Did Leupold make both a 3x9x36 & a 3x9x40?

The original Leupold Vari-X had a 42mm objective. It changed to 40mm with the IIc version, which is carried forward in the Rifleman, VX-I and VX-II versions. The Leupold Compact (now reconfigured as Ultralight) 3-9X has a 33mm objective.

To my knowledge, only two Leupolds have been made with a 36mm objective: The 2.5-8x (Vari-X III, VX-III, and VX-3 versions) and a fixed 6x36. There may be (or have been) others, but these are the only ones I can think of offhand.

The old Denver Redfield 3-9X used a 38mm objective lens, however, the one now being marketed by Leupold I believe is a 40mm.

The 36 mm bell is quite popular for making low mounting scopes, but came out only in a select few brands - this my not be a complete list, but represent the mainstream:

Variables:

Bushnell Elite 4200 1.5-6x36 mm - Leupold's competing product is a VX-3 1.75-6x32 mm
Leupold VX-3 2.5-8x36mm
Swarovski 3-9x36 mm

I like the more affordable VX-3 2.5-8x36, but did not buy is due to its short mounting ring space of only 5.12", and bought instead the VX-2 3-9x40 that offers a some what longer mounting ring space at 5.6", which is better suited for Mauser K98 actions.

Fixed:

Leupold FXII 6x36 mm (before Leupold M8 6X36 mm)
Swarovski 6x36 mm
S&B Fixed 4x36
KAPS 4x36 mm

The last 2 being 2 German competitors with the exact same optical offering. I looked through both and can't tell the difference. S&B is today a prestige name when we considered that The company was only founded in 1957 by instrument maker Helmut Schmidt and master instrument maker Helmut Bender, being not as old as the other German and Austrian scope makers. The Kaps scope can be had for a reasonable price (far cheaper than the S&B) here in SA (importer is Potshot)

Warrior