Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 Duplex Great 55 MOA CDS-ZL Scope

Description

The Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 is Leupold mid range hunting scope in the magnification that suits the most rifles: three and a half to ten power over a 40mm objective, on a one inch tube, with a CDS-ZL elevation dial and a plain duplex reticle. Mag5 Firearms ships optics direct with no FFL transfer.

Where the Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 Sits in the Range

VX-3HD is the step above VX-Freedom in the Leupold line, and what the extra money buys is glass rather than features. The practical difference shows up in the first and last half hour of legal light, when a Freedom starts to go grey and a VX-3HD is still showing you what is standing in the shadows. If you hunt those hours, that is the whole argument.

The Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 also gets a CDS-ZL turret rather than the capped or exposed finger click turrets lower in the range. That is a feature difference, but the glass is the reason to move up.

Three and a half to ten power is the most useful range Leupold makes for general hunting. At 3.5x you can find a moving animal in cover with both eyes open; at 10x you can take a deliberate shot across a field. Very few hunters genuinely need more than that, and the ones who buy more usually spend their time at the bottom of the dial anyway.

The Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 CDS-ZL Turret

CDS-ZL is Custom Dial System with Zero Lock. Send Leupold your load data and they machine a dial engraved in yards, so you range an animal, turn the dial to that number and hold dead on. Zero Lock means the dial physically stops at your zero and cannot creep back past it in a scabbard or a gun case.

Zero Lock is the part people underrate. A turret that has quietly turned two clicks on the walk in is worse than no turret at all, because you have no reason to check it. The Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 will not do that to you.

Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 Optics

Field of view at 100 yards is 29 feet at 3.5x and 11 feet at 10x. Eye relief is 4.4 inches at the low end and 3.6 at the high end, and it stays consistent through the range rather than collapsing at full magnification the way cheaper variable scopes do. That consistency is one of the things you are paying for.

The reticle is a plain duplex in the second focal plane. With a CDS dial handling elevation, holdover marks would be clutter, and the heavy outer posts still draw your eye to the centre when the light drops.

A 40mm objective at 10x gives a 4mm exit pupil, which is comfortably inside what a human eye can use in low light. Push the same objective to 14x and the exit pupil narrows to under 3mm and the image visibly dims. The Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 stops at the magnification where its objective can still feed your eye properly.

Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 Adjustment and Build

Quarter MOA clicks with 55 MOA of total travel in elevation and 55 in windage. That is the least travel of any VX-3HD in this store, so if you intend to mount on a base with built in elevation or shoot a long way, look at the 4.5-14x models instead. For a normal two piece base on a hunting rifle it is plenty.

Parallax is fixed and set parallax free at 150 yards, so there is no side focus to manage. The Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 weighs 13.1 ounces and measures 12.67 inches. Leupold guarantee it for life and build it in the USA. They publish no finish colour and no lens coating name for this model, so we have not listed either as a manufacturer figure.

Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 Specifications

Buying from Mag5 Firearms

Mag5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Optics need no transfer, so the Leupold VX-3HD 3.5-10×40 ships straight to your door. Full manufacturer detail is published on the Leupold product page.

If you want more light gathering, the 50mm version of this same scope is in our optics selection, though it needs taller rings. Call us and we will work out which one your rifle and your rings actually want.