I’m trying to decide if I screwed up getting a 3-15 VX-5HD. Grok reliably informs me that, no, 15x is plenty to look at mirage and read wind, but I’d like to know if anyone here does that successfully.
It’s not that I don’t trust AI (I don’t), but for queries like this, they tend not hallucinate too often. But then, I’m inclined to what it to be correct since it fits my preferences.
I’m pretty happy with the idea of the VX-5 for $900 (EuroOptics) and the weight 19.2 oz, particularly when compared to what I’d consider as my alternative - A Nightforce NX8 2-20, which is heavy, and the reticule is (to me) very cluttered. I don’t really care about 1st or 2nd focal plane since I range and dial (with custom dials). Holdovers aren’t my thing.
I personally like quite a bit of zoom. When I’m shooting 1,000 yards I’ll probably only be zoomed in to 14x. It’s not for that.
when shooting a paper target at 100 yards, if the paper is shaded, it can be hard to see impacts on the page without 18 or 20x.
Also, while hunting, I’d normally be zoomed way out when I shoot so I don’t lose the animal during recoil. However, I’ve been in several situations where I only had 14x magnification and couldn’t pick out which deer had the biggest antlers out of a group because I didn’t have enough zoom.
I hadn’t considered checking groups, but I’ve got a spotting scope for targets, not as convenient for sure. Still, I don’t think it’s worth adding an extra pound and $1500 to the rifle for the scope I’d have gotten if I’d had the extra money (Nightforce nx8). Or giving up the wide field of view and going to the VX-5 4-20, at almost twice the price, $900 vs $1650. That’s life - everything is a trade-off.
Hopefully, someday I’ll have the problem of deciding which of the many deer I want to shoot.
I guess it depends if you need to see something with lots of details in a bushy placemat at distance for example.
I have the vx 5 3-15 and it’s plenty for me to shoot caribou on a plain open field. I don’t shoot at 500y cause I don’t have the skills yet but I could .and. I like having the 3 x instead of the 4 or 5x as your lower magnification.
A buddy missed a good opportunity sheep hunting because he uses a 5x.
That’s what I was hoping to hear, thanks. I’ve got an older Nightforce that’s been sitting on an AR-10 for the better part of 20 years. (Long enough that I don’t even remember which one it is - but it was too much for hunting, which is not what I bought it for)
I did consider the NX8 2.5-20, but at $2200 and 28.6 oz, I opted for the VX-5. Maybe after I recover from the planned new rifle and a significant upgrade to my reloading bench, I’ll give it another look.
I get what you are saying for sure , when you finally save your hardworking money and decide to treat yourself with a nice rifle, then comes a thunderous backhand slap to the face haha. there you go , you thought 2k for your rifle was the cherry on on top nope . 3k for the glass , 200$ for the better rings, maybe a muzzle break 300$ …. .
Your OG question was about spotting mirage and wind, right? I’ve done fairly well with my Titan 3-18, but this 100% doing holdovers on wind. Where I am, the wind varies from moment to moment so best practice is holdover, not dialing. None the less, I can’t see why you wouldn’t be able to read wind and mirage with your scope.
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