On a gray, damp, and blustery Western Oregon winter day some good news arrived at my doorstep in the person of the UPS delivery man bearing a new Leupold VX-II 3-9x33mm EFR Compact Rimfire riflescope. (EFR stands for "extended focus range.") I had requested this scope for review.

All Leupold Golden Ring scopes are manufactured in the U.S.A. and covered by the Leupold Full Lifetime Warranty

Removing the scope from its protective cloth wrap left me holding an attractive, matte black, compact scope with the trademark Leupold "Golden Ring" around its adjustable objective. Unfortunately, lens caps are not provided, which seems a strange oversight for a scope in this price range.

The power adjustment ring just forward of the focusing ocular bell is marked in small gold numbers starting at 3 and ending with 9, interspersed with hash marks. These are stamped on a slanted surface facing the shooter, which is a thoughtful convenience. The front objective lens is recessed about 3/4" in the objective bell, which constitutes a sort of built in lens hood. The ocular bell is threaded to accept Leupold filters. The front parallax adjustment ring is marked for the exceptionally wide range of 10 meters to infinity (EFR) with little gold numbers.

Both the adjustable objective and the zoom ring required considerable force to turn, but were smooth in operation . . . The Zoom ring has a rectangular raised area that serves as a tactile indication of where the ring is set. I found that the zoom ring comes to a positive stop at the "3" and "9" ends of its range. The front parallax adjustment, however, turns well below the minimum 10 meter setting in one direction, and far past infinity in the other direction.

Looking through the scope for the first time, I was rewarded with the sharp, clear view that has made Leupold scopes world famous. I found that the focus was fast and easy to adjust. There is a knurled lock ring to keep the focus from changing once set. If you screw the adjustable ocular bell all the way out, it will not detach from the scope because of an internal lock ring.

Remove the threaded caps that protect the windage and elevation adjustments and you see coin slot, 1/4 MOA click adjustments with a moveable index mark and surrounded by a fixed, calibrated dial. As with other Leupold VX-II scopes I have owned, the adjustments were easy to use and reasonably accurate.

Leupold VX-II scopes are fully sealed and are designed to be waterproof and fog proof. Unlike most scopes, the Leupold is waterproof even without the windage and elevation adjustment caps in place.

Since 2004 all VX-II scopes have come with Leupold's Multicoat 4 lens coatings throughout. This is one of several upgrades that have been applied to the VX-II scope line since it was introduced. Others are the redesigned zoom ring and lockable fast focus eyepiece mentioned above.

Here are the basic specifications for the VX-II 3-9x33mm EFR Rimfire scope:

Length - 11.3"; Weight - 11 ounces; Actual magnification - 3.2-8.6; Field of view - 34' to 13.5' at 100 yards; Optimum eye relief - 3" to 4"; Tube Diameter - 1"; Objective Diameter - 1.8"; Objective clear aperture - 33mm; Windage and elevation adjustment range - 64 MOA; Product number - 58710; 2005 Discount price - $349.99 (Midway, U.S.A.)

I mounted the 3-9x33 Rimfire on my .223 Remington caliber NEF Synthetic/Stainless Handi-Rifle for testing. Although not a rimfire rifle, its recoil is light and the Leupold's 3-4" eye relief is more than sufficient for the caliber. I might add that the moderate size of the objective and ocular bells and the relatively long tube space between the adjustment turret and the bells allowed plenty of fore and aft movement between the mounting rings. This made it easy to mount the scope the proper distance from my eye.

Little touches like this, and the non-critical eye relief, the generous 64 MOA elevation and windage adjustment range, and the multiple reticles available in Leupold scopes (the test scope has a Fine Duplex rather than the standard Duplex) are among the details that set Leupold scopes apart from the field. Some of these features are not readily apparent. But their absence sometimes becomes glaringly apparent down the road in scopes that do not have them.

The 3-9x33mm Rimfire scope gives excellent views of the target. It is sharp and clear with good contrast and low distortion throughout its power range. The fine duplex reticle is especially nice when shooting at small targets at long range, since it is easy to see and yet subtends little of the target. Adjustsments are tactile and accurate. This Leupold VX-II 3-9x33mm EFR Rimfire scope is simply the best rimfire riflescope that I have ever used.

Note: A complete Leupold VX-II 3-9x33mm EFR Rimfire riflescope review can be found on the Product Review Page.