My thoughts on the matter, and it's worth exactly what you're about to pay for it I suppose. I've been using various Leupold scopes ever since I could afford to buy my own when I was 19. I really like them and to me the VX-5HD line is just about the perfect hunting scope(if it held zero), and I've killed lots of stuff with various Leupolds scopes. That said, all through the years of use of all of those scopes, having to re-zero my rifles was a fairly routine need. I've also had a vx-2 that couldn't hold zero for more than a couple of shots on a lightish 7saum. Growing up watching my grandpa and other older folks I cared for and trusted do the same, I thought that's just how it was and maybe the problem was in the ammo, rifle or some other unknown.. This was back when the roughest treatment a scope got from me was being taken to a treestand, so no drops or falls.
Fast forward almost two decades, more experience, boredom buying too many guns and scopes, nerding out on gun stuff and the fact that I now very much enjoy sheep and other mountain hunts that can be hard on gear. Every single Leupold scope (and Vortex) I've used has failed to retain zero at some point. I missed a nice ram on more than one stalk after falling on my scope and other random zero loss incidents that couldn't be explained even when they were never dropped. Given how hard a damn sheep hunt is, that missed ram caused me to really reevaluate my shooting setup. So, I switched to Trijicon Credo HX scopes for my hunting rifles, and it's the first time in my life I can pickup and shoot a rifle on any given day and it still be zeroed every single time I check it. Even after a rough 10+ days chasing sheep. The argument of, "I don't need a drop tested scope", seems silly to me if you hunt with it and wounding a animal is a possibility. As I eluded to in my rambling above, I've even had Leupolds have issues when the roughest use they saw was just walking to a treestand in the lesser 48.
I really wish Leupold would just make their existing line up hold zero. I'd buy VX-5s again if they did. Until then I'm enjoying my Trijicons as they have the features I want/need in a hunting scope and have so far, proven dependable for me. My buddies that have switched to Trijicon and Nightforce from Leupold and Vortex have also "seen the light" on scope reliability issues of their old scopes.
All that said, I'm also a firm believer in the rule of the three Fs. I f you don't Feed me, F*** me, or Finance me, then your opinion doesn't really matter to me. So, if no one is buying your scopes, ammo, tags etc. for you, then why should what they think matter? It doesn't, but sometimes its not a terrible idea to learn from the misfortune of others either. I just like to share my experience based thoughts on it for you to do what you wish with the info, thinking maybe if it helps just one person fill that highly prized tag, not wound an animal or generally be successful, then it was worth the effort to type it.
What ever you choose, good luck and go make memories with those you care about.
