Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold ultralight

Collected an Encore pro hunter rifled 20 gauge barrel at the Mason gun Show the other day. It has a Leupold ultralight 2 x 7 x28 scope mounted.

I'm not familiar with this Leupold model and wonder how well suited it is for the rifled 20 gauge barrel. I plan on shooting Hornady SST slugs which, IIRC, have bullet weight and velocity similar to 45-70 smokeless rounds. So, is an ultralight scope up to the job? Prone to failure? Better than a regular scope due to lower mass and less inertia upon recoil?

Thanks in advance.

Bill

I never had any of the Reupold UL’s last for schit. Hint………….

It’ll work until it doesn’t, unless it’s already broke. The fun part will be figgering that out with $3.60 per pop ammo. Everything I’ve read and heard anecdotally indicates that rifled slug guns can be incredibly fussy about what they’re fed. Be prepared for some drama.

Good luck, seriously.

I used 2 2-7 Compacts (the forerunner of the UL), one on my 7lb 30-06 for about 25 years and the other on a 308 Kimber. The one on the Kimber was sent back once. With the Ultralights currently have 2 3-9's and have had no problems in the last 10 years although neither one is on a rifle that gets shot a lot..

You could probably sell it and get a similar shotgun scope for about an even trade. The Ultralights are holding their value quite well.

Much to the chagrin of a few, they work

Do those Compacts have a rather short ER?

Haven’t handled a Lightweight.

DF

Oh how the LiL Fish stories change.

Aagardsporter: I have had a Leupold 2x7 lightweight variable scope on a Winchester pre-64 Model 88 in 308 Winchester for several decades now - works well for me, and has for a LONG time!
Beware of Leupold naysayers - many of them are ill informed and some are simply full ofshit (small twig!)!
And the eye relief on my Model 88 set-up is quite pleasing and easy to obtain full sight picture at all powers.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Appreciate the comments

There were three models of Leupold LW 3-9’s.

The first was the COMPACT and the second the ULTRALIGHT. There were then two versions of the UL.

The first two are my favorite hunting scopes. I used a COMPACT on my old 375 AI that weighted 7 3/4#.
That rifle destroyed every scope except the 3-9 COMPACT. Haven’t used the last CDS version.

I believe I have 6 of the older ones plus 1 new CDS. Never a single issue with the older models.

I believe the 2-7’s should be same but have only used the 3-9’s.

Come to think of it, don’t remember ever sending any of the older, friction adjusting Leopolds back to Beaverton. Those older one seem simpler and maybe more rugged.

What do young guys think?

DF