Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster 3-9×40 Great Duplex

Description

The Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster is a 3-9×40 hunting scope built specifically around the .450 Bushmaster cartridge. It was listed here as LEUPOLD SCOPE VX-FREEDOM 450, and that number on its own does not tell you it is calibre specific. Barcode 030317020835 identifies it as Leupold item 176011, the .450 Bushmaster model, so we have titled it that way.

Why the Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster Is Calibre Specific

The .450 Bushmaster throws a very heavy, very blunt bullet at modest velocity. It hits hard inside 200 yards and then drops off a cliff. That trajectory is nothing like a .308 or a .30-06, which is why a scope set up generically leaves you guessing at exactly the distance where the guess starts costing you.

A scope like the Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster does not magically know your load. What it does is pair a turret you can reach in the field with a reticle that stays out of the way, on a magnification range suited to the distances a straight wall cartridge is actually used at. You still have to shoot it and write down your numbers.

The Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster turret is an exposed finger click design, so you can dial elevation in the field rather than hold over a steep drop. Combined with a plain duplex reticle that keeps the view clean, that is the sensible answer for a straight wall cartridge: dial the drop, hold centre.

Straight Wall States

The .450 Bushmaster exists largely because a number of states restrict deer hunting to straight wall cartridges. If you hunt Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa or parts of Pennsylvania, this is the class of rifle you are likely carrying, and a scope built for the trajectory rather than adapted to it is worth having.

That also means most shots will be inside 150 yards. Do not let the exposed turret talk you into treating the Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster as a long range scope. It is a short range rifle scope with the ability to dial a steep drop when a shot stretches out to 200.

The Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster Duplex Reticle

A plain duplex in the second focal plane. Thin in the centre for precision, heavy outer posts that pull your eye in when the light fails. Because the elevation is dialled rather than held, there is no ladder of holdover marks to clutter the picture, which is the right choice on a cartridge whose drop changes so sharply with distance.

The reticle stays the same apparent size at 3x and at 9x. Since you are using the turret for elevation, focal plane matters much less on this scope than it would on a holdover reticle.

Worth knowing if you are cross shopping: optically the Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster is the same scope as every other 3-9×40 VX-Freedom. The glass, the tube, the coatings and the weight are identical. What differs is the turret style and the way the model is set up and marketed for the cartridge.

Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster Optics and Build

Three to nine power through a 40mm objective on a one inch tube. Field of view at 100 yards is 33.1 feet at 3x and 13.6 feet at 9x. Eye relief is 4.2 inches at 3x and 3.7 at 9x, which matters on this cartridge: a .450 Bushmaster in a light rifle recoils hard enough that a short eye relief scope will find your eyebrow.

Both turrets move a quarter MOA per click with 60 MOA of travel each. Parallax is fixed and set parallax free at 150 yards, which is close to the middle of this cartridge useful range. The scope weighs 12.2 ounces over 12.49 inches.

Leupold rates the Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster 100 percent waterproof and fogproof and backs it with their lifetime guarantee. It is designed, machined and assembled in Oregon. Leupold publish no finish colour and no lens coating name for this model, so we have not listed either as a manufacturer specification.

Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster Specifications

Buying from Mag5 Firearms

Mag5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Optics need no transfer, so the Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster ships straight to your door. Full manufacturer detail is published on the Leupold product page.

If your straight wall rifle is chambered in 350 Legend rather than .450 Bushmaster, we stock the 350 Legend version of this same scope. Browse our optics selection or call us and tell us the chambering before you order.