes. I have the 3-15x44 on a .223 bolt gun. That's not to say that they're bad scopes, just a few features that aren't to my tastes. Fair warning, most of the below is personal preference:
The good: They do have very good glass. They're also among the lightest weight options. Bright illuminated reticle. The best scope caps in the world. (standard on VX6, available as an accessory on VX5)
The not-so-good: Stiff magnification and side focus adjustments. Very mushy, indistinct clicks on the windage turret, almost to the point that it feels like a friction adjustment. Limited reticle options.
The CDS system has its advantages and I like the general concept. I don't like that it's the only option; usually I just want capped turrets. If the CDS dial must be there, can we just get a basic mil option for it and the turrets, perhaps along with a basic mil-dot reticle? If I'm going to dial, I'd rather dial in mils than have the turret tuned for a specific load. That said, almost all of my dialing happens on the range, not in the field, hence my general preference for capped turrets on hunting rifles. The locking feature on the CDS system is very well-executed.
I like the Firedot, kind of. I like that only a center dot is illuminated. It gets plenty bright for use during daylight, but also has dim enough settings for use in low light. I'm less of a fan of the push-button control. I'd rather have a knob with markings and an off position between each setting so that I can see at a glance whether the illumination is on and its brightness. With the various push-button systems you pretty much have to look through the scope to know.