Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold failures and returns

I keep hearing about these dodgy Leupolds but so far I haven't seen one. I just sighted my 6.5x47 in with a new FXll 6x36. The scope tracked in beautifully right from the first adjustment at 25 metres then out at 100m. Way to go Leupold!!!

Iv owned 20 plus leupold scopes over the years and have never had a issue with them. I've used them on hunting rifles up to a 300 weatherby. But if you have issues send them in to leupold, they should fix it for free.

It seems even Leupold didn't like that Q&A.

Anyone know the names of the guys on the stream?

Wait until you change your load at some point. When you go to make adjustments to your scope the whole turret comes out in your hand. Oh sure, they'll repair or replace it for free but you are still out a scope until they do.

Changed loads on a variety of Leupold's...the turrets are all still in place. Changed them out on various rifles also...Still waiting.

And if your favorite choice went down and they repaired or replaced it....would you still not be temporarily out a scope? Or do they magically and instantly correct the fault over the internet?

It is odd, to me, that given they are junk they sell used often times for more than they sold for new. They seem to be a hot item in the classifieds.

I had before also. Not one of my Leupolds ever failed, until they did. I've had two out of 20 or more fail. To be fair both were handled quickly and at no cost by Leupold. So no complaints there. The ones that I still have all work well, and I'm in no hurry to replace them. If, however, I had to pick a brand to take with me on safari or even a hunt out of state, it probably wouldn't be Leupold. Just my opinion and experience. Your mileage may vary.

That's the way it is with every brand of scope. They work until they don't. I've had scopes from several companies fail over the years. It sure ain't limited to Leupold.

If you think Leupold scopes are bad, get a Ford Eco-boost truck and watch what happens.

I have one of those too. It has been a pretty good truck so far.

If a Leupold fails it is cause for multiple pages of trashing the company....If another brand fails it becomes nobody is perfect.
I have at least 5 acquaintances who are mostly guaranteed to shoot a Deer every year, and have been doing the same for decades..And two of them shoot more than a little. All using Leupolds..One recently did buy a Trijicon and shot two with it this year...

Even mention the name Leupold here and the Wolves pack and surround...

Friends Eco-boost blew the engine...He changes his own oil and had receipts. Ford said we are not covering it...."Unless" you trade it in on a new Ford truck. He bought the F150 diesel.

Odd that some do not apply the same philosophy to Leupold...

"Are the Ford EcoBoost engines reliable?

While the engine isn't perfect and some drivers have reported problems, most are happy with its performance. Based on the number of reported problems vs. the sheer number of F-150s on the roads, it's safe to say that the EcoBoost engine is reliable.Feb 24, 2020"

While everything mechanical can of course fail, some brands are more prone to fail than others. It's just a fact.

Odd that some do not apply the same philosophy to Leupold...

"Are the Ford EcoBoost engines reliable?

While the engine isn't perfect and some drivers have reported problems, most are happy with its performance. Based on the number of reported problems vs. the sheer number of F-150s on the roads, it's safe to say that the EcoBoost engine is reliable.Feb 24, 2020"

Last edited by battue; 3 seconds ago.

Like many who have posted, I have some older Leupolds that are great, have stood the test of time and are still going strong.

The one I last sent back (twice) was a VX-3i 3.5-10x40 CDS. First time, they found no problem, even though it wouldn't track or hold zero. Second time, they did acknowledge that there was a problem and reportedly reworked the erector system.

First time, they reported they had "cleaned it", although it wasn't dirty, was a relatively new scope. I've not remounted it, had since replace it with other glass. Maybe I'll check it out one of these days when I don't have anything better to do. Sorta tired of messing with it, even thought about putting it on eBay. But, what if it now works....?

It's a nice scope (when it works)...

I remember that Leupold video. If those two dudes are they best tech types Leupold can roll out, that explains a lot. The company would have, in my opinion, been way ahead of the game by not releasing that. It was "excuse city", no acknowledgement of any technical issues that may need to be addressed. To me, it was more of an insult than an informational release.

DF

I was in fact referring to Leupold insofar as being more prone to failure. Not saying that some brands aren't as bad or worse, but in my direct experience, there's brands and models that are far less prone to failures when used under similar circumstances. Some might've had disparate experiences, but I've seen enough gold rings have issues that I don't doubt it and/or throw out aspersive posts when someone reports having troubles.

John:

I had pretty well given up on Gold Rings for dialing by the time they put forth the Q&A in reference, but I was actually embarrassed for Leupold after viewing that debacle. As mentioned, if those two are the best they can come up with to quell those who weren't happy with the direction of things and have taken to the interwebs to post about it, that is, in itself, an explanation.

There is sometimes a cost to being extremely light weight. After 15 years on hard recoiling rifles my 2.5X Fixed ultralight failed on a 458 Win Mag about 2 months ago. It developed a rattle as something came loose inside. Sent back to Leupold (Korth Industries in Canada) and two weeks later they sent me a brand new scope. The new scope is better in every-way I can see than the old scope. Brighter, better adjustments and just as absurdly light. If it fails in another 15 years I guess I'll get another, better new scope. Sent a Burris that failed at the same time and still haven't heard from them. I have about 8 other Leupolds including two with CDS turrets. So far the adjustments on all have been repeatable, even on the old friction turrets. Overall I I like em!

I shoot thousands of rds. a year. In 50 years I have had 1 failure, an erector in a 6.5-20x 40 LR. It came back in about 3 weeks.
I'm a set and shoot and use the reticle, vhr and lrd. I don't need to dial as I shoot enough to not need to.

If you are talking Ford's it's not the EcoBoost engine with the worst reliability, it is hands down the Ford Transit with the Power Stroke motor.(not the same PowerStroke as the Super Duty 6.7 V-8 that is in the trucks) it is a 3.5Liter straight 6 diesel made in Ford's South Africa engine plant.
My biggest customer has a fleet of these vans, the shop foreman was showing me service records of the last 2 years. Not one of the vans have been on the road for more than 10 months meaning they average being at the dealership 2 months of the year.
They have some kind of a contract with Ford so every Transit this year will be a gas engine, probably an EcoBoost