View Full Version : Leupold Freedom Red Dot
Just posted, not a lot of information out yet. Kind of ugly and bulky but price seems decent at $390 msrp which includes mount. I can’t find much information as far as battery life but it’s a motion activated 1 MOA dot.
https://www.leupold.com/scopes/red-dot-sights/freedom-red-dot-sight-rds-1x34mm
RKB Armory
04-18-19, 13:11
It's a pretty crowded field. However, there are some neat features. For instance, you can dial for elevation. That's kind of neat.
Doc Safari
04-18-19, 13:14
A one MOA dot seems awfully small. Isn't the 2 MOA dot sort of considered optimal now? I like the robust look of the optic. It's probably built really well but may not have the durability of an ACOG. Still, for the price point it may be good enough for most civilian and law enforcement applications.
Of course, until people start torture testing it and reporting back to us on things like battery life, robustness, optical clarity, parallax, and whatnot, it's just a range toy.
EDITED TO ADD: I watched a couple of videos on it and the dot actually looks a little LARGE. Could just be the difficulty of filming through the optic.
I also think it needs:
1. A 1/3 co-witness mount.
2. A quick-detachable mount.
It's a pretty crowded field. However, there are some neat features. For instance, you can dial for elevation. That's kind of neat.
Agreed, and I knew somebody was going to come along and do this. I hope the market fleshes out the demand for the feature to migrate over to AP at some point in the future. The optic's form looks straight out of the early 2000s though.
It looks kinda long. Is it a prism design? If it is that would be great for those of us that have astigmatism.
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What kind of street price? And I wonder when a guy can look at them. I've been kicking tires for a long time when it comes to buying a red dot and maybe this one from Leupold might be the one.
Optics Planet (not a recommendation) is offering the non-BDC model for ~ 300 USD.
Being a bit vision challenged, I don't see the value of a BDC dial on a non magnified RDS - it would just make it harder to excuse my missing at range. I guess with a magnifier I could get some use out of it, but the Freedom seems rather long to pair with one.
Andy
grizzlyblake
04-19-19, 06:55
I wonder why the battery life is only 1200hrs. Is it not a standard LED red dot? Something is strange with that spec.
Eurodriver
04-19-19, 07:35
Pass.
May take a bit of time to work the kinks out of their new red dot but I've always had great luck with Leupold and any problems I've had they've been more then fair taking care of them.
RKB Armory
04-19-19, 11:07
I'm glad to see an American company with an American made offering. I wish them luck.
No practical advantage over an Aimpoint Pro or ACO, a far as I can tell. Battery life doesn't sound good at all.
I don't see much advantage over an Aimpoint Pro other than few bucks savings.
Maybe the new leupold will help drive the price down a few bucks on the Pro? Always wanted the Aimpoint just never could come up with the money they wanted and I have never found the extra sweet deals that others claim they got.
Yeah, the battery life is a non-starter for a rifle to ride in a patrol car. I copied his from the website...
“The VX-Freedom RDS features our MST motion sensor technology and will automatically power off after 5 minutes of inactivity and will power on again on first motion. The battery will last 24 continuous hours at the highest brightness setting.”
I like the robust look of the design though.
Yeah that’s a killer for me, I like that it’s US made and looks durable, but that battery life is a joke.
Yeah, the battery life is a non-starter for a rifle to ride in a patrol car. I copied his from the website...
“The VX-Freedom RDS features our MST motion sensor technology and will automatically power off after 5 minutes of inactivity and will power on again on first motion. The battery will last 24 continuous hours at the highest brightness setting.”
I like the robust look of the design though.
Gunnar da Wolf
04-20-19, 20:11
“The battery will last 24 continuous hours at the highest brightness setting.”
LOL! I was assured by a tech at SIG that their Romeo 4 series sights would get at least a couple thousand hours battery life in a vehicle with a similar motion activated system. I replace the battery on my H-1 every two years whether it needs it or not. I don’t know what majik the Swedes use for battery life but it’s embarrassing that a US company can’t at least come close.
LOL! I was assured by a tech at SIG that their Romeo 4 series sights would get at least a couple thousand hours battery life in a vehicle with a similar motion activated system. I replace the battery on my H-1 every two years whether it needs it or not. I don’t know what majik the Swedes use for battery life but it’s embarrassing that a US company can’t at least come close.
No doubt. Other than the Trijicon MRO I don’t know of any that do.
The_War_Wagon
04-20-19, 21:59
It looks kinda long. Is it a prism design? If it is that would be great for those of us that have astigmatism.
That, and 1 moa dot sounds cool. With astigmatism, it's GONNA bloom!
Doc Safari
04-20-19, 23:03
Doesn't the SIG Romeo 5 have long battery life too?
Doesn't the SIG Romeo 5 have long battery life too?
Good catch Doc. They advertise 40k hours of life.
Gunnar da Wolf
04-21-19, 13:51
Doesn't the SIG Romeo 5 have long battery life too?
Allegedly 50,000 hours if it gets enough nap time, I bought a Romeo 5 as a range toy and like it well enough that I may get a 4DR and a QD T1 mount as a backup sight for one of my more serious carbines.
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