Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold failures and returns

Hmmm Interesting thread. I have a few older Leupolds that seem bullet proof. I have been wanting to replace a scope on my 300 Weatherby, and was thinking about a new Leupold, but this now has me wondering if I should look elsewhere.

Never a failure? Are you saying that they all adjusted properly and sighted in quickly and easily?

The most irritating thing about Leupold scopes is the folks pronouncing it “Lee-O-Pole”. Same with “Kay-lees” ! LOL!
Happy Trails

Interesting how many $200 Leupold's get replaced with $900 Nightforce's. Just can't figure out why that $200 scope is not as nice as the $900 one?.........FWIW: I have owned both and have been satisfied with both. No I did not expect the $200 scope to be as nice as the $900 one. None have been perfect.

Well said!

While others' experiences may hold value, it is YOUR experience that should hold greatest sway to you in any decision.

Problem is the $2000+ Leupolds don't seem to be as reliable as the $900 Nightforce.

For that matter, the $2000 Leupolds don't seem to be as reliable as the old beat up $300 Leupolds. Thereby leading to a lot of confusion and questions and frustrations.......

Yeah, I have a 35 year old Vari-X III, click adjustments but pre Multicoat-4, and it has been solid.

Actually, the correct German Pronunciation should be and is, Loypold. EU in German is pronounced oy not eu. But I suspect the family wanted to anglicize the name. A lot of Germans were into that around WWI because everything German here was considered taboo. My mother's mother's family did this. I had a Great Aunt that denied her German ethnistics in front of God and everybody. This lady was the pillar of the Baptist church and would rather die than lie but she did right in front of a good friend of mine who was of German Descent. I told her, "David is German like us," To which she answered, "But dear, we are not German, we're English." She was partially right as her mother's family was English. But her father, my great grandfather was German. His dad, my great great grandfather came here from Germany in 1848 when he was 8 years old and planted his family name forever in this county. Their port of entry was right here on Matagorda Bay at the old townsite of Indianola Texas. Most Germans came through at New York or even Galveston, but my family were some of the first en mass immigrants from Germany and landed right here in Calhoun County Texas. But come WWI they forgot where they came from.....LOL!!! I suspect something similar happened with the Leupold family and now their off spring pronounce their name Loopold.

I believe the optics of the current Leupolds to be superior to the older ones, but like a lot of things the craftsmanship and design may be lacking due to the desire to make things cheaper.

So far I'm satisfied with my numerous Leupolds. I will admit that they don't track very well,. but I've found that to be the same with several scopes. Mine do all hold Zero. I had one Rifleman that didn't but I traded it for a Nikon that did. However that Nikon and several others I've had didn't track as claimed on here with the Meopta, SWFA, Night Force, and the Zeiss Conquest. I'm not even going to bring up the more expensive Zeisses or the other German optics. I would expect a $2000+ scope to track and stand on it's head and sing the Star Spangle Banner!

A lot of that is market hype. A lot of people get hooked in by new products advertising as "Mo Betta" than the old reliable and even get trashed by other brands to increase their sales. I suspect that to be part of the cause of this "War on Leupolds" on this site. I can put up with the sloppy tracking because I don't do the "Knob Twist Shuffle! I set the scope at the range and use Kentucky Windage and elevation hold over in the field. Maybe I'm old fashion and doing it the hard way, but I'm not paying $600 and up for a sighting system on my deer rifle that I never shoot at game at over 400-500 yards. And as for being dependable, I've owned and still own many leupolds and have only experienced problems with two. One Rifleman didn't hold Zero well and I took it back, and one VX-1 I bought used that had a power adjustment ring that was hard to turn but after working it back and forth several times with a squirt of spray lube in it, it loosened up and I still use it.. So far that's been it with real problems with my Leupolds. Other wise they've been totally dependable for me.

I'm late to this party, and don't have a huge number of scopes to draw on. My rifles, that have scopes, are made by Leupold. Most of my scopes are older but some are made this century. I'm mostly a set it and forget kinda guy. I do have a scope used for rimfire silhouette, 3x9 EFR, that has been cranked up and down for 13 years of rimfire practice and matches in the hunter division. It's an older one without turrets, I put a Stoney Point "turret" on it. Probably not the best setup, but the targets are small and accuracy is critical. It's never let me down and works perfectly. For the price it's hard to complain about it or the other scopes I have.
I seem to be in the minority here but when I buy another scope, I'll still look hard at Leupold.

There were darned few complaints about the Vari-X series Leupold scopes. The "War on Leupolds" didn't start until the launch and 3 subsequent "refinements" of the VX I/II/III, 1, 2, 3, Freedom, 3I, series turned out to be significantly mechanically inferior to the previous Vari-X series. Couple that with the 2 folks from Leupold who participated in Webinar that didn't leave attendees feeling confident and it's NOT a recipe for success.

Lemme guess...you're a Vortex guy?

I bought a FX3 6x42mm here from a great guy thinking I could either have a target turret, CDS, or LRD installed through the custom shop.

Just got off the phone with them and the shop is restructuring and there is no word on what if any retrofit services they’ll offer, not sure when they’ll reopen, or what the pricing structure will be if they decide to do that work.

I’ve always gravitated toward their products for their customization.

DOE!

The custom shop at Leupold had its genesis in the same time period in which we (myself and the "Old Guard") were lobbying hard toward avoiding "lesser" product lines. During one dinner conversation in Vegas (Safari Club convention if I remember right), I excused myself, went back to my room in a hurry and came back with Leupold's current brochure which featured at least one rifle from the Remington Custom Shop. The question was asked, "Why can't Leupold do this?" Those of us pushing the idea found an unexpected ally in Chuck Yeager, who started brainstorming about what HE would like to have done to a Leupold scope. He'd just had a Winchester Model 88 re-worked by an outfit in Roseburg, Oregon (had pictures just like a proud grandfather), and wanted equal attention to his sighting system on it.

The custom shop ramped up slowly from there. I'd hate to believe its going away.

I know this is an old thread now. I was researching problems with various scopes, and obviously Leupold had their share of complaints. Can anyone direct me to this podcast with Leupold staff that so many members here cite as being their final straw in using Leupold? I would be interested in hearing what was said. Thanks.

I don't know if you'll be able to find it, but below are threads about it.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...-with-a-special-24hourcampfire-exclusive

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/13958935/leupold-livestream-details

I missed this thread the first time around. It's interesting that this is the only place I hear condemnation of Leupold scopes but used ones seem to sell very well, even on this site!
I've been using them for 40years, I'm sure I've had over 30 of them, from the M8s to the VX3i. I did have one fail as many here have described, it was an older friction adjust model, it was repaired and I'm still using it. I've sent several to Leupold for custom work and for stiff power adjusters on variables(under warranty). It does seem to me that their internal communications are lacking a bit.
I'm very dissapointed with Leupold now and probably won't buy any more new ones, not because of failures but because I feel they've abandoned the target shooter market in favor the "tactical" market, I guess that's where the money is. That and the "temporary" closure of the custom shop a few years ago have put me off, I suspect they'll get by without me.