Michigan-based optics company EOTECH has a deserved reputation for battle-hardened tactical scopes and weapon sights that can be found in military theaters and in law-enforcement deployment around the globe. Recognizing the quality and durability of the brand’s gear, civilian marksmen have made EOTECH a fixture of precision rifle matches and sniper challenges, ringing steel with Vudu scopes and HWS holographic sights.
Finally, hunters can go afield with a line of EOTECH rifle scopes that brings all of the company’s focus on precision and durability in a platform that’s configured for the shots hunters encounter and at an accessible price.
It’s EOTECH’s Vudu X line, hunting-oriented optics in two configurations. The 1-6×24 LPVO is a perfect match for short- to medium-range platforms as varied as straight-wall cartridge carbines and crossbows to turkey shotguns.
The 2-12×40 Vudu X, with its 6-times magnification range, versatile second-plane reticle, and low profile, is the ultimate deer-rifle scope.
It’s worth focusing on the attributes of this hunting-oriented scope not only on its own merits but also as a more accessible expression of EOTECH’s brand personalities of durability, reliability, and repeatable precision.
Accessibility is a big part of the story. EOTECH’s signature scopes, from its Vudu line, are premium optics, built around best-in-class Japanese glass and priced accordingly. The 3.5-18×50, arguably the most hunting-centric scope of the product line, costs between $1,625 and $1,850, depending on reticle. That price has put the Vudu out of reach of many deer hunters.
But the 2-12×40 Vudu X, sourced in the Philippines, brings all of the company’s DNA to a scope that retails for a bit over $850. That’s still a significant purchase, but EOTECH’s team of Michigan whitetail hunters combined their knowledge of optical design with their love of deer hunting to produce a scope that is center-of-mass for most hunting scenarios.
Field-Worthy Build
While most scopes in the flagship Vudu line have exposed tactical-style turrets that competitive shooters demand, both the elevation and windage turrets on the Vudu X are capped, to improve weather-proofness and durability but also to lower the scope’s profile and prevent inadvertent adjustments on the way to or while in the field. Adjustments are in hunter-centric MOA (both turrets are tuned to ¼ MOA click adjustments). Turrets turn 15 MOA in a single revolution, and the scope has 80 MOA of internal adjustment, which is plenty for not only zeroing on any rifle platform, but also for ensuring there’s plenty of turret travel in case hunters want to dial for longer-distance shots.
The Vudu X is available in two reticles, both illuminated. The DP1 is a standard bold plex style, but for hunters who want additional wind and elevation holds, the BD1 reticle has four bullet drop circles under the center crosshair to hold for different distances.
Depending on your rifle’s ballistics and a 100-yard zero, the first circle represents 200 yards, the second 300, and the third 400, and the fourth 500, with the top of the bottom post serving as an additional holdover reference. For those hunters who think in MOA rather than yardage, the drops provide a 2, 4, 6, and 8 MOA hold over. It’s a fast, intuitive, and effective design for dropping bullets into the vitals of animals at mid to longish ranges.
The BD1 reticle’s horizontal holds are at 2 and 4 MOA, which roughly conforms to windage hold off in a 5 and 10mph right-angle wind.
The Vudu X’s 6-times magnification range starts at 2x, perfect for most Eastern and Midwestern whitetail scenarios, but it zooms to 12x for deployment in the West’s wide-open deer and elk habitats. A handy throw lever enables quick magnification adjustments for those times when you need to ramp up or down the power.
The Vudu X features a side parallax adjustment that ensures your target is in focus and that the crosshair is aligned with the image plane at any distance from 25 yards to infinity.
The reticle illumination is powered by a standard CR2032 battery and features 10 intensity levels, with shut-off between intensity steps. The illumination zooms from barely visible for low-light shooting to daylight-bright for a bold aiming point in full sunshine.
Built For Hunting
One of the recent trends in rifle scope design is crossover scopes that bring the first-plane reticles and exposed turrets of competitive shooting to hunting situations. These scopes generally have massive objective lenses that require high rings and subsequently require raised stock geometries to put shooters’ eyes in line with the scope’s exit pupil.
Most pure hunting scopes have smaller objective bells in order to sit closer to the rifle’s receiver, and the Vudu X falls squarely in that tradition. The 40mm objective can be mounted with either low or medium-height rings and promotes natural aiming posture.
The EOTECH scope is built on a standard 30mm tube, so finding rings that fit should be an easy task, even in rural communities.
The excellent glass doesn’t need a massive objective lens to amplify light or images. Images are bright, crisp to the edges, and vibrant at all magnifications, thanks to EOTECH’s proprietary coatings that enhance contrast and low-light visibility.
You can certainly spend more for a rifle scope — and you’ll find plenty of good options in EOTECH’s premium Vudu line — but the Vudu X combines all the features most hunters want in a compact, durable, and bright package that will leave you enough funds to upgrade the deer rifle that it’s mated with.