If I count correctly, I own 18 Leupold scopes. The dates of manufacture of my 18 scopes range from 1977 to 2017. Except for a single 2x handgun scope, all of my Leupold scopes are variables. I did give away a pre-1974 M8-4x before I realized I should have hung onto it.
Except for one SWFA and scopes that came to me on old rifles (bought or inherited), Leupold is the only thing I own, and I don't use the other brands that came to me. My loyalty dates from when they had a much better reputation and following, from the days when it was clear hunters and shooters ran the company. Also from the days when just about any custom rifle wore a scope with a gold ring on it.
Of those 18 scopes, I believe only five were bought new. I do not shy away from a used Leupold as long as the exterior has no dents or lens scratches and I can live with any other dings. I have always relied on the Leupold warranty. Leupold customer service has been very good to me, but I believe I have sent in only one scope, because the ocular would not extend back far enough to focus for me. (The only vision correction I currently need/use is 1.5 "drugstore readers", yet I use most of the focusing adjustment in most Leupold scopes. I don't know what the guys needing 2.5 and 3.0 readers do?) All other customer service from Leupold has been for binoculars and one spotting scope. Again, Leupold customer service has treated me extremely well.
Except for the above mentioned SWFA, which I bought with the intention of dialing, my scope use is "set and forget." My experience has been that sometimes a Leupold will not immediately track unless "thumped" by a shot or my wallet, but I do not recall ever needing to burn a lot of ammo to zero a rifle. When you think about the precision necessary for a scope to dial accurately, it is sort of surprising to me that some scopes not only dial accurately, but continue to do so as opposed to wearing out from all the dialing.
I have never had a Leupold shift zero, but I am admittedly not a high volume shooter, so I wouldn't consider my experience to be a strong data point whatsoever. Being a "set and forget" user, I can live with not dialing accurately, but suddenly shifting zero is not acceptable. Show me even one user group, even Fudds like me (although I don't consider myself a Fudd), who will put up with wandering zero!
I missed the webinar, but it sounds like it was a real goat rope. 24hourcampfire may be a miniscule piece of the market, but a of a good number of the members are knowledgeable users, and we should be a pretty good statistical sample as far as identifying problems. If Leupold truly thinks they don't have any issues at all, that is just stupid.
I think the new styling is fugly. Just frickin' ugly! I only own a few rifles, AR's, SKS, or similar, that I would allow such a fugly scope.
I'll keep my eye on my Leupold scopes as far as holding zero. Were I buying a scope to dial, it wouldn't be a Leupold. That's why I bought the one SWFA.
What he said!
Some mornings, it just does not feel worth it to chew through the straps!~
