Leupold VX-5HD - Flip up style objective / ocular lens cover set - 44 mm objective

Hey team,

I've put together an objective and ocular ‘flip up style' lens cover to suit the Leupold VX-5HD. Leupold themselves make absolutely stunning lens covers (example), which are beautifully machined out of aluminium and fit their products perfectly. This model is certainly no where near that level of precision, but hey, welcome to the internet ;-)

This lens cover does provide some basic protection and I prefer this over the ‘bikini style' covers which often come with scopes because, although useful for storage and transportation, in the field they will be troublesome and most likely lost forever if they fall out of my pocket.

I've created this model more of a thought exercise and reasonably happy with the result for a first pass. I think I could probably improve the hinge design to make it print a little easier without supports, but I'll open it up to the floor. If people are interested I might have a crack at redesigning. Mounting them both on the scope I think I prefer the longer style cover and may redesign it to be a little longer so they are symmetrical.

The static ring I would recommend printing out of a soft material such as TPU so you don't scratch your scope, and the dynamic cover I opted to print in PETG. The reason for the solid dynamic cover is so that will retain it's shape when you ‘flip up’ the lens cover. If both were printed in soft TPU it'll offer less protection and it probably won't function as well.

The hinge pin I would recommend you make out of 2.4 mm 314 stainless TIG rod cut to ~15.4 mm long. If you have a basic file set and a vise, you'll be able to produce these hinge pins easily and they will have good rust resistance. The 2.4 mm diameter TIG rod is very common in Australia, and I hope also internationally, so you should be able to get your hands on some in your country.

With regards to installation, the hinge pin is a tight fit, and I recommend using your vise to gently squeeze the pin into the dynamic (PETG) lens cover. Once the pin is inserted evenly inside the static cover, gently pull apart the tabs of the static ring and insert the pins. Finally gently place the static (TPU) ring over the scope and test for fitment. I made the dynamic lens mating surface slightly oversized such that there is a little bit of resistance to open the cover.

Cheers from Australia

Edit - Version 2 (10/09/2023): Update from testing today with a .308 Winchester, the ocular cover worked well, staying in place for over 50 rounds. The objective static ring however slid down after about 15 rounds. Rather than making ID smaller, I've opted to extend the length of the objective static ring by an additional 10 mm to add some additional friction to keep it in place. I'll add these files with a “V2” prefix