Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics dented leupold question

i was carrying my rifle and the dang sling swivel eye had came unscrewed outta the stock somehow and my rifle landed on the objective of the scope!
put a nice dent in the objective edge.
i immediately shot it and zero never changed and theres no rattle or anything loose and it hasnt fogged up
its a VXIII 2.5x8x36 leupold compact
it functions perfectly but it bothers me it even happened.
should i send it to leupold or just leave it as it is and not worry about it? its on my everyday truck gun i keepin the ranch truck 24/7/365 its a rifles inc strata 270 so i doubt recoil is gonna hurt it more.

what would you do and wonder what theyd charge to fix it?

it's free to fix....

If it's shooting fine I'd leave it alone.

They will charge you for damage due to a fall, they do not have a NO fault cause.

I had my HD spotter roll off the bench when it was new and it cost me $250 to repair/replace the eye piece.

I'd send it in. Better safe than sorry.


Okie John

I'd do a "box test" to see if the adjustments still work reliably. If so, keep it - it's going to get a lot more scratched, dented and dinged if it's your truck gun.

ScrapIron , I would call Leupold and talk to their Customer Service Rep. . Ask him how much to repair it and then make your decision . I recently did that for a non-damage Scope problem and got it fixed free . Leupold Customer Service in my experience is excellent .

You mean that Leupold scope didn’t break in four or five pieces. Impact didn’t change? Leupolds sure get bashed a lot on here. I can’t believe it didn’t go belly up.

I’ve dropped my Leupolds a few times, never knocked them off.

They have a no questions asked warranty. If you drop a gun off a mountain and send the pieces of the scope in, they replace it.

This exactly. I dropped one on a ceramic tile floor a few years ago. I called them and told them what happened. They lady laughed and told me to send it in. I had a new one in the mail a few days later...

I fell through the ice crossing a creek elk hunting and bent the objective end down toward the barrel with a bit of a kink at the forward ring mount. ( Vari-X 111 3.5-10 ).
No, it did not retain zero.
Leupold told me to buy a new scope.
I did. A different brand.

I just wanna know what mounts and rings you have on that rifle..........

Factory issue Ruger mounts on a Bicentennial M77. Bought it new in 1976.
If the question was for me.

Think I Payed $70 For One They Replaced For Me. This Was On A Older Vari X III 4.5-14-50MM..And Several Years Ago.

I had a similar thing happen with the same scope- three times now. I didn't send it in. Who cares about a box test if you aren't twisting turrets. Sight it in and kill stuff.

Although the question was meant for ScrapIron, thanks for letting me know WY. The Ruger rings are like the rest of the tang safety M77's--rugged. My 85 yo dad has been packing a M77 he bought new in 1971 with same Bushnell scope on it the whole time..........

talleys LW low as possible, i cant remember the exact model's but years ago they were supposedly the lightest rings/bases available..unloaded she weighs 5 lb 10.5oz's

im gonna give them a holler at leupold and see what they say.....

box test will not tell you anything, it would not pass if brand new.

I did something similar with a VX-3. Bent the heck out of the objective end and put a ding in the tube (as a side note, don't cross boulder fields.....). Sent it to them, they replaced the bent objective and ran it through a battery of tests. Still works and holds zero. I think it cost me the price of shipping and was turned around in 2 weeks. Leupold is good with warranty work - in my experience.

A dent that doesn't affect the function is called "character."

I recently dropped a VX-3 on the ceramic tile floor and dented the objective bell. I hadn't even mounted it yet.

I sent it in and told them exactly what happened and put my phone number in the letter and asked them to let me know how much and I'd give them a credit card number. I asked them to check the lens and adjustments as well. They fixed it and sent it back no charge.

YMMV....but that's what happened to me.