Rifle Scopes Review of the Eotech Vudu 5-25, Now With Photos

I prefer the H59… the md3 is a smart choice as well if tree reticles are not your thing and you want less clutter.

Both have .2 subtension on the vertical and horizontal stadia which I find helpful for precise wind holds or holdovers.

The md3 nicer/ quicker at the lower mag range that most people don't spend time in (5-8ish power).

Both are easy to see at mid range without being too thick at higher magnification. Both reticles have a fine floating center dot.
 
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I stumbled into this scope and I love a good deal, which this seems to be. I also like it being compact, but not being familiar with compact scopes are there compromises to this design? My short list was a PST Gen2, then noticed a couple of T5xi deals, then this one. Thoughts? Not sure I want the H59 or the MD3, which kind of rules this out, i guess...
 
Ive had mine for several months now. I have ran it on a 6.5x47L and my 223 AI. I had some issues at first with CA and a greenish tint but truthfully it has gone away. I don't know how but it has. I have other glass I use also so I know I just didn't get used to it. In my eyes, it is on par with the GEN II Razor. It is a step below my 5-25 atacr, but that is in my eyes. I have ran it in a few matches and have had zero issues with it. I plan on buying one or two more. I am not a tree kinda guy and the MD3 reticle is one of my favorite reticles. I would put the MD3 in all my scopes if possible. I ended up with seekins low rings. I trimmed a little off my rails that extended past the front of the recoil lug to keep the objective lense bell from hitting.
 
I stumbled into this scope and I love a good deal, which this seems to be. I also like it being compact, but not being familiar with compact scopes are there compromises to this design? My short list was a PST Gen2, then noticed a couple of T5xi deals, then this one. Thoughts? Not sure I want the H59 or the MD3, which kind of rules this out, i guess...

I was curious about the MD3 and might have pulled the trigger if it weren't sold out. Ended up ordering the H59.
 
I was curious about the MD3 and might have pulled the trigger if it weren't sold out.

Yeah, was thinking the same thing. Really close to pulling the trigger, but I definitely did not want to spend more and get the H59. Kind of like the Midway deal on viper pst2s; 5-25 in MOA or 3-15 in mil. Neither is really what I wanted and that's a lot of money not to get what you want.

Enjoy your Vudu!
 
Yeah, was thinking the same thing. Really close to pulling the trigger, but I definitely did not want to spend more and get the H59. Kind of like the Midway deal on viper pst2s; 5-25 in MOA or 3-15 in mil. Neither is really what I wanted and that's a lot of money not to get what you want.

Enjoy your Vudu!


Looking forward to it. I think I might have purchased the last one actually. It's no longer listed on the DVOR website.
 
The DVOR sale is back on as of this morning. The MD3 option is up a little and the H59 down a little. Both are still a great buy. I caved this morning.....

Of course the price drops on the H59. I finally got my shipping notice today. Funny how they expedite shipping only after I contacted them to cancel the order, telling me my order has been processed and it's too late to cancel. I guess they must've thought I was trying to cancel it and re-order it at the reduced cost, even though that wasn't the case. I was actually going to order a Minox and try that out instead. I'll go ahead and wait for it to get here before deciding whether to keep it or not.
 
Is there enough scope body to run a Spuhr on these?

Damn i hope so. My Vudu is still in the box waiting for my 308 to come back from SAC thats getting some work done and wont be home until after SHOT. and a seperate ring Spuhr- 4000 just arrived a couple days ago.

i may have more modularity with the two peice, instead of the spuhr one peice mounts.

Maybe someone else can confirm or else ill have to when i get home from work tonight.
 
Damn i hope so. My Vudu is still in the box waiting for my 308 to come back from SAC thats getting some work done and wont be home until after SHOT. and a seperate ring Spuhr- 4000 just arrived a couple days ago.

i may have more modularity with the two peice, instead of the spuhr one peice mounts.

Maybe someone else can confirm or else ill have to when i get home from work tonight.

Best I can do when mine gets here next week is to eyeball match it up with my Spuhr QDP-4016 and/or SP-5602.
 
Quick late-night-can't-sleep initial impressions. So I got a chance to play with my new 5-25x a little bit this evening. The only thing I found to be a little off-putting was the elevation turret didn't have the same feel as the windage turret (the windage turrets having more audible and positive/tactile click adjustments). Wondering if that's just the norm for this scope? Nevertheless, the mil indicators line up perfectly and it will stop where you need it to if making meticulous incremental adjustments, albeit you can miss your intended mark and will need to back up if you get too aggressive on the turns. But since this is equipped with the H59 and I'll be using the grid to holdover for the most part I don't see it as being that big a deal. Can't really comment on the reticle illumination brightness until I've had a chance to check it out during daylight hours, but it appears to be right on par with my old H37 equipped S&B. I'll also need to verify that there's no "green tint" a couple guys here reported, but just looking though the glass indoors around the house I didn't notice anything weird. Nevertheless, I want to be able to observe it under different lighting conditions before I consider it good. Other than that I'm really liking this scope so far. I've yet to come across the "perfect" optic that delivers everything I want or would like to see in a scope, and 100% meets or exceeds my expectations, but then again that could be because I haven't spent enough money yet.

ETA: Good morning. So going back and looking at the image of the illuminated H59 reticle on the previous page (copied below for your convenience), mine does not come near this level of brightness. As stated above, it appears to illuminate as bright as my previously owned H37 equipped S&B, which I was under the impression was quite normal. The center line vertical dots are lit at every even numbered mil increments with horizontal indicators at the 10 mil hash, but the reticle itself is nowhere near as bright as what is shown in the photo (no illumination observed in daylight/morning post-dawn sun). Looks good during hours of darkness and limited visibility (nicely illuminated reticle structure), but that's about it. I don't really use illumination during the day, but just curious to know what others have noticed in theirs. I'll try to see if I can't take a through-the-scope pic today. Not going to return it or contact EOTech if it's a nothing burger, but would like it to work the way it should if what I'm experiencing is not the norm.

Happy to report I've observed no green tint. Should also add an update regarding the elevation adjustment. I should clarify that click adjustments are solid, it's just "muted" compared to the windage adjustment. I'll try to post a video clip later today.

20181225_123816-jpg.6991900
 
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Elevation vs. Windage adjustment comparison:



Reticle illumination (full on):

ETA: comparing it to the above image, it appears the photo provided by the OP might have been taken with a front scope cap in place? If so, you can expect similar results given dark/nighttime conditions.

gfVWBE.jpg
 
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I noticed the same thing with the illumination: You have to be looking into near blackness to see it that clearly. Even in normal room lighting only the central dots are nominally 'daylight bright.' Not a deal breaker for me, though. Mine went on a KAC LPR, so the relative reduced size and weight compared to other higher power optics is what enticed me, especially for the price of the Dvor deal.

Does anybody know what size flip-up caps might fit this scope?

mje3AbL.jpg
 
I noticed the same thing with the illumination: You have to be looking into near blackness to see it that clearly. Even in normal room lighting only the central dots are nominally 'daylight bright.' Not a deal breaker for me, though. Mine went on a KAC LPR, so the relative reduced size and weight compared to other higher power optics is what enticed me, especially for the price of the Dvor deal.

Does anybody know what size flip-up caps might fit this scope?

mje3AbL.jpg

Good copy, Jett66. I figured that was the case. Like I said previously, pretty much what I expected given my experience with the illuminated H37 on the S&B. Just wanted to confirm since the OP's image threw me. What's been your experience with the elevation and windage click adjustments?

I'm running a Butler Creek clear front cover #10 BC70210 . Not using a rear cover.
 
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Good copy, Jett66. I figured that was the case. Like I said previously, pretty much what I expected given my experience with the illuminated H37 on the S&B. Just wanted to confirm since the OP's image threw me. What's been your experience with the elevation and windage click adjustments?

I'm running a Butler Creek clear front cover #10 BC70210 . Not using a rear cover.
The elevation clicks are definitely a little 'softer,' but they are consistent enough to not seem 'spongy' or vague on whether or not you clicked once twice, or none.
 
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The elevation clicks are definitely a little 'softer,' but they are consistent enough to not seem 'spongy' or vague on whether or not you clicked once twice, or none.

Copy all. So far it seems to be consistent in that regard at least. Nothing I've noted has been identified as a deal breaker for me, just wanted to confirm its the norm with these scopes, and two examples with near identical observations leads me to believe it is GTG. Looks like she's a keeper. Thanks.
 
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I looked through one in el paso texas, desert. Lots of purple from varying ranges where crests of hills would separate distance. The purple between the ground and the sky was very apparent. I wish I took a photo but maybe I had a lemon.
 
@sleeplz both the original one I got that was a complete POS, and the replacement they sent me have very noticeable chromatic aberration just like you saw. I’ve heard several people claim they don’t get much CA, but I have come to suspect some of them either don’t know what a scope that actually controls CA well looks like, or they just ignore it. I’m not saying everyone who says they don’t have it is wrong, just my suspicion. I still stand by my earlier claims that this scope is a good deal at $1500, but not any more than that unless you NEED high mag and short length. Glass is subjective, but it isn’t that subjective. This scope doesn’t handle CA very well, is not as bright, and doesn’t have as good contrast as a scope that isn’t as short as this one. There are absolutely compromises in it to get it’s short length and light weight in a 5-25. I still really like this scope, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone unless they had a need or want for its shortness.
 
@sleeplz both the original one I got that was a complete POS, and the replacement they sent me have very noticeable chromatic aberration just like you saw. I’ve heard several people claim they don’t get much CA, but I have come to suspect some of them either don’t know what a scope that actually controls CA well looks like, or they just ignore it. I’m not saying everyone who says they don’t have it is wrong, just my suspicion. I still stand by my earlier claims that this scope is a good deal at $1500, but not any more than that unless you NEED high mag and short length. Glass is subjective, but it isn’t that subjective. This scope doesn’t handle CA very well, is not as bright, and doesn’t have as good contrast as a scope that isn’t as short as this one. There are absolutely compromises in it to get it’s short length and light weight in a 5-25. I still really like this scope, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone unless they had a need or want for its shortness.

CA is noticeable in my copy, but not to the extreme. I'm comparing this against the S&B PMII, 4-16x, Mark5HD 3.6-18x, ATACR 4-16x, Vudu 3.5-18x, Burris XTRII 3-15x (really bad CA), SWFA 3-15x. Also scopes that belong to buddies such as the S&B PMII 3-20x. The scopes I've owned/used have CA to varying degrees, and none of them other than the XTRII demonstrated CA to the extreme. I have a high-end photography background where I used to obsess over glass and IQ, so I'm very aware of what CA is and how to gauge whether or not it is acceptable for my uses. What I will say about the 5-25x Vudu is that IQ drops off beyond 16x. 20x-25x isn't anything to write home about, but it's not unusable and I don't see myself taking advantage of the top end of the magnification range much. I came into the purchase knowing and understanding that there might be some trade off due to its compact design, but at its price point I didn't have uber high expectations and find it perfectly usable for my uses so far. I do agree that I would not recommend this optic if absolute exceptional image quality is a priority, but then again those guys are likely looking at options in the $3K+ range.
 
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@Blackfoot 7 I agree with your point that it is much better under 20x. However, in my opinion, this is one of the few scopes where the performance above 20x is actually extremely relevant to its overall viability. To me, this scope was worth it because it fills a niche without any real competitor. It’s an ultra short, 5-25, 30oz scope with a good reticle. If you take away the 20-25x, it loses about 50% of what I consider to give it its value, and you also open the door for several competitors to consider. The list of short, light 16x scopes isn’t really all that short, but the list of short, light 25x scopes is.

I also agree it is perfectly usable, and it certainly met my expectation of it as well. I didn’t mean to imply it shows CA so badly it is unusable, just that it definitely doesn’t handle it as well as many other highly used choices in the $1500+ price range. It’s significant enough many people would consider it too much, while most would just tolerate it.

Also, just to be clear, I didn’t intend my previous point about people’s claims on CA as an attack or as offensive in any way to anyone. I don’t think you took it that way, but I realized it could be interpreted to be, so wanted to clarify. My main point was I have met multiple people who were honestly blissfully ignorant to rather extreme CA, and didn’t recognize it at all when it was obvious to me.
 
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I also don’t think I would recommend this scope at above $2000, unless you specifically NEED a compact, light weight, high mag scope, in which case it’s basically the only option I know of right now that is below the $3000 and up price bracket. Otherwise, in my opinion it is worth about $1600-$1800 and is a good deal in that price range. It’s performance is a little less than most scopes in this price range, but it makes up the difference with its size and weight, and I feel this is the price range where it can successfully compete if you just want it for a scope, and not for its unique niche.

After a fair amount research, I bought one in a Black Friday Sale at BigDaddyUnlimited. It cost me $1,383 (including shipping). I keep reading "$2,000" but I've found this scope in several places under $1,400. It pays to shop around.
 
After a fair amount research, I bought one in a Black Friday Sale at BigDaddyUnlimited. It cost me $1,383 (including shipping). I keep reading "$2,000" but I've found this scope in several places under $1,400. It pays to shop around.
I'm assuming MD3 reticle for that price?
 
Yes ... I can't handle all the clutter in those "tree" reticles. Just looked ... post sale price is $1,469 for the MD3, and $1,542 for the Horus ... glad I caught the sale.
Yeah you did about as good as you can do. The dealer only made a Ulysses S. Grant on you.
 
Not a paid endorser ... but I have found that normal and sale prices with my BigDaddyUnlimited membership are almost always the cheapest online, or anywhere else. I've become a "fan". Other place I saw a great sub-$1,400 sale on this recently was at ScopeList.com ... but now it's showing as back-ordered.
 
C
Also agree with the above. Great glass, size, weight and features for the price. I’m going to give them a call though because the illumination on mine with the MD3 reticle isn’t even close to daylight bright and does bleed more than I think it should. Here it is on a 20” 6.5 Creedmoor I built:
A buddy just bought this scope and is looking at rings, their either 1.25 or 1.5, which would be better for his flat top AR10? Any advice appreciated!
 
Next question - couldn't find this info on the eotech site: is there enough total elevation in the scope to use with a 40 moa mount or do I need to get this 4802 Spuhr traded for something flatter?