Leupold is known to make some of the best riflescopes on the market. Most of their product are top-end and cost a lot. But the Leupold vx-r patrol is an affordable one. Compared to other Leupold scopes we can consider this as affordable.
Leupold VX-R Patrol Review: Outlooks
Specifications | Magnification: 1.5 – 4x; Objective Lens: 20 mm; Eye Relief: 3.74 – 4.17 Inches; Exit Pupil: 16 – 5 mm; Linear FOV @100 yds: 24.75 – 9.81 ft; Length: 9.67 Inches; Weight: 12 Oz.
Body Quality
With the reputation Leupold has, we had high hopes about the scope. And we are happy to let you know that Leupold didn’t disappoint. It withstood any kind of weather without fogging or vision distortion.
We didn’t do any drop test nor do we recommend you to do any kind of drop test on a scope. However, through our extensive testing, the scope had no issue showing clear vision under snow or rain.
The scope is truly weatherproof. The matte black finish on the exterior gives it a premier look. The material used on the scope is called 6061-T6 aluminum. It is light and stainless. The scope stays strong even though it’s pretty lightweight. That’s the magic of aluminum build.
The scope is also shockproof as Leupold claims. You can find many user reviews on the internet saying that they have fired over 1000 shots, even after that the scope didn’t have any kind of dents.
A post from 2013, the user said he fired a total of 1500 shots in 2 years and used it under the burning sun in July and in heavy snow. The scope withstood all those tortures.
We can clearly say the scope is in for a journey. A never-ending journey until you decide to end it.
Optics Quality
The optics have something called the twilight light management system. What it does is, it increases the potential of the scope to gather more light. It eliminates up to 80% of glare compared to its competition.
This technology can aid the rifle to shoot for longer. Because the scope gathers enough light to give up to an extra 10 minutes of worth of light. The lenses are crystal clear.
The lenses are coated in such a way that they are scratch-proof. As we mentioned earlier the scope is also water and fogproof.
The scope can work under cold weather without fogging.
The coating Leupold is using is called DiamondCoat 2. It is applied to the exterior of the lens. It’s an ion-assist lens coating. It increases the capability of the scope.
The scope gathers more light and transmits it as great-quality pictures.
The eye relief and FOP are also pretty generous.
Reticle
Here things get a little interesting. The scope comes in two different reticles. One is the FireDot special purpose reticle and the other one is the FireDot TMR (tactical milling reticle).
For the review, we got the SPR. The reason behind this is the magnification and the field of view is perfect for use with this version.
But if you need more magnification you should go for the TMR version. Because the SPR one has 1.25-4x magnification and the TMR version has 3-9x magnification.
The FireDot SPR reticle is an excellent one if you are into this type of reticle. There is a circle around the main crosshair and the standard marks both horizontally and vertically.
They can compensate for your bullet drop if you know how to read them that is. The ticks are in MIL. This type of reticle is easy to use because they are easy to use and has a quick target acquisition feature.
Magnification
As we said the one we had is 1.25-4x magnification and the main tube is 30mm. The objective lens is also 30mm. For such a small amount of zoom, the objective lens and field of view are perfect. If you want a bigger zoom please feel free to pick that up.
This Leupold VX-R patrol review was supposed to act as the guideline for how good this riflescope is.
The magnification was crisp and smooth. One thing that many users complained about the scope is that it’s not true 1x. And we agree, the scope is not true 1x.
But in Leupold’s defense, I don’t think they are advertising it as a true 1x scope. The base magnification of the scope is 1.25x.
If you want a true 1x zoom you may be disappointed. But if that doesn’t matter and you are happy to shoot at medium range with 4x magnification trust me you won’t find a better pick at this point.
Yes, there is more scope out there who offer large magnification at this price range. But none of them provide the aircraft-grade aluminum body with a crisp matte black finish and diamond coat 2 lens coating.
Pros
- Two different reticles are available.
- Excellent body quality.
- Excellent optics quality.
- Generous eye relief.
- Good field of view.
- Weatherproof.
Cons
- The field of view isn’t wide-angle.
- There have been some quality control issues in the past.
Leupold VX-R Patrol Review Summary
The Leupold VX-R patrol is an excellent scope. Whether you are buying it for the first time or you are upgrading from a low-end scope. The scope will satisfy you no matter what.
The build quality is durable and excellent. It’s great because beginners may drop their scope and pray to god that the scope stays unscratched.
For those people, this is an excellent choice because you don’t have to pray unless you dropped it for breaking it (thrown on purpose) it won’t break at all.
Hi, I’m Brent Hansford. A writer turned hunter & now sharing my love for the sport through writing. As I practically breathe weapons, I firmly believe I’m capable of providing you with new knowledge about firearms and hunting. My mission is to help more people get better at hunting & master the weapons. Let me help with unleashing the beast within you!
