Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Has Leupold fixed tracking & zero retention?

Have been a Swarovski and Zeiss user for years, preferring the Swaros.

That said, I was in Tuscaloosa a few days ago, stopped in at an outdoor store and looked at a VX-5 HD and a VX-6 HD. From what I could tell in the store, the optics were excellent and the scope felt solid.

The VX-5 HD was about one third the price of a comparable Swaro. Swarovski and Zeiss have gone insane on the pricing of their top end scopes. Were I going on a DG hunt or the "hunt of a lifetime", my personal preference would be the Swarovski. For everything else, I would not hesitate to buy the VX-5 HD or the VX-6 HD.

I am not a knob twiddler. I zero my rifle and then test it at various distances to see what the bullet drop is. Once I've got that figured out, I leave it alone.

Let me get this straight. You buy a Swarovski z5 5-25X52, sight it in and it stays there for the duration?

WIN70 ~
I can relate to what you look for in a scope!
In hunting wide open spaces of the west 200 - 600 yards and most often throwing in and out of scabbard simplicity has paid. Yet simple does not guarantee durability which is number one on my list. I have recently learned the hard way reticle construction even with the premier manufactures can be fragile. I concur with some of the scope brands you mention but will only invest in reticles that are etched in glass from now on period. Feeling solid is not enough to chance the the risk of failure. Wish you well in your research.

Actually, Z6i's and Habichts before the Z6i's. But yes, pretty much. Once it is sighted in, in my experience, the zero stays put. If I switch brands or lots of ammo, it may need a slight adjustment, but not much. And they are mounted, for the most part, on rifles with strong recoil.

These scopes take a pounding. Banged around in a rifle case for air travel to Joberg and then to the final destination. They haven't required adjustment upon checking zero when arriving in camp. Riding in a safari car over very bad or nonexistent roads for weeks on end. Carried during the hunt, etceteras. They hold their zero.

I brought a custom M70 in .300 Win mag with a high end Zeiss on an Argentina Red Stag hunt. It was zeroed prior to arrival at sea level. When I rechecked zero upon arrival, the elevation had changed a few inches. I presumed this was due to the altitude difference.

Only issue I ever saw was a Swaro Z6i 1-6x42 that my PH had mounted on his client rifle, a M70 in .416 Rem. It was mounted in Talley rings and he must've tightened the rings with the lug wrench from his Toyota Cruiser, 'cause it wouldn't hold zero. He had, in his over exuberance, crushed the tube and damaged some of the bits inside. I took it back with me and sent it to Swaro upon my return. They replaced a whole bunch of stuff, got it back good as new and I gave it to him at the next DSC convention. I also gave him a torque wrench.

I am not a knob twiddler. I know where my rifles shoot and I employ Arkansas elevation at longer ranges and use Kentucky windage as appropriate.

When a hunter spends considerable money on international air travel, daily and trophy fees while on safari, pack and dip fees, tips for the PH and camp staff and the cost of shipping the trophies home, excellent rugged optics, despite their price, are a small part of the equation.

I have always been a Leupold fan. Last year a friend bought a VXIII 3.5X10X50 and mounted it on his 7Mag Encore. I worked up a decent hunting load before deer season and we sighted it in at a couple of inches high at 100 yds. He made some of the longest shots of his life on a couple of deer and several hogs. Then, he missed a nice buck at 100 yds. Buck fever got to you I said. The next week a similar situation occurred.

We took the rifle to the range. The zero was off about 6 inches at 100 yds and the groups were more like patterns. "Can't be the Leupold." I said. "Let's try a different scope." says he.

Mounted a new Minox 3X9 on the rifle and BAM!, the groups shrunk back to the original 1" range at 100 yards. Put the Leupold back on and the groups opened back up.

Sent the scope to Leupold, they sent it back. "Nothing wrong with the scope" was the note that came back with it.

My friend not very happy, neither am I.

I am glad I stumbled across this thread as I was thinking I was the only person on the North American Continent who had a problem with Leupold.

10 years ago I would have not known if they were right or not, and wasted a lot of ammunition trying to understand. Now if I dial 1 MOA and it gives something else I know its the scope. I know they are now probably covering up when they send it back "nothing wrong with it". I dispute the claim someone made that his neighbors brothers wife's father used to work for them and many sent back were fine.

I tend to agree with you, but also think that some problems are related to improper mounting, as well as possibly being related to the scope being adjusted out close to its limits. The apparent stonewalling from the service department is a terrible thing for a customer to have to endure. I've yet to send one back, but that would be the last straw for me, and I'm a pretty patient customer generally. Lie to me, and I'm done.

Used to be a loyal GM guy, but they wore me out eventually. Now I hate them all pretty much the same.

I've been fortunate with recent Leupolds in that once set, they haven't lost zero. I can say that when sighting in I've given up hope of shooting one shot and adjusting based on it. 3 shot group for each adjustment and adjust from the two closest holes....after a couple of shots it seems to settle in. It's one of the things I enjoy most about the SWFA SS's....1 shot, measure, adjust, and shoot one to verify.

Somebody hasn't got the message: (And more than one somebody. ) "14.0 All scheduled matches will be held at a minimum distance of 1000 yards (Unless otherwise approved by the board of directors, example: 200 yard .22 rimfire mathces; 600 yard matches, etc)."

One extremely popular campfire favorite is conspicuous only because of its absence. Players vs fans????


http://www.pa1000yard.com/wo/woresu...amp;tops=No&topct=10&send=Submit


http://www.pa1000yard.com/wo/wostan...ght+Gun&grsc=Overall&send=Submit


http://www.pa1000yard.com/results/r...showshoots=Yes&tops=Yes&topct=10

Buy a Nightforce SHV and be done with it.

LOL, players vs fans, hey? SWFA SS scopes are a very application-specific product. They are not designed for spitting-distance woods hunting. They are not designed for 1000 yard Benchrest competition. There's a suspicious absence of NF optics on IPSC guns, as well. I guess those guys didn't get the message about NF??

If we want to discuss players vs fans, there are a bunch of mil guys who trust their lives to their equipment, that prefer SS scopes over Leup, when given the choice...

Finally and I thank you, because most of the SWFA support team here are hunters. Hunters who shoot the majority of their game inside 200. The overwhelming majority are not 1000 yard BR shooteres or those who go into combat with their weapon. Yet some are trying to make the majority feel their Leupold is inadequate for 90+ percent of actual hunting opportunities. And I've been calling BS on that from post number 1.


Addition: Shot today with this guy sporting a Vortex xxxx mil/mil .308W. And he was a fine person to sit next to at the bench. However, while he was figuring out clicks on the turret or mills on the glass, I had four in the bull at 300 with a Leupold 6x42 with HD. And I'm really not all that good comparatively.

I'm not sure you can read very well hoss....

Battue,
For God's sake shut up, please!
I just bought another vari-xII on the classifieds for $150. I believe it's the 5th in 2 years along with (3) 2.5-8's, a 2-7 and a 3.5-10 with m3 knobs

Leupolds work for my hunting and I have 5 SS's in 6x &10x for long range rimfire and a few "play" guns.
Anybody dumping leupolds cheap PM me what you got and a LOW price. Please.

I can't remember the last big game critter I killed inside 200 with a rifle. So no, Leupolds don't work for me.

Some people like their cucumbers pickled, some don't. No "one" fit for everyone.

And I think you are FOS, along with a bad attitude.

Good one...

You folks are funny talking about scopes shooting 100 yards in the woods...

You and Savage99 should compare notes....

Try getting out of the truck once in awhile. Maybe you can get closer.

Thumbs up on that one. Didn't think you had it in you.