I loved Leupold scopes; they were all I purchased. They are light, svelte, look good, and are crap internally. I have been working on loads for a new 350 Legend and was getting some erratic groups (2 touching 1 out) with a 3-9 VX2. Next range trip my POI moved about 3 inches right, but the wind was blowing so I figured the stubby 35 cal bullet was really getting pushed around. Next range trip, groups went totally to crap and so I swapped the scope to a Weaver K4 I had bought cheap but never mounted. Guess what, next day I had nice groups and the scope actually adjusted correctly during sight in. So besides getting some good velocity data I totally wasted 3 days of load development + gas, bullets, etc. It is TOO expensive for me to keep using their garbage.
If you don’t shoot much, or have never used a mechanically stable scope before, you probably don’t realize the issue chasing POI changes or unexplained fliers that you “pulled”. A couple inches of POI shift probably won’t cost the average hunter on game (or may not be noticed) under 100 yds. Ever wonder why “1 box a year” hunters have to check and adjust their zero ever year before hunting? What happened in that gun safe to change their zero from last year? I was on the fence but no more. This is at least the 3rd or 4th scope I have sent back to them and none were abused or on heavy kickers. Using a couple SWFA’s was a revelation. Yes, they are heavy and bulky but stable. I am officially done with Leupold variables and am keeping a close eye on a couple fixed 4X’s I still use.
BTW, that Weaver K4 is a darn nice scope. I wish I had grabbed a couple more.
