Scope Problems

I still favor Leupold scopes. I know all too well how these sorts of things can happen from a mfg's perspective. When Leupold gained their reputation the market was smaller and their market share was smaller as well. Now both have grown. We are seeing growing/expansion pains. That doesn't excuse it, but it does explain it.

I happen to know that Leupold has recently hired a QA/QC Engineer who is capable, conscientious, and gets it done because I used to work with him. The assembly of optics is new to him, but precision assemblies are not. I don't know that one person can turn this around, but they picked the right guy for the role. Hopefully they've found a couple more like him.

lyotehunter said:

I personally know of 5 that failed. One was new and the bell end fell off owner had to pay for it. Scope was not dropped and there were no marks on the scope.

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This is really disappointing, if trijicon/swfa/nightforce/maven can make a scope that stands up to rough use there should be no excuse that others can't follow suit especially since some of these that fail or that are what I would call fragile are made in the same factories as the optics that have excellent durability.

The swfa comes in at $700 and is able to replicate the durability of the nightforce, leaves a bad taste after paying $1500-2000 for vortex and leupolds that fail the rokslide test after multiple attempts.

Having personally experienced leupold issues I really recommend everyone at least head over to rockslide and take a look at their testing and results. Those guys are doing all of us a great service with the time and effort they put into running a scope through its paces, hopefully it forces some companies to raise the bar.

I for one have been very fortunate with Leupold, I bought my first one, a vx3 6.5-20x40 target scope to put on a Remington 541-t at age 17, I saved it seemed like forever for that setup working part time jobs & mowing grass to earn money. Going squirrel hunting one evening in a hurry put sling on gun walking out to car, the sling came undone gun fell off my shoulder landed square on the elevation turret, the main tube looked like a rainbow, totally devastated I called leupold told them exactly what happened & asked if it would be cheaper to have them repair it or just start saving for another one? They said send it out with a note stating what happened they would look at it, so some time goes by didn't hear anything then my scope shows up on front porch with a note stating the main tube was replaced at no charge! So 37 years & 23 leupolds later I have yet to have an issue with a leupold that was the companies fault, I shoot smallbore & highpower silhouette I have several 6.5-20 that were boosted to 18-40 by the late Dick Thomas of Premiere Reticle, that I'm constantly cranking on during a match not a single issue. I'm by no means trying to discount other people's experiences I can understand how frustrating it can be to plunk down a large sum of money for something and it not to be what it should be. Just wanted to share my experience

I listened to a podcast a couple weeks ago from Gunwerks and Aaron said they put between 2 to 3 thousand luepold scopes on a year and he could only remember 2 having problems. I put a 5 HD 5x24 on a 22 Creed that I built last years and like it but I don't like the windward slash mark they have on it, it's on a angle and I really have to watch to make sure it lines up's correct. But it shoots real well. I'm a Kahles fan myself.

I've run Leupold scopes and NF scopes pretty hard for decades and never had problems. Leupold customer service has always been excellent in getting reticles switched out in some the older scopes. The Trijicon Accupower on my son's 7mm-08 Ackley did crap the bed on an elk hunt last fall. Trijicon took it back and replaced it with a top of the line Credo. For those who don't like Leupold, this should make for interesting reading.

I've run Leupold scopes and NF scopes for decades and never had problems. Leupold customer service has always been excellent in getting reticles switched out in some the older scopes. For those who don't like Leupold, this should make for interesting reading.

I'm a Tract Optics fan. I own 5 of them at this point. " Toric" level is their best glass. Very affordable because there is no middleman taking a piece of the pie per se.

Tract Optics is the 2 guys that ran Nikon North America back in the day. When Nikon pulled out of rifle scopes these guys started their own Company with the knowledge they gained at Nikon. You order direct from them. Look up the reviews on YouTube.
I took a chance on them a few years ago and I'm glad I did.

You owe it to yourself to visit their website and see what they have. Ask a question in their chat box and one of the 2 owners will answer it. That's what I've found.
270
300
6.5
45 cal smokeless muzzleloader
40 cal smokeless muzzleloader
All have Tract Optics scopes.

I've owned leopold, vortex , Bushnell over the years.

hesse said:

I've had a USA made and a Zeiss HD 5 and a Nikon have to go back for repairs. Sooner or later you will have a scope fail if you don't you're a very lucky person. I am not a person that likes a busy scope on the radical so I would never own a NF

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Exactly about the busy reticle in a NF. To busy for me.

RockyRandy said:

I listened to a podcast a couple weeks ago from Gunwerks and Aaron said they put between 2 to 3 thousand luepold scopes on a year and he could only remember 2 having problems. I put a 5 HD 5x24 on a 22 Creed that I built last years and like it but I don't like the windward slash mark they have on it, it's on a angle and I really have to watch to make sure it lines up's correct. But it shoots real well. I'm a Kahles fan myself.

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Which podcast episode was that one?

lancetkenyon said:

I bet it is in the name engraved on the gold ring...

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Yep. I have Bushell elite 4200's that better IMO than a Leupold. Don't tell the Fanboiis that the will come unhinged. BTW did it yesterday, UNHINGED it was

Bigskygyd said:

I've run Leupold scopes and NF scopes for decades and never had problems. Leupold customer service has always been excellent in getting reticles switched out in some the older scopes. For those who don't like Leupold, this should make for interesting reading.

Best Long Range Scope & Reticle: What The Pros Use

There have been dramatic shifts in what scopes are most popular among these top shooters over the p...

precisionrifleblog.com

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Sponsorships can have crazy effects.

I hope leupold has gotten better than the Vari X-III models I last used.
Seemed like around 1/3 of the ones I knew of went back to the factory for various issues.
NF and S&B solved all of them for Me.

The issues repaired by leupold were at no charge, some were swapped out immediately also.

My Swarovski was on my rifle when I dropped it off at the gunsmith for some work. While it was there, the smith recommended a different ring/mount set-up. (the scope was in Burris Signature (insert) rings.

After mounting the scope into the new Tallys, the smith noticed that the parallax adjustment was binding. He recommended sending the scope back to Swarovski for review. Swarovski charged me $275 to replace the tube. The tube was visibly in 100% condition when it was sent to them. Whatever the problem was, it wasn't shooter induced. I protested the charge but lost.

I was extremely disappointed in Swarovski's customer service.

On another note - my buddy dropped his rifle from his metal ladder stand. The scope slammed into a steel rung and was battered as it headed to the ground. I unmounted the scope and sent it to Leupold with a letter explaining what happened and a willingness to pay for the repairs. Leupold said the scope was beyond repairs and just sent a new scope at NO COST!

w4rwf said:

First post here. Tried to get help here a year or so ago about a new VX-5 HD I purchased. Took months on end before I ever got approved on my registration. The thing has been on 4 different rifles and wouldn't hold zero on a bb gun. Sent it back to Leupold, they sent it back and said nothing was wrong with it. Put it back on and still no joy with it. The scope has been sitting back in it's box since then. Had always purchased Leupolds and was happy with them but the VX-5 broke me out of the Leupold habit. $1600 bucks for a scope is a lot of money for me but I coughed it up and bought a NF and been very happy with it since. If I do my part I can shoot a hole in a quarter at a 100yds with my 30-06 with the NF setting on top. Lucky to keep it on paper with the VX-5.

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I had the same experience with a new VX6HD. I tested it against a proven scope and the problem was with the leupold. After the third time sending it back, and a third response they could find nothing wrong with it, I sold it telling the buyer of my experience. I do a lot of long range shooting so am frequently twisting turrets. I've had too many problems with leupold to try again. My Nightforce scopes have been right every time. Schmidt Bender was just as good but with better glass, and I have a couple March compacts waiting for rifles to be completed.