Another vote for the Bean Counters took over. What I have personally witnessed in the past 16 months:
1) Custom Shop Retrofit prices more than doubled 01 Jan 2018. Unannounced. If they intended to prevent people from buying a used Leupold scope and sending it in to the Custom Shop to have it set up the way the customer wanted it, they succeeded.
2) Two sets of new Leupold rings in past 3 months. Both leave marks in the matte finish on Leupold scopes. Well BEFORE they get tightened farmer tight. Leupold calls it a "mounting system". However their "system" defaces their own scopes. I have had ZERO issues with Talley LW's marking a scope.
3) One of the set of rings above has a visible casting/forging defect 1/4"x1/2" on top of a ring cap that was not cleaned up by the machining process. Both rings also have visible file marks on the radius to the side of the mounting screws. Where's the QC ???
4) Overall finish has degraded. Leupold bases and rings previously had a very smooth matte finish. Last two sets of QR bases either have an abrasive blast finish, or have been from a very porous casting. Regardless, much more coarse finish than previous bases.
5) Last set of bases, the holes are drilled for an 8x40 screw set. The mounting screws provided have 6x40 threads, with a #8 shoulder to properly center the bases on the receiver. Yes, this reduces the number of SKU's, and inventory carrying cost for Leupold. However, if I happen to lose one of the mounting screws, I now have to special order from Leupold. It is no longer a commodity item that I can pick up at a local gun shop or hardware store.
If Leupold is making these types of cost cutting measures that are plainly visible on the outside... What's happening on the inside ???
I am not going to scrap my current lot of Leupold scopes. However, Leupold is no longer my "Number 1, Go To" brand for new scopes...
