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E's statement may have been true years ago, but they've relied too much on their name and reputation for too long and let their competitors catch up and surpass them in features, performance, and value: $ spent. They still make good stuff, but they've had to come to the realization that others are now offering superior products for the same or less $. That fact is evident by all the recent changes in their product lines. They've always been the benchmark for great warranty & customer service, but some of their competitors are now offering warranties and CS just as good. For many years, they touted their "made in US" status, yet the only parts content that is made in Oregon is their scope tubes and mechanical parts of scopes. Everything else, including lenses for their scopes and entire optical product lines outside of riflescopes, is outsourced to Asia. They are really no more American made than Meopta Meopro, Zeiss Conquest, Trijicon Accupont, and others that are assembled in the US from parts made elsewhere.

Technologies borrowed from the VX7 series is used in VX3, at a much lower price. Because of this, the VX3 is now equal to their competitors in the same price range. They've tried repeatedly to compete head to head with the high end Euro scopes with their LPS and VX-7 scopes, and they weren't successful, as evidenced by the new VX6 series coming out that's intended to replace VX7 at a much lower price point (sub- $1K). Comparing feature to feature, their MK4 series tactical / military scopes don't stack up well at all against current offerings from just about everyone else -- Nightforce, S&B, Premier, Hensoldt, Vortex, US Optics, IOR, Kahles, March, and others, all of whom offer better optical performance, better adjustments, better knobs, wider zoom ratios, and better reticles. The MK4 optically lags behind even their own VX3 series. The very fact they are introducing several new tactical scope series is their admission they need to improve.

The upside to all this is Leupold is being forced to up their game, and we all benefit from the stiff competition by having better optics available from not just Leupold, but everyone else.

Thats a pretty astute observation there RifleDude.
In markets that they should by all rights own,there now tail end charlies.
A general rule of thumb is that loopie,these days,is about 7 to 10 years behind,everyone else.

I stopped drinking the coolaid several decades ago.



From Lowlight on Snipers Hide:

So what do you tell the guy who traveled 1200 miles to take a class.. he paid $1500 for the class, plus rental car, hotels, meals, and by the first day it fails... now he goes from what he thought was a solid optics with a stellar reputation to being the guy holding up the class while we run up, get a new scope for him, usually I am pulling one of my NF off to switch it for him. If you want to play the one up and working, the NF I use is heavily used, my S&Bs too, and guess what, of all of them, with more combined rounds than I can count, and only one scope has ever gone back for repair. They well worn and definitely show signs of use.

yes, other brands fail, but not nearly with the frequency as we are seeing with Leupold. it's every week in some cases, and even in the military classes we have Nightforce on the unit rifles next to Leupold... but I don't see the NF failing nearly as much, it's stark the reality of it, especially when you see more than 1 or 2 a week.

It's easily 20 to 1 when you compare the Nightforces on the line with the military units, this last class had 4 Leupolds on the line, 1 failed the first day, the remainders where USO, NF, and S&B... Do we see others fail, sure but not nearly as much.

If you want to start a generic scope failure thread go ahead, but don't be surprised by the results. Facts are what the facts are, in a class of 15 Leupolds on the line I expect and account for anywhere from 2 to 5 scopes to go down, I don't figure that with the same number of NF on the line. Its closer to 1 per every six months of classes, not 1 for every six people.

I wouldn't call that Brand Hatred.
More like a statment of fact.
I personally dont care for 20 to 1 odds that im going to have a problem.

The flip side of that could be.
"You leupold coolaid drinkers have made the optics page about useless"
See,it works both ways.




dave