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Leupold LPS Scope
- Thread starter MSPHUNTER
- Start date
I have one of the 3.5-14's on my .340 and I am extraordinarily pleased with it - the light transmission, clarity and features just impress the holy heck out of me. My only "issue" with it is size, had to put the tallest mounts available on for the front bell to clear the barrel. I really should have waited for a 1.5-6x42 to show up at my local shop, but I consoled myself by thinking it would give my plenty of options in the power arena and I could always put on it on a (future) prairie rat rifle. Yes, I think it's worth the money.
Where's the best place to get the best deal on the LPS? It seems everyone's selling them for above $1,000.
Is it really all that superior to a Vari-XIII 4-14 x 50 mm, which is about half that cost? What advantages does the LPS have over the Vari-XIII besides a wider range of magnification and a superior lens coating?
Is it really all that superior to a Vari-XIII 4-14 x 50 mm, which is about half that cost? What advantages does the LPS have over the Vari-XIII besides a wider range of magnification and a superior lens coating?
With scopes you get what you pay for. The trick is to only pay for those things you need.
The LPS is a great scope. I've played with one owned by a friend but I haven't pushed my credit card across the counter for one yet. The advantages of the LPS are greater light transmission and the clear optics. But I don't hunt at night and don't feel I need better light gathering qualities than I can get in less expensive scopes.
I've owned 2 Vari-XIIIs, a 1.5x-5x and a 6.5x-20x. My gripe with the Vari-XIII is the variable eye relief lengths (more than 1.5 inches) within various magnification levels. This doesn't sound like a lot until you have to crank up the power and is less of a problem with the 2 Vari-XIIs I've owned. I understand the LPS has a consistent eye relief but I don't think that justifies the price.
Hunters are better off IMHO to put the big money towards a good set of binoculars before a super expensive scope. You use your binoculars a lot more often and can use them year round for other activities.
The LPS is a great scope. I've played with one owned by a friend but I haven't pushed my credit card across the counter for one yet. The advantages of the LPS are greater light transmission and the clear optics. But I don't hunt at night and don't feel I need better light gathering qualities than I can get in less expensive scopes.
I've owned 2 Vari-XIIIs, a 1.5x-5x and a 6.5x-20x. My gripe with the Vari-XIII is the variable eye relief lengths (more than 1.5 inches) within various magnification levels. This doesn't sound like a lot until you have to crank up the power and is less of a problem with the 2 Vari-XIIs I've owned. I understand the LPS has a consistent eye relief but I don't think that justifies the price.
Hunters are better off IMHO to put the big money towards a good set of binoculars before a super expensive scope. You use your binoculars a lot more often and can use them year round for other activities.
I've been doing a little research to compare the LPS to its most comparable Vari-XIII version, which I believe to be the 4.5-14x50mm Long Range Tactical. Both have a 30mm main tube and an external objective bell diameter of 2.3 inches.
It looks like there are some good prices to be found at: http://www.ultout.com/leupold&stevens-optics.htm
If you want bad prices, go to: http://www.onlinesports.com
I found most of this data in the Leupold catalog, which can be downloaded from http://www.leupold.com
LPS 3.5-14x50mm Side Focus:
Price: about $850 to $1,284
Length of scope: 13.5 inches
Actual Magnification: 3.6 to 13.8
Field of View at 100 yd: 27.2 ft (low) 7.1 ft (high)
Optimum Eye Relief: 4.5 inches (low) 3.8 inches (high)
Weight: 19.5 ounces
Elevation/Windage Adjustment Range at 100 yd: 60 inches
Lens Coating: DiamondCoat, external lenses coated with ion-assist formula of DiamondCoat to provide 10 times more scratch resistance than is required by the military.
Light Transmission: about 92% according to the Leupold catalog. 94% according to http://www.gunsmagazine.com/Pages/1200spcl.html (FYI: I saw a Nikon that had 95% light transmission.)
Vari-X III 4.5-14x50mm Long Range Tactical:
Price: about $650 to $885
Length of scope: 12.1 inches
Actual Magnification: 4.9 to 14.3
Field of View at 100 yd: 19.0 ft (low) 6.0 ft (high)
Optimum Eye Relief: 5 inches (low) 3.7 inches (high)
Weight: 17.5 ounces
Elevation/Windage Adjustment Range at 100 yd: 80 inches
Lens Coating: Multicoat 4.
Light Transmission: 91% (http://entreprise.com/Catalog/Scopes-Optics/Leupold/Vari-X%20III.htm) “about 8 to 10% more than Vari-X II, which has lenses fully coated with magnesium fluoride” ( http://www.leupold.com/tiscope.html ) (magnesium fluoride transmits about 82%)
The Vari-X is lighter and shorter, has a greater range of adjustment, and is at least $200 cheaper. The only reason I could think of to get the LPS would be to get the little extra light transmission and excellent scratch resistance of the DiamondCoat lenses or less magnification on the low end of the magnification range. There might also be some kind of extra quality/resolution/crispness to the image that the LPS provides that isn’t coming through in these numbers.
Does anyone have experience with these scopes?
Does anyone have a different brand of scope that they think is just super fantastic and shouldn’t be overlooked?
It looks like there are some good prices to be found at: http://www.ultout.com/leupold&stevens-optics.htm
If you want bad prices, go to: http://www.onlinesports.com
I found most of this data in the Leupold catalog, which can be downloaded from http://www.leupold.com
LPS 3.5-14x50mm Side Focus:
Price: about $850 to $1,284
Length of scope: 13.5 inches
Actual Magnification: 3.6 to 13.8
Field of View at 100 yd: 27.2 ft (low) 7.1 ft (high)
Optimum Eye Relief: 4.5 inches (low) 3.8 inches (high)
Weight: 19.5 ounces
Elevation/Windage Adjustment Range at 100 yd: 60 inches
Lens Coating: DiamondCoat, external lenses coated with ion-assist formula of DiamondCoat to provide 10 times more scratch resistance than is required by the military.
Light Transmission: about 92% according to the Leupold catalog. 94% according to http://www.gunsmagazine.com/Pages/1200spcl.html (FYI: I saw a Nikon that had 95% light transmission.)
Vari-X III 4.5-14x50mm Long Range Tactical:
Price: about $650 to $885
Length of scope: 12.1 inches
Actual Magnification: 4.9 to 14.3
Field of View at 100 yd: 19.0 ft (low) 6.0 ft (high)
Optimum Eye Relief: 5 inches (low) 3.7 inches (high)
Weight: 17.5 ounces
Elevation/Windage Adjustment Range at 100 yd: 80 inches
Lens Coating: Multicoat 4.
Light Transmission: 91% (http://entreprise.com/Catalog/Scopes-Optics/Leupold/Vari-X%20III.htm) “about 8 to 10% more than Vari-X II, which has lenses fully coated with magnesium fluoride” ( http://www.leupold.com/tiscope.html ) (magnesium fluoride transmits about 82%)
The Vari-X is lighter and shorter, has a greater range of adjustment, and is at least $200 cheaper. The only reason I could think of to get the LPS would be to get the little extra light transmission and excellent scratch resistance of the DiamondCoat lenses or less magnification on the low end of the magnification range. There might also be some kind of extra quality/resolution/crispness to the image that the LPS provides that isn’t coming through in these numbers.
Does anyone have experience with these scopes?
Does anyone have a different brand of scope that they think is just super fantastic and shouldn’t be overlooked?