Vixen® Rifle Scope Reviews
Hi Errol,
Yesterday evening I shot a stag with my 338 with the Vixen 2.5 - 10 x 50 scope on top.
I glassed him with the Vixen Apex Pro 8 x 42 bino's right on dark, and decided to take him with no time to spare.
I had no problem seeing him thru the scope, so I sat down and rested my elbows on my knees as he was a good 200 metres across a gully. Anyway, I hit him hard in the chest and he rolled down the face. 'DONE'.
Great scope.
Terry McDonald
G'day Errol,
Just a quick note to give you feed back on the Vixen LVF 2.5 - 10 x 50 scope I purchased recently. After a thorough assessment of Nikon, Burris, Bushnell, Leupold, Nightforce, Zeiss, Pecar etc. some of which I have owned.
Due its excellent dawn/dusk capabilities it has displaced a Leupold LPS 3.5 - 14 x 50 on my main hunting rifle. The Leupold is a brilliant scope & I feel a comparison with the Vixen is valid as they both have 30mm tubes & 'range' focus, although the LPS cost considerably more than the Vixen.
During bright daylight and when the spotlight is close in, the Leupold has better colour rendition & thus clarity. However at dawn/dusk, in heavy cover & when long range spotlighting, the Vixen has a distinct advantage, being much brighter, with the red dot being a bonus. The Vixen LVF lives up to its claims & although aimed at the "low light" market it really gives nothing away as a general purpose scope.
The thing that really impressed me about the Vixen LVF was the precise movement of the elevation and windage adjustment as I recently had a problem with a mid price range scope not tracking.
When zeroing, after the first group the Vixen I needed to go down 3 inches and left 1.5 inches. After moving the elevation and windage the required number of clicks the point of impact was exactly where I wanted it above the bull?s-eye.
This prompted me to do a 3" x 2 shot 'walk around'. Twelve clicks R, D, L & Up again, producing a nice square box finishing exactly where I started.
Firing 2 shots on 2.5 power then changing to 6 & 10x gave me a 6 shot .7inch group which is about what the rifle averages nowadays.
I have been using hunting scopes for 52 yrs now & commend you for importing an excellent product, at a reasonable price, that lives up to your claims.
Stephen Biden,
Werribee,
Victoria
Vixen rifle scopes review by Andy Montgomery and published in January-March # 60 issue of Guns & Game magazine:
Two 3 shot groups shot at 100 metres by Tim Kiernan using the Vixen LVF 2.5 to 10 x 50 scope. Both groups measured ½ MOA.
I fitted the new Vixen LVF 2.5 to 10 x 50 scope to my Sako 75 Deluxe chambered in .300Win. Mag. and sighted it in with very impressive results. With the previous scope it had never shot any better than 2 inch groups using various factory ammunition and many different combinations of hand loads.
Not wanting to use hand loaded ammunition with Barnes projectiles to sight in, I took Federal factory ammunition with 180gn projectiles and set up a target at 100 metres.
The results were amazing.
This rifle had never shot groups like this before! 1/2 inch no worries.
I am sending the target to you as proof of the quality of the Vixen product. Anyone that asks me what should they look for when buying optics, the choice is simple, value for money means Vixen. This was best appreciated when doing the low light scope comparison on Errol’s Hunt Smart Sambar training course and the results that I got when using the scope on a rifle that previously I had never been happy with.
My mate Jack Fowler has just put the same Vixen scope on his Tikka T3 in 30/06 and the instant he took the old one off and sighted it in he also shot keyhole groups with it. Jack loves his Vixen.
Thanks again Errol for providing such a high quality product at an affordable price.
Tim Kiernan
Sambar harvested by Geoff McClure at a range of about 140m as it grazed along a creek. It was overcast and half an hour before dark and initially the deer was spotted through overhanging foliage using Vixen Apex Pro 8 x 42 binoculars. Despite the low light when Geoff the rifle up he could clearly seethe deer through the foliage and long grass. The crisp image of the reticle and the deer made it an easy shot with a bipod.
It is now 3 months since I fitted my new Vixen LVF 2.5- 10 X 50 to my favourite sambar rifle, a Sako Bavarian in 300WSM.
I have taken 3 Sambar with the new scope and was most impressed with the performance in poor light. The first deer taken was at a range of about 140 metres as it grazed along a creek line in long grass. It was overcast and half an hour before dark and initially the deer was observed through overhanging foliage using my Vixen Apex Pro 8 x 42 binoculars. Despite the low light when I put the rifle up I could clearly see the deer through the foliage and long grass. The crisp image of the reticle and the deer made it an easy shot with a bipod.
The second deer was taken whilst walking along a steep creek gully covered in tea-tree. Light was very low down in the gully. I put up a young stag and it ran through a dark section of cover. With the scope set on 2.5X I was able to obtain rapid target acquisition and the red dot in the centre of the reticle made shot placement easy on this running stag.
The third deer was bagged during a late afternoon sit-off near the edge of an extensive tea-tree area. I was lying prone and glassing the edge of the cover when I observed a Sambar hind just inside the edge of the tea-tree, the sun had just set and it was hard to see. I wound the scope up to 10 power and turned on the red dot.
The deer was standing still quartering towards me. It was a 180 metre shot but with a bipod and the clear image of the deer in the scope I was confident. She went down on the spot.
Three shots for three deer with the new Vixen LVF scope. You can’t ask for much more than that.
I love the design of the German # reticle and feel Vixen have perfected it for low light Sambar hunting.
I found the elevation and windage adjustments to be extremely accurate which made sighting in a breeze. When I moved it 4 clicks it moved exactly 1 inch at 100 yards.
Overall, this scope provides the deer hunter with outstanding performance at a very affordable price.
Regards
Geoff McClure
Brian Cherry with a young sambar stag he took in very low light using a Tikka T3 in 30/06 fitted with a Vixen 2.5 to 10 x 50 scope using the German # 4 reticle and illuminated red dot.
Brian is extremely happy with the accuracy of his Tikka T3 and the low light performance of his new Vixen scope.
I was using a popular 3-9x50 scope with a German # 4 reticle on my Tikka T3 30/06. It was nearly dark at 5pm in a dull tree fern gully in full shade on a mid winters day in early August 2010 when I saw a big stag in very low light close to dark. But I couldn’t see him clearly through the scope. Plus I couldn’t see the reticle clearly enough against his dark body to take a properly aimed shot so I passed up the chance.
I was so disappointed with the poor light transmission qualities of my previous scope that I removed and replaced it with a Vixen 2.5 to 10 x 50. It has the best German # 4 reticle and illuminated red dot I have ever seen. The heavy side bars come in nice and close towards the centre and the centre cross is neither too fine nor too thick. It’s simply perfect.
Plus the red dot is not too big like some I have seen, and it is very sharp with no flaring whatsoever. Vixen must have done their homework because they have really nailed it with this reticle.
I zeroed it the day I got it and shot the best groups ever with my Tikka T3 30/06. I shot 2 x 2 shot one hole groups. It was amazed, and it took virtually no adjustment to zero it. I found the windage & elevation adjustment on the Vixens to be very accurate. In fact they are the most accurate of all the various scopes I have owned.
The 4 inches of eye relief was is exactly what is needed and I really like the fast focus eyepiece diopter.
A few days later I went up to a favourite gully not far from home where I had seen the big stag I had passed up. It was about 5pm and it was a heavily overcast winter’s day. I sat and waited and soon afterwards I could see antlers between the branches of a tree which was shaking. Placing the Vixens red dot on the stag’s neck, I shot between the branches with my Tikka T3 and 180gn Rem CoreLokt, striking the neck and killing the stag instantly. The face the stag was on was very steep and he was up the side 60 to 70 metres of the gully floor.
I cannot speak highly enough of that Vixen scope. I believe it’s the perfect scope for hunting sambar. In fact, I am so impressed with it that I have been advising all my friends to buy one. I think they really are the best kept secret in optics.
Brian Cherry
Bright, Vic.
I knew Vixen made high quality binoculars so I though that it stood to reason that they would also make high quality scopes so bought a Vixen 2.5 to 10 x 50 with a German # 4 reticle and illuminated red dot. It has a one piece alloy 30mm tube.
I compared it with my existing scopes and found it to be clearer and sharper than my Zeiss Conquest especially around the edge. It is at least equal to my Meopta in optical performance and much brighter than my Vari 111 Leupold of the same specs.
Field of View is excellent and is the reticle
Centre cross is fine enough for 400 yd shot at goat but not as fine as Zeiss Conquest which makes the Vixen better for sambar or other deer in low light.
Red dot is perfect for zeroing and for low light. Shot keyhole groups with a 264 Winchester Mag. The red dot has no flare at all which is a common problem with illuminated reticles such that on my Nightforce which flares all the time.
I found the field of view to be entirely adequate.
The Scope was also amazingly concentric – i.e. the reticle is centred requiring minimal reticle adjustment for zeroing.
I proved it be totally waterproof on a goat hunt where it rained steady for several days soaking the scope.
I am trained in metallurgy so I know a thing or two about alloys. The one piece tube appears to be made of the best grade of alloy for the purpose and it is anodised which makes it harder and noticeably stronger.
I think this Vixen scope is outstanding scope which compares with scopes which cost at least twice as much. In short, it is unbelievable value for money and great all round scope.
Chris Bartlett,
Mt Pleasant, S.A.
