Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×50 FireDot Duplex Riflescope, Reliable 30mm

Description

The Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×50 FireDot Duplex is item 183839, a Generation 2 scope on a 30mm main tube. It is the only 50 mm objective in the 3-18x family we stock; the other three are 44 mm, and one of them carries this exact reticle.

How the Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×50 FireDot differs from the 44 mm versions

Three VX-6HD Generation 2 3-18x44s sit alongside this one: a FireDot Duplex, an illuminated TMOA and a FireDot Boone and Crockett. This scope is the same chassis with a 50 mm objective instead of a 44.

Against the 3-18×44 FireDot Duplex specifically, the objective is the only published difference, plus 1.4 ounces. This weighs 23.5 ounces; that one weighs 22.1. Everything else the manufacturer prints is identical.

A 50 mm bell wants taller rings than a 44. Check ring height and your cheek weld before you order, because raising the scope changes where your face sits on the stock.

A note on the field of view figures

Leupold publishes the same field of view for the 50 mm and the 44 mm: 38.3 feet at 3x and 6.4 feet at 18x, per 100 yards. That looks like a copy-paste error and it is not one. Field of view is set by the eyepiece and erector assembly, not the objective lens.

What a bigger objective actually buys is aperture, and therefore exit pupil at high magnification. Leupold does not publish an exit pupil figure for either scope, so we are not going to quantify the gain for you.

Reticle, illumination and focal plane

The Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×50 FireDot uses an illuminated FireDot Duplex: a plain hunting crosshair with a lit centre, no holdover stadia and nothing to interpret. Eight brightness settings run from a CR2032 through a push button, rated 1600 hours on low, 1000 on medium and 300 on high.

The illumination is rated daylight bright and is not night vision compatible. This is a second focal plane riflescope, so the duplex keeps the same apparent thickness from 3x to 18x rather than thinning out at the bottom.

Turrets, parallax and dimensions

Elevation is the CDS-SZL2 locking dial with a revolution indicator and SpeedSet rezero; windage is a zero-lock turret. Clicks are 1/4 MOA, with 85 MOA of total travel each way, or 25 MIL, at 20 MOA per revolution and a 38 MOA dial travel limit.

Precision side focus adjusts parallax down to a 50 yard minimum. At 18x that dial earns its place; parallax error you never see at 5x becomes a measurable miss at the top of the range.

The scope measures 13.5 inches with 5.3 inches of mounting space, split 1.2 inches front and 2.3 rear. That 1.2 inch front section is short, so check your bases before ordering rings rather than after.

Honest notes on the Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×50 FireDot

At 23.5 ounces this is a substantial hunting scope. If you are building something to carry up a mountain, the 44 mm version saves you nearly an ounce and a half and a set of taller rings.

Illumination means a battery. The etched reticle remains fully usable with a dead cell; only the lit centre goes dark. Change it at the start of the season rather than at last light.

No finish colour, coating list or light transmission figure is published for this model. Leupold mentions Guard-ion in prose but publishes no coating specification. We are not going to print numbers the manufacturer does not state.

Who this scope suits

Hunters who want maximum aperture in a 30mm hunting scope, anyone who prefers a clean duplex with a lit centre over a holdover grid, and shooters who want parallax control and a locking dial. The Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×50 FireDot is guaranteed for life to be waterproof and fogproof, and two free custom dials are available for it.

Skip it if weight matters, if you want a holdover reticle, or if your rings will not clear a 50 mm bell.

Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×50 FireDot full specifications

• Item number: 183839
• Generation: VX-6HD Gen 2
• Magnification: 3-18x variable
• Objective lens: 50 mm
• Main tube: 30 mm
• Reticle: Illuminated FireDot Duplex
• Focal plane: Second focal plane
• Illumination: 8 settings, push button, daylight bright, not night vision compatible
• Battery: CR2032, 1600 / 1000 / 300 hours low / medium / high
• Eye relief: 3.7 in low, 3.8 in high
• Field of view: 38.3 ft at 3x, 6.4 ft at 18x, per 100 yards
• Angular field of view: 7.3 degrees low, 1.2 degrees high
• Click value: 1/4 MOA elevation and windage
• Total elevation travel: 85 MOA (25 MIL), 20 MOA per revolution
• Elevation dial travel limit: 38 MOA
• Total windage travel: 85 MOA (25 MIL), 20 MOA per revolution
• Parallax: precision side focus, 50 yd minimum
• Elevation turret: CDS-SZL2 locking, revolution indicator, SpeedSet rezero
• Windage turret: zero-lock
• BDC dial included: no; custom BDC dial compatible: yes
• Weight: 23.5 oz
• Total length: 13.5 in
• Total mounting space: 5.3 in (1.2 front, 2.3 rear)
• Objective length: 4.9 in; objective diameter: 2.3 in
• Warranty: guaranteed for life, waterproof and fogproof

Manufacturer specifications are published by Leupold. Compare it against the rest of our optics range, including the three 3-18×44 versions.

Ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop with the Leupold lifetime guarantee.