Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Why no more love for Loopy

I just can't stand it when people call them "loopy's......"

It's not how I roll.

I would have told you Leupold made great scopes, right to the point where my VX2 3-9 got very sloppy. Groups opened up just enough to have me chasing my tail. I finally put an old FFII on it and it shot well again. Sent the VX2 in and they quickly “replaced the erector spring and reworked the erector system.” CS was excellent. Now, I really like just about everything about that scope, but is that the scope I want on my rifle miles back in the Rockies? Trust is earned, right now that scope doesn’t get it. So, the rifle is now wearing an SS 6X. It’s heavier than I’d prefer, the adjustment knobs are ridiculously large and annoying, reticle is functional but not my ideal, but I don’t have a reason to question where it’s pointing. And that is what really counts.

Lots of reasons, some valid, some just idle speculation. For instance, a guy buys a Leupold and it fails in the first 40 or so rounds. He is then forever down on Leupold rifle scopes. He doesn't realize that any scope can do that. Or there is the guy that thinks he can use a hunting style Leupold like a military style tactical scope. Not going to happen. Then there is the guy that just wants to try something else.
Some of us don't realize that Leupold sells a lot of rifle scopes. Brands like S&B don't. Neither do they sell scopes at various price points. Leupold does. The guy that founded Premier Reticles once remarked that "Leupold has more scopes fall off the truck, than S&B sells in a year."
Then there are those who expect a scope to last forever. They don't understand that recoil breaks them down. Hard knocks will do the same. None will "last forever."
Last of all, there are those who insist that their favorite brands while having excellent warranties, one will never need to use this warranty. Then, one day, two separate shooters comment that they were told if they sent their scopes in, it would be six months before you get it back. Too many scopes waiting to be repaired. So much for the scope that never needs repairs.
We get lots of comments about Leupold"s "crappy adjustments", right ? My question is which Leupold compared to what scope under what conditions ? My next question would be what other qualities does that Leupold have that that scope doesn't have ? For instance, I really appreciate a scope that has lots of eye box. This is not common is most other brands. I also appreciate super hard coatings. But above all, once it's zeroed, it really needs to stay zeroed, even if it takes a hard fall. I don't dial up and down any further than 300 to 400 yds. My FX2, 4X Leupolds don't do this worth a hoot. But my FX3, 6X42's have always worked perfectly. So have my VX2 and VX-R scopes.
Not do I hunt or even shoot with any howling magnums. But I do hunt treacherous country where the ground can let go at any time. Very tough on rifles, scopes and stocks. The Leupolds I've used since the mid 80's have always worked for me. E

Bushnell Elites don't have many negative comments about durability.

I stick with vx -II , vx-iii, vari x , vx2, vx3 , etc.... im basically staying pre vxi and all the offshoots.

I have 3 Leupolds right now.Almost every Leupold I have ever had ,has been wishy washy as far as adjusting elevation and windage.They never move 1/4",maybe 1/2 ' or 1".Once they are zeroed they stay that way it seems for ever.I like the eye relief ,eye box and weight.I have bought two Weaver Grand Slams recently that track super ,have good glass but I would not put them on a magnum rifle because eye relief is short.I have one on a 6.5 X 55 tikka that My Son used for a Buck and Doe Mule Deer last week in Montana at 345 and 225 yards.He likes that scope(and is trying to con the rifle out of me).I also bought a super slam 30MM 1.5 X 4.5 X 240 with a 4" eye relieve and 4A lit reticle that I put on a 336.The glass on that scope is as good as any I have looked through.One of my favorite scopes is the 3 X 9 Conquest.I have four of them.I also have a Minox 2 X 10 X 40 HD5 with a 600 reticle .That is on my Forbes 24B 270.As far as clarity,adjustability,eye relief it is the best scope I own,I also own Buriss Fullfield IIs and Bushnell 4200s .Both are reliable scopes,but to me not great.I. would not be afraid to buy any of the scopes I mentioned.I own several other brands that I will not mention as they are just so so.Huntz

So what brand glass are you guys going to?

You mean barrel rolls instead of loops?............

Amen........

Now Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50. When I can afford one March 2 1/2-25X50.

I have Vari-X's from the 80's and 90's that don't track all that well either.

I have a VX-II 2-7 that tracks diagonally--and I have remounted the scope more than once to check if it was my fault.

But I don't have problems with holding a zero with my Leups.......

This if a sad situation. Made In America?

Reupold had some solid offerings for a spell,but went Yuppie and Jane Fonda on schit. They've cut corners and the recent wares are just quite simply fhuqking absolute dog schit. Elder generations are vastly superior mechanically and it ain't even close. I've shot/got 100's,BT/DT and have all the fhuqking t-shirts.

The 6x42 and MK4 6x was far and away their best efforts,but I've had some rather good Ultra's and 10x MK4's too(pass the M1's and hold the Fluff). It took Reupold a very long time to align a reticle to it's erector,as it was MOA erectors and MilDots as their BEST efforts,for many moons. I'm fluent in both scales and am at ease in stacking one atop the other,but it is a very convoluted approach,that is everything but intuitive.

In a nutshell,the greatest problems with Optics,is that CLUELESS Fhuqks feel compelled to talk out their asses about things beyond their "means","abilities" and "comprehension". Then that "intel" is coupled with Schit Riggin' and outright STUPIDITY,in order to offer a "critique" and Hurt Feelers when Reality collides with their Fantasy. Joe Average ain't very bright and doesn't shoot nearly enough,to gather anything resembling even a First Fhuqking Clue. Hint.

What matters MOST on a scope,are those things that simply can NOT be "seen" and must be objectively quantified via actual use and only by the astute. Window Lickers will always lick windows and fawn Fluff...while never even beginning to scratch the surface upon a reticle and erector,doing their job(s).


Scratching The Surface A RINK




Scratching The Surface B RINK





Of course it's easy for me to say,if only because I've shot/got it all and then some. Reupold has simply lost touch with any/all things approaching Reality and has gone to offering nothing but Frilly Fluff,conjoined with heavily compromised mechanics...none of which is subjective. Hint.

The Do Nothing Gang is always gonna trumpet Stupidity as a Secret Squirrel "advantage",but it'll only come as a "surprise" to them,that not all wares are "equal",nor even fhuqking close. I've failed countless mounting systems and scopes through the years,some of which a guy could see on the horizon,though others were great unforeseen disappointments. Now Window Lickers are striving mightily to make it "fashionable",to "flaunt" Dumbfhuqktitude and extoll "virtues" that certainly do NOT exist,as a means of making a "stand" with quivering lip and prissy pout. Get over it...not all Riggin' is equal,whether you "know" it or not and 99.999% of folks would be wellllllllllll ahead of the game,to simply shut the fhuqk up,take notes and apply same. Pass the Good Stuff and hold the Fluff. Sadly,Reupold has chosen to focus fluff and their wares simply represent that approach,none of which is subjective. Hint.

Pretty fhuqking funny,when The Do Nothing Gang reports on a year's worth of "use" and that just happens to be well shy of a slow morning,in these parts. The less one "does" or "shoots",the "better" everything is and that FACT is rather unsettling to "hard chargers". Hint.

Who wouldn't like the idea of Reupold righting the ship and making something that was worth a fhuqk?!? Trouble is,too many DUMB Fhuqks will buy their Dog Schit and swoon same...so they are not forced to improve wares and can happily schlep schit to them Fhuqking Idiots. A 6x42 wearing an etched MQ reticle and Old World capped friction adjustment/internals,would trump everything they currently offer and would connect alotta dots.

Pass the 6x MQ's and pardon my being afforded the luxuries,of not being forced to guess.

Continue licking windows.

Bless your hearts.

Laughing!......................

I strayed away from Leupold. Bought a few Zeiss, Bushnell Elites and others. Now I’m back to nearly all Leupolds. Some scopes do some things better but for me i really like my Leupolds. Ounce per ounce and dollar per dollar i haven’t found a better overall scope. They continue to get my love.

Pretty much my thoughts on Leupold.

If they would only make their 6x42 and 3.5-10 reliable/repeatable, there’s no way I’d ever use anything else, short of long-range rimfires where huge adjustment is needed.

Instead of getting/making things better, they are going the opposite way. Something I just can’t understand.

Agree on both points. It seems to me that Leopold has become more of a marketing company rather than a manufacturer of quality wares. Not like we haven't seen it before, unfortunately.

Or, to put it another way, Leopold has taken the old adage "you sell the sizzle not the steak" a bit far.

That’s exactly the reasons I run them.

Good point. I set it and forget. I have no reason here where I hunt to change the scope once it’s zeroed. Looking back on sighting in rifles, a lot of time they are inconsistent getting them to zero ,but once they are there, they are there. I’ve never had one lose zero.

The best CS never makes up for unpredictable reliability and poor QC. I’ve probably bought my last lupy after having a 15 or so. I’ve had bad luck lately. Today, for the money of vx3s, I’d rather go Nikon, Zeiss or Meopta. I still run 4 var-x3s. If I could find a half dozen like new vari-x3s, I’d grab them even though their coatings are a couple decades old. They were simply bright enough and always predictable.

I have used Leupold products for 35 years. When I first started using scopes they
were the industry standard. However, it seems as if they rested on their laurels of
market share instead of innovation. When the European brands were pushing the
envelope for light transmission Leupold was changing Vx this to VX that with thr most
incremental increase in performance. Instead of improving product
they chased every $25 niche. The Zeiss Conquest should have been their wakeup call
but they ignored it. The tactical/turret market was underestimated and other brands have jumped
in with very repeatable adjustments, clear glass at affordable prices. Something Leupold could have easily
have done, especially with their manufacturing capacity. Brand loyalty will not keep the doors of
a company open like it did years ago.
GreggH