Leupold’s New FireDot™ Scopes Thomas C. Tabor
The author chose to mount the Leupold VX-R 1.25-4x20 FireDot Hog Scope on his Remington 700 BDL chambered in 243 Winchester with a Bell & Carlson synthetic stock. While the recoil of the 243 didn’t warrant the use of a Lead Sled, the Caldwell DFT Model rest did provide a solid support for pin-point accuracy.
equipped with the now trendy il- luminated reticles. Over the years I have tried and even owned my share of the various styles of lighted scopes, but right or wrong, I quickly wrote off most of those as simply a way for the optics manufacturers to increase their sales. But as a disclosure, the reader should understand that I am essentially a conventional type of fellow. I much prefer the simpler, time-honored things in life: I drink my scotch straight up or maybe on the rocks; all my vehicles are equipped with standard transmissions and I much prefer windows that I can crank up and down rather than putting my faith in a button; I prefer that my gunstocks are made of walnut rather than a piece of plastic; I prefer fi rearms possessing a blued fi nish over some- thing that takes shape in an oven; and I like the looks of a plain black colored Duplex reticle over that of a brightly lit red or green one. Nevertheless, some- times a particular new product is able to break through my self-constructed barriers and biases and convinces me
I
n all honesty, I’ve never been too fond of scopes that come
that a second look is clearly warranted. In this case Leupold & Steven’s new FireDot™ scopes did just that to me with a real fl air. The Leupold FireDot system is
clearly a radical deviation from the normal style of illuminated reticle designs. Essentially it incorporates all of the benefits inherent in a normal nonlighted reticle with a well-defi ned illuminated red dot at its center. Cur- rently the FireDot system is available in six models of the Leupold VX-R® line of scopes, including: 1.25-4x20mm, 2-7x33mm, 3-9x40mm, 3-9x50mm, 4-12x40mm, and 4-12x50mm. Within those models there are five FireDot reticle variations to select from, which are called: FireDot Duplex, Ballistic FireDot, FireDot Circle, FireDot 4, and FireDot Pig Plex. In all but one case, Leupold selectively offers several of those designs in each scope model, but the VX-R 1.25-4x20mm FireDot scope, sometimes simply called “the Hog,” is currently available only with the Pig Plex reticle. At the center of the FireDot sys- tem is a fi ber optic light pipe, which
Even at the low magnification of 4x the Leupold VX-R 1.25-4x20 FireDot Hog Scope shot some pretty impressive groups using the author’s handloads.
has been meticulously cut and polished to produce a very fi nely defi ned, il- luminated dot aiming point. A single, commonly available, 3-volt lithium coin-cell (CR-2032) battery powers the system, a battery that can be purchased at most variety stores. Once activated, only the FireDot dot lights up, with the remainder of the reticle remain- ing nonilluminated and in its natural black color. I found the activation/ deactivation system of the FireDot to be extremely simple and straightfor- ward in its design. Along the left side of the scope, directly across from the left/right reticle adjustment turret, is a similar appearing turret-like projec- tion, which incorporates the unit’s push button switch and houses its lithium battery. This area is distinguishable by the gold colored Leupold insignia. This is the only controlling switch for the FireDot system. To activate the FireDot feature
you need to press the button only once. Repeated presses will progressively move you through the eight different FireDot intensity settings. As a refer- ence point, once the highest or lowest
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