Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Concern over Leupold email

powdr
Make your mind up.

I find it interesting that given how many people have sent in 1 or more scopes for repair (in this thread and others) it shows that they arnt built very well, but some of you keep defending them? wouldnt it be better to produce a product that doesnt fail as often and NOT need to use the warranty?.

The fact the glass is made in Asia and Leapolds have a very good reputation with good glass is great, however, all the posts have been about other parts of the scope failing? forgive me if im wrong, but isnt everything else made in the USA

You may note that much of the service spoken of was upgrades or changes and not due to any product failures.

Why would anyone care what someone who eats bangers and kidney pie thinks?

The amount of scopes sold by Vortex is not even a blip on the radar compared to Leupold's sales. That is why there seems to be plenty going in..do they teach statistics in the UK?

I have tried the Vortex Kool-Ade...no more for me. The Viper PA line doesn't hold up to moderate use on a 7mm Rem Mag. It broke these scopes twice, less that 100 rounds. And they are ridiculously sensitive to ring torque.

I work a retail optics counter and have Vortex riflescopes coming back on a nearly daily basis. The only Leupold I have seen come back was after a guy rolled his ATV over the scope. He said..."It still works and held zero, just looks ugly." We sent it to Leupold for him.

Leupold sources glass from the US, Europe and Asia. Tubes and internal hardware are made in house.

UKdave,

You left out King Edward VIII who also married an American.

I have, over the years, returned a few Leupold scopes for service of one type or the other, but I don't recall ever returning one for repair due to breakage or part failure. Early Leupold's were finished with a glossy blue finish that had a tendency to turn purple after a few years. That had no effect on the performance of the scope, but purple is not my favorite color for scopes, or anything else for that matter. None of the Leupold scopes that have come my way in the last 25 years or so have demonstrated that tendency and I've concluded that they fixed that issue long ago.

It has been my observation that to get better optics than I get in my Leupold's, I must spend twice as much for a much uglier scope -- optically superb, but ugly as sin. At my age, I doubt that I'll be needing to buy any more scopes, but if I do, I'd guess they would be Leupold's. My dad taught me many years ago, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I'm not confused UK Dave...maybe the fact that I haven't sent one in for 15 years speaks for itself. There was nothing wrong w/the scope internally...the eyepiece and lock ring were just frozen. powdr

Two years ago my free dial took 6 months not sure if they lost it or what BUT every other time my turn around was much faster than they quoted.

Ummm...maybe someone missed it that Leupold still warranties scopes that are over 50-years old. That results in a bunch of their returns right there (old scopes).

I have a Redfield Revolution that I sent in because some guy tightened the lock ring down with slip-joint pliers and maybe loc-tite. Bought it for near nothing. Sent it to Leupold with a note that I expected to pay for the repair. All it cost me was shipment back to them. They repaired it for nothing and sent it back free of charge. That was 1 of only 2 repairs I've sent scopes back to Leupold for. The other was a very old VXII that I bought used and sent back because I suspected it was not holding zero. Leupold did not elaborate on the fix, but went through it and returned it for free. I still have the scope and it is perfect. All but one of my CF rifles wear Leupolds (a bunch). The one that doesn't, wears a Bausch and Lomb Elite. I will replace it with a Leupy one day.

I too have a similar feeling. When Vortex first came out it seems they got glowing reviews everywhere. Now I've come to realize that I believe most of that was marketing. I've used a couple of Vortex scopes and I've left unimpressed. Do I think there are worse scopes out there? Yes, but I also think there are a lot better scopes out there too.

I also felt this way about Leupold for a while. I thought their scopes were way overpriced as their competitors were all about a price range cheaper for similar scopes. However, with the upgrade making the VX-1 basically the old VX-II, I believe they have mostly caught up with competition. I still don't think their tactical scopes are competitive, but I think in the hunting scope market their scopes are very competitive once again, pretty durable, and have a great warranty that you know they will honor. IMO they are a good choice if you need a scope for a hunting rifle.

Powdr,
Are you saying that you could not get a grip on the eye piece and lock ring to remove it? Not even with a rubber gripper can opener type thing?

I believe if I had a grip on the turrets and a grip on the eyepiece I could twist the scope till it looked like a peppermint candy cane. It will come loose before that though.

Geo, the eyepiece and the lock ring were separated by about a quarter of an inch and frozen solid. I did everything possible to get either or both loose outside of damaging it more. I did not use pliers and ruin either piece because to me they're going to fix it no matter what. No sense in damaging it further before sending it in. I just don't have enough Bubba in me to do that.
powdr

I've used Leupold scopes since 1974 and never had a problem. There were many Forest Service professional deer cullers here that used them for many years who never had a problem with them. Those guys would shoot more deer in a week than most people on here would shoot in 10 years; mostly in extremely rugged terrain too. Leupold make fine scopes.

Incidentally, it's not pronounced Leapold; it's pronounced Loopold.

I work retail part time. I constantly get guys wanting to look at a Louie-Pold of some sort...it is like nails on a chalk board.

I couldn't get used to sending scopes back to Leupold. I found another scope company. Have not owned a Leupold since, except on my .22.

These leupold threads, in one way or another, never cease to provide entertainment. I spent 9 days last May in Namibia, sharing camp with a great guy from Michigan who had 27 African safaris under his belt. His Win cr.'s topped with Leupold scopes have accompanied him on every one of them, as well as hunts in many other international places. Nary a problem, ever.

Yep JG, I've got some other types of scopes for my knock around rifles but my main hunting rifles wear Schmidt&Bender and Leupolds. I find it very hard to believe a man can't find a Leupold scope he likes...with all of the different variations and models made. Even if something goes wrong, he knows they're going to fix it from now on. My son's son/s will still be hunting these Leupolds I have long after I'm gone and a couple of them are 20 years old now...and still clear as a bell. powdr

Received my 6x42 back from Leupold today. They received it on the 3rd and fixed and returned it in exactly one week...5 working days. It was completely gone thru, the eye piece and ring were freed up and the lenses polished. Gosh it's bright for an M8. The duplex in the 6x42 is about perfect for me. Now I remember why I use Leupold. powdr

*Work sheet says:
Reworked objective assembly
Reworked erector assembly
Replaced erector spring
Replaced windage adjustment
Replaced elevation adjustment
Complete internal inspection
Mechanical inspection

Cool.

Leupold user since 1974. Still have that 3-9x scope BTW. No problem with it, ever. Kinda turning purple.. I think I'll just keep it that way, more or less a badge of honor for 40 years of service.

Guy

JG,

If your buddy had been following Fire commnetary, he'd have gotten rid of those Leupolds some time ago...

DF