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

Is someone ascairt of Black Bears??? Just sayin

Off and on during the last couple of weeks, I have been reading the threads here about Leupold scopes. seeing a lot of negative about them. I have shot (rifle looney) and hunted for the past 47 years and have been a fan of Leupolds. Of the 20 or so scopes I own. probably 12 are Leupolds. I have not had to send any scopes back for repair so these campfire threads are the first substantial amount of negative I have heard about the brand. Up until yesterday, I did not have much faith in these "Leupold problem threads". I have a new Browning stainless X-bolt rifle in 30-06 which I mounted a Leupold VX-2 3x9x40 that I purchased new about 4 years ago and never used until now. I attempted to zero the scope the day before yesterday. I bore sighted it, then fired a shot at 100 meters, The shot was about center elevation wise and about 2.5" to the left. I turned the windage 10 clicks in the "R" direction. The next shot felt good. It printed a quarter inch to the right of the first shot. I turned the windage knob 6 more clicks in the "R" direction and the next shot was about one inch to the LEFT of the first shot fired. SO, I turned the windage knob 6 clicks to the left this time. The next shot went 4 and a half inches right (or about and inch and a half to the RIGHT of elevation center. By this time I was getting frustrated and was thinking this could possibly be the shooter. I decided to shoot a group. Ammo for this outing was Geco Plus 170 grain factory loads. Without any more adjustments, I fired a 3 shot group. the point of impact was about an inch left of the last sighting shot but all three shots were in one elongated hole with a group size of approximately .4 inch. At this point I packed up my gear and went home. It appears that the tracking on this scope is totally screwed. I live in eastern Romania so sending this scope in for repair is both a big hassle and very expensive. This morning I removed the Leupold and mounted a Zeiss Conquest 3x9x40. My rifle just gained over 4 ounces of weight, but I now have all the confidence that my scope adjustments will track like they are supposed to. After this experience, I was thinking about a similar experience I had with a Leupold VX3 1.5x5x20 two years ago. I finally got that one sighted in but have not shot it since. Now I am thinking a lot of this stuff I am reading about Leupolds may have some merit. RJ

just wandering ,the people having problems with the reticle not tracking ,when you make your adjustment ,before you fire ,do you not ,first tap on the scope tube with my fingers ,(my dad used a empty cartridge) first, to settle the reticle? I have always done this after my dad taught me this in the 1970's as a kid in W.Va , we only could afford Tasco scopes back then ,so you learned to do this ,i still do this on my Luepy's and Bushy 4200's , so far no problem with tracking while siteing in, just wondering ,thought maybe ,this trick had been forgotten over the years

My dad did that also and taught me to do that. I’ve come to realize that if you need to tap your turrets to “settle them in”...you have a [bleep] rifle scope.

What you are describing is called remedial action. I do not want or need a scope that requires remedial action IOT function.

i dont know if the scope needs tapped to settle the reticle or not , i just atomaticly do it to all scopes ,saves on frustration

yeah, it happens, and can happen with any scope. I sent in a Conquest 4.5-14x44 that I could not get enough elevation adjustment on at 100 yards. The company said the reticle was not centered when the scope was built. After they sent it back, all was well.

So, the most important thing is to get a scope mounted and tested with enough time before needing it, and while a warranty is still in effect, if there is a time limit on it.

Biggest issue I have noticed with Leupolds is the frozen or very stiff power selector rings. The short run of the LPS scopes are notorious for getting stiff and freezing up, and the VX-1s seemed to have the issue as well. Just sent in a rimfire scope last year. Not sure how they fixed it, but it is perfect now.

Sent in another Leupold VXIII 3.5 X10 X40 B&C would not track 10 shots to move it 2" would move .5 then 4" same thing happened on 2.5 X 8? Accurate load and rifle. Scope rings torqued to Leupold specs. and no issues with mounts.

Have noticed the issue with the Leupold 2 X 7 for years thought it was just that model but seems the Virus has spread!

With the 2 X 7 Leupold on a very accurate 35 Whelen would not hold zero from year to year and difficult to sight in, replaced it with a Vortex Viper 2 X 7 and zeroed in 2 shots and it stays zeroed.

Like the Leupold optic,s but tired of the move it 4 clicks and will not move or 2" up down or ?

Took a Leupold off a rifle around Christmas that was difficult to zero replaced it with one of Doug,s $89 Minox 3 X 9
scopes zeroed in 2 shots! Not twisting knobs just trying to sight it in. I move scopes around more than most, and when I do I find the issues on sighting them in.

Seems strange but have noticed any issues with the 2 X 7 Redfield Revolution I have owned, that are made by Leupold.

Much of the frustration by Leupold owners is because Leupold has been putting target turrets on many models. Lots of shooters are no longer satisfied to just set their scopes and leave them alone. Many people like to dial for longer range targets,and that's where Leupolds fail miserably.

Also, if you have a scope that has to be tapped at every adjustment,it is indicative of other problems and chances are that it won't hold zero very long either.

This is BS they don't tract well to sight in previous poster wasn't talking about spinning turrets just trying to move a POI with the corresponding number of clicks never mind repeating it.

I agree that they don't track well to sight in. I just think that a lot of shooters have come to expect as much. They either don't know or don't care. Otherwise the tapping turrets wouldn't be such an accepted practice. What I'm saying is that shooters are using their scopes to dial a lot more than they did 10 or 15 years ago and Leupold is following the market by adding target turrets,even though their scopes have never been up to the task of accurate dialing. The result is more complaints that the scope won't do what it is expected to do.

They're not "following the market." Following the market would be making a scope with consistent, repeatable adjustments.

I think I have 9 Leupold scopes and have used them for about 40 years for my Alaskan hunting, which is mainly for moose and caribou, along with a few bears and deer. I zeroed the scopes for 200 yards and left the dials alone and they work very well. The only issue I had was when a Vari X 1.5-5x20mm would haze up for a few seconds after a shot from my ..338. Leupold fixed it and told me the lens was separating. That is the extent of my Leupold cope problems. All but 3 of my shots have been under 400 yards and most well under 200 yards. That proves to me Leupold's work fine if you zero them and leave the dials alone they are a good hunting scope.

Their dialing system appears to be lacking in reliability though, there are many shooters now days who want to dial elevation when needed and many are hunters. I believe them when they say Leupolds are not a top choice if you want a reliable repeatable dialing scope. I have 3 CDS capable Leupold's. Two are VX3i scopes and one is a VX5-HD 2-10x42mm. I will know in a few months how reliable they are for dialing, I am not optimistic.

I have an unfired Legendary Arms Works .300 Winny in my safe and I am leaning towards a SWFA 5-20 HD because of their very good dialing reputation. Some times we need to make a distinction, are we ok with a zero and leave alone scope for hunting and adjust with hold over, which hunters have done for years, or do we want to range a critter and dial it in and trust the dials to return reliably?

I think at this time if one wants to be a dialer, l would look at what the long range competitive shooters use for a variable power scope. Leupold is not in their top 5 choices for a reliable dialing scope, I sincerely wish that would change, but only Leupold can make the change. If their bread and butter is not the dialing competitive shooting crowd they will not change, their bean counters won't let them.

I never had any major problem with my Leupolds until I shot a Nightforce. Not even in the same league. Adjustments on Leupolds are a joke, and I am just talking about trying to set zero, not spinning turrets. My zeros have always drifted with my Leupolds, not a ton but they definitely moved. Those issues all went away with my first Nightforce. I may not need that level of confidence in a hunting scope but I want it. Just my experience, I personally couldn't care less what anyone else puts on their rifles.

I've not made the jump to nightforce yet, simply because I'm having great success with sightron big sky scopes. Damn things track very well and hold zero with no drift. Several leupolds have been sold off, with more to go

For a long time I have used Leupold's for all of my Alaskan hunting. I zeroed them for 200 yards on my .338 Winny and my 30-06 and left them alone. They work great for me when used that way. Last year I kept watching You Tube and guys with a Leupold CDS capable scope.

They would zero for 100 yards, with their new custom dial and ring steel out to 600 yards. It impressed me so much I bought 3 with the CDS feature. One is a VX3i 2.5-8x36 mm, one is a VX3i 3.5-10x40 mm and one is a VX5-HD 2-10x42 mm. They have all the features I like about Leupold scopes, great warranty, great eye relief, good glass, light weight, etc. I just know they will make me a deadly 600 yard moose and caribou killer!

I still have not done any dialing with the elevation turrets on any of them. Not long ago a guy I trust told me he is selling all of his Leupold scopes as he is tired of dealing with their adjustments not returning to zero. He does shooting out to 1,000 yards or more on a regular basis. He offered to sell me his VX6 2-12 for $550.00, but warned me it often did not return to zero and he is moving on to SWFA and Nightforce for all his "dialing" needs. Well, that is bad new for me as I just bought 3 new Leupold CDS scopes.

I was also getting ready to buy the VX5-HD 3-15x42 mm scope for my un fired Legendary Arms Works .300 Winny. I am holding off on that and reading good things about the SWFA 5-20 HD scope.

After hearing from this guy and reading about so many "dialing" issues with Leupold scopes, I am not buying another one if I plan to use it for "dialing" the elevation turret. If spring ever comes back to Alaska, I will go to the range and dial the heck out of these new CDS scopes.

I will see for myself how good the repeat ability on these CDS scopes is.

When I look at what the shooters are using in those long range precision rifle field competitions, Leupold is not in the top 5. Their must be a reason as these guys dial up and down a lot.

I seldom shoot over 200 yards, but I want the capability to do a 500 yard shot if the need arises and the conditions are right. I really hope Leupold steps up and builds a reliable "dialing" scope that returns to zero, every time.