Leupold VX-Freedom Rimfire 3-9x40

I like Leupold, they always seem to have just the right optic for any situation or need and I appreciate the smaller scopes in their range, designed for rimfires or airgun use. So, the new VX-Freedom Rimfire caught my attention. It’s quite a classic design, as we shall see and a true light weight and low-profile design. Equally old school, is the venerable 3-9x40mm power and objective specification, which will suit the various 22 rimfire calibres. It is well made and has their lifetime guarantee too.

Spec

It’s always a good idea to use a scope made for the rifle you intend using it on, i.e. rimfire for rimfire or airgun, as you have to consider the parallax settings and adjustment ranges to suit this shorter range equipment. The VX Rimfire takes this into account in a dedicated build to get the most out of your shooting situation. You therefore have a close focus 60 yard setting range and a proprietary ladder reticle system set up for rimfire ballistics, Leupold are good at this, so close or long range, HV or subsonic 22LR ammunition can be used and distances compensated for very easily. Couple to this the new VX-Freedom offers enviable performance and durability that are not always obvious from the outside.

Gold ring

That classic Leupold gold ring still adorns the objective bell housing and makes it instantly recognisable as what it is; a piece of America. The one-piece aluminium tube is an inch in diameter, perfect for a rimfire. It allows a low mounting to the rifle as well as keeping the weight down to 346 grams. Its length at 12.4” makes for a nice compact scope and of course you have an absolutely water and fog proof build quality, so that it can take anything you throw at it or the weather.

The body tube is durable and has a nice satin black exterior and plenty of mounting area, 60mm in front of the turrets and 50mm behind them. You then have the magnification ring with raised ridges for grip and an extra-large fin for fast operation if required. This is positioned at the x6 marking, perhaps to give the shooter a feel where you are if it’s a bit dark.

Classic features

The eye piece harks back to earlier times, as it’s of the separate lock ring type that, once focused, is then tighten up to retain the position. Not fast focusing but plenty of adjustment range, even for these old eyes now. The objective lens is 40mm actual optic diameter with a total 45mm outside diameter, so still very capable of low mounting to a rifles action. The lens is set far back from the rim, so offers good glare and weather protection, but it is also threaded for accessory sunshades if you like.

The power setting, as we said, is that classic 3-9 power, which in today’s terms offers a versatile 3:1 zoom ratio. Really at 3x you have enough field of view (FOV) for close range, fast or woodland areas, some 33.7(ft/100 yd) and at the other end at 9x power there is enough magnification for a precise shot and still offers a field of view of 13.6 (ft/100 yd).

Sexy turrets

The turrets are the low profile, cap-covered types, remove these and you have a larger clear ¼ MOA adjustment system divided up into 14 Minutes. There are clear white number at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 positions and 4 clicks per minute adjustment, obviously. They are a bit woolly, but stay put once set, which is the important part and you have a maximum movement in both elevation and windage of 60 MOA. More than enough for a rimfire rifle. Despite being a bit stiff, they offer absolute repeatability and dependability for a lifetime of use, so no arguments there.

There is no illumination, but you do get a very good reticle system. It is in the second focal plane (SFP) so shows the same image and pattern size at any magnification. The downside of SFP is that the values on the reticle are only true at one setting, usually maximum, so you need to learn what’s what for trajectory drop. However, for a rimfire, chances are it will be mainly up at 9x for most needs and up close if you have the right zero just point and shoot at any mag.

60 yards

Parallax is adjusted for 60 yards, but as usual the higher mag settings and reticle together are only really clear down to about 15 yards, no issue just drop it down to 6 or 7x at closer ranges. The pattern uses Leopold’s Rimfire MOA design that is based on their T-MOA, which shows 1 MOA stadia on the 6 O`clock arm. This gives a 25 MOA of total measurement with 5 MOA stadia being wider for quicker reference, whilst the thinner marks do not cover too much of a small quarry species. As this is an SFP system, the reticle will only subtend correctly at 9x.

In use, I found the VX handy and lightweight that added practically nothing to an already light Ruger 10/22 rifle. The zoom is smooth to use, the adjustment for zeroing is fine and focus of the eyepiece stays put. I liked the reticle, as you can quickly change your point of aim instantly without adjusting the elevation turret. It’s a bit crowded for my older eyes but works well for all 22LR rimfire ammo types.

The lenses are a lot better than you might expect on a scope in this price range. Leupold’s coatings allow a good degree of light transmission for good colour retention, and resolution even at dawn or dusk. They also reduce glare by up to 80%, which certainly maintains a crisp and vibrant image too and there is their Mil-Spec scratch resistant coating for a bit more protection.

Conclusions

When you consider that each Leupold scope has to survive 5,000 impacts on ‘The Punisher’, their recoil simulation machine, which replicates the recoil force of a .308 rifle, you can see why they offer such a good lifetime warranty. The VX Freedom Rimfire is a great all-rounder, offering good build quality and crisp optics, adjustments stay put (although a little stiff) but a great lightweight design with all the power settings you need and a useful MOA reticle too.