I will be primarily hunting in Texas. Shots anywhere from 50 yards to 200 for whitetail and hogs. I want this to be the most versatile scope in case I want to go hunting for big game up north in higher elevations and longer shots. I am currently between the 3-9x40mm and the 4-12x40mm. I had first considered the 50mm for the 3-9 but would rather spend the extra money on added magnification than extra light. I am still confused on the AO and whether I should get this for closer hunts or longer range hunts? As I said before, this will be my only scope for a long time so I need it to work in all conditions. Looking forward to hearing the responses.
Leupold VX-II. Which one??
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If you're going to shoot pigs, you might consider an objective bigger than 40 mm. The pigs tend to come out about 30-45 minutes after dark and magnification doesn't help at that point. 12x will be totally useless, I predict. Buy a good pair of binoculars for judging deer horns, plan on spending $250 - $300 for them.
9x will do just fine for any reasonable range, and some not so reasonable ranges.
9x will do just fine for any reasonable range, and some not so reasonable ranges.
You don't need more magnification than 9x until you get way past 200 yards. I would go 3-9 over 4-12 unless you really need to reach out and touch them. I would take the 50mm objective over the 40 mm for its light gathering ability. The 3-9 is the most versatile scope on the market. The AO just adds complications to using the scope. Usually you barely have time to adjust the magnification, much less fiddle with the AO before taking a shot.
Well I'm glad I am hearing feedback because I definitely was leaning towards the 4-12 but if the 3-9 is good well past 200 yards then I will more likely stick with the lower magnification. Also, I guess I don't quite understand the AO part. I thought it was automatically adjusted not anything you had to do manually.
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A 3-9 will be just find for what you are going to use it for. Stay away from an AO for hunting, you won't need it and it just adds one more thing you have to mess with. Those scopes will be parallax adjusted at 150 yards by Leupold at the factory which will be just fine for what you are doing. The little bit of parallax you might have a closer range will not be a factor for a hunting scope. I've been hunting with a 3-9x40 since I was 12 years old and have harvested a lot of game. I've never had to pass up a shot because I didn't have enough magnification.
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My favorite scope, a Leuopold VX-III 4.5x14x50A.O. spends half the year on my Winchester Model 70 300 Winchester Magnum, and the other half on my Ruger 10/22. That's right, a .22L.R.
All my other rifles have dedicated scopes, but the Big Glass is such a pleasure to shoot on a .22, that it seems a shame to keep it in the safe the other 6 months of the year.
The Adjustable Objective allows you to fine tune the focal point like a Single Lens Reflex(SLR) Camera. For instance you can focus on an object 200 yards away, and everything in front and behind that object is out of focus. This has rough rangefinding advantages as well. While its true that dialing in an AO takes extra time, the more you practice, the more it becomes muscle memory and can in fact happen without much time or thought.
As far as Appeture size goes, bigger is almost always better, as long as you don't have to jack the scope up too high above the centerline of the bore to install the thing. Another factor to consider is weight. Big Glass is heavier. In some applications a smaller, lighter lens is a good trade-off.
All my other rifles have dedicated scopes, but the Big Glass is such a pleasure to shoot on a .22, that it seems a shame to keep it in the safe the other 6 months of the year.
The Adjustable Objective allows you to fine tune the focal point like a Single Lens Reflex(SLR) Camera. For instance you can focus on an object 200 yards away, and everything in front and behind that object is out of focus. This has rough rangefinding advantages as well. While its true that dialing in an AO takes extra time, the more you practice, the more it becomes muscle memory and can in fact happen without much time or thought.
As far as Appeture size goes, bigger is almost always better, as long as you don't have to jack the scope up too high above the centerline of the bore to install the thing. Another factor to consider is weight. Big Glass is heavier. In some applications a smaller, lighter lens is a good trade-off.
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I've got a older VXII 2-7x33 on my 98 in .308. Fills the role for me perfectly. My longest shot on game was with a 2.5x on my FAL at a deer at 300m. I voted for the 3x9 above as it is a very good range of magnification and keeps weight down, esp if hunting in the mountains. Have used several other Leupolds around the world (NA, Haiti, Europe, Africa, Middle East) on rifles both fixed power or variable and they have never let me down. Carry with confidence and good hunting.
CD
CD
I voted 3-9X40 because there wasn't a good 2-7X listed. 
Do some reading on scopes, objective lens, exit pupil and how large the adult human eye can dilate to. You'll find that multiplying the maximum power of your scope by the number 5 will give you the optimum objective lens for your scope. At 7 power, that would be a 35mm objective, while 8 power would be 40mm and 10 power would be 50mm. If 8X is enough magnification for the hunting you'll be doing, and it is certainly enough for 200 yards, then a 40mm objective will gather all the light your eye can take in, regardless.
When hunting very early or very late, you're going to be taking short-range shots of less than 100 yards. Your scope should be at its lowest setting, which means you'll be getting more light gathering from even a 40mm objective than your eye can really use. Be sure to let us know what you go with.
Do some reading on scopes, objective lens, exit pupil and how large the adult human eye can dilate to. You'll find that multiplying the maximum power of your scope by the number 5 will give you the optimum objective lens for your scope. At 7 power, that would be a 35mm objective, while 8 power would be 40mm and 10 power would be 50mm. If 8X is enough magnification for the hunting you'll be doing, and it is certainly enough for 200 yards, then a 40mm objective will gather all the light your eye can take in, regardless.
When hunting very early or very late, you're going to be taking short-range shots of less than 100 yards. Your scope should be at its lowest setting, which means you'll be getting more light gathering from even a 40mm objective than your eye can really use. Be sure to let us know what you go with.
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I much perfer the 4-12, losing one power in the lower end isnt hardly enough to notice, but when hunting openings such as clearcuts the extra 3 power on the top end is extremely handy. My 4-12 doesnt have a AO. The only scopes that I have a AO on is a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24 and a Leupold VXIII6.5-20 and its a SF. I have gotten rid of all but 1, 3-9 Leupold and have replaced them all with 4-12x and 4.5-14x all without the AO. The extra power is really nice, I have no regrets, why handicap your self? If you are looking to handicap yourself just get a Leupold 1-4? I have had 2-7's, pure junk!! in my opinion. But I geuss it pretty much boils down to where you hunt, I hunt where there are lots of really big clearcuts, the extra power is really needed when you have a deer come out at 400-500 yards or better. My dad uses a Remington 700 270 with a Bushnell Elite 6500 4.5-30 with the SF, And it has done really well for him, it has enough low end power for even the closest shots and way more than enough high end power to easily identify a buck at 700-800+ yards.
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The 4-12x40 VXII costs $450 from what I can find. A 3-9x40 Zeiss Conquest costs $400 as does a 2.5-8x36 VX-3, both of which have better glass and coatings than any VXII ever made. To shoot big game there is no need for more than 8X at any reasonable range IMHO. Large objectives do not make brighter scopes, better glass and coatings make brighter scopes.
When looking for a "versatile" scope, I'd further suggest that you may well need a lower "lowest" magnification than 4X, especially when talking ranges as close as 50 yards. Look at the difference between 2.5X and 4X in FOV; 22.8' @ 4X VS 37.5' @ 2.5X, both at 100 yards. As for the 3X of the Zeiss, it's 34' @ 100 yards, still over 11 feet more than a 4x VXII. I'd much rather have a 2.5X or 3X capability than 4X for shots of 25-75 yards.
Food for thought.
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Scope
I've hunted much game in Texas. I can promise you that buying the highest quality scope you can afford will be very worthwhile. And since the 4x12 will be more expensive than the 3x9, I would suggest you buy a higher quality 3x9. I have several of the Zeiss Diavari 3x9 scopes, and I get tremendous joy every time I look through it. I see everything very clearly - which gives me more confidance that I can shoot it accurately. I'd rather the Leupold VXIII in 3 x 9 that the VXII in 4 x 12. The added weight, length and cost of the slightly higer magnification is money poorly spent. Buy higher quality optics.
The AO is more for varmint shooting or small targets when parallax becomes an issue. If you're the rare shooter who shoulders his rifle with his eye perfectly in the center of the scope, the AO is never needed. However, if you're like most of us, our eye is slightly misaligned with the scopes center, causing a parallax problem at ranges substantially farther from where the scope was set to be parallax free (100 or 150 yards on most big game scopes). For game larger than a prairie dog, the AO is just added expense, added length and added weight.
I've hunted much game in Texas. I can promise you that buying the highest quality scope you can afford will be very worthwhile. And since the 4x12 will be more expensive than the 3x9, I would suggest you buy a higher quality 3x9. I have several of the Zeiss Diavari 3x9 scopes, and I get tremendous joy every time I look through it. I see everything very clearly - which gives me more confidance that I can shoot it accurately. I'd rather the Leupold VXIII in 3 x 9 that the VXII in 4 x 12. The added weight, length and cost of the slightly higer magnification is money poorly spent. Buy higher quality optics.
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