Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Scope repair (Docter)

I bought a used Docter 4.5-14 rifle scope several months ago. Finally mounted it on a rifle and discovered it has serious internal issues; focus changes as the magnification is changed, it does not 'smoothly' change magnification, the adjustable objective is way off, and the field of view gets smaller as the magnification is decreased. Simply put, it's broke.

I'd prefer not shipping it back to Germany for repair and the reviews for Noblex customer service is not good. Can anybody suggest an independant scope repair service?

I've worked with Noblex on swapping out to a different illumination system and also bought an item from them directly with zero issues. A guy on another board contacted me around January 2019 or so about his Docter scope as he knew I was using that brand. If I remember correctly, I think he said he slipped on ice with the scope taking the brunt of the impact. I do recall that he later told me everything was taken care of in short order.

On 2 different higher-dollar items, they shipped back to me via FedEx (Express, I guess), and in each instance, I had the scopes in just a couple business days, which truly surprised me. A turret cover they sent me went through conventional mail and took about 16-18 days, if memory serves.

Here's a contact e-mail. Keep in mind the time difference. He responds quickly. Only once did it take a bit longer, and that was when he was at a show.

michel.erbertnoblex-germany.com

Thanks! I've sent him an email.

Haven't heard back from Mr. Erbert but I got the following email back from Noblex. I don't know the back story on why there are in financial distress; Covid? Bankruptcy? Both?

"Thank you for your e-mail.

We are currently in a difficult economic situation. For this reason we would like to ask you

to submit your request again in October. Then we can coordinate the further procedure with you."

Wow. I had not heard anything specific regarding Noblex. But about a month ago, I did converse with a guy from Germany who told me a 2nd wave of Covid-19 was beginning to take its toll there. At that time, he said he felt those who refused to wear masks on public transport were part of the problem but that authorities were beginning to crack down on that. He also said several smaller shops/businesses he frequented had closed or were in the process of closing until things improved. Again, I've heard nothing about Noblex in particular, but they are indeed a fairly small operation overall.

I hope the issues with your scope can be resolved soon,

Got this email back from Noblex. Basically, I am 's*+# outa luck" on getting this Docter scope fixed. Guess I will throw it in the trash can. -Matt


Maier, Angela
Attachments
Thu, Oct 8, 11:24 PM (38 minutes ago)
to me

Dear Mr. Norman,



unfortunately we have to inform you that we do not do repairs anymore(see information letter)



We can also not name a successor company.

That is NOT good news. Sorry to hear that about your scope. Hopefully some investor or group will step in and purchase the operation.

Sorry to hear this. I would tend that perhaps the previous owner mounted it wrong, I mean by twisting it, bending in rings or something to that nature. Every time I mount a scope, I use a Brownells Scope Mount/Rod kit that runs pointed rods through the rings and you can adjust to get the points exact. This eliminates undue stress on internals.

Anyway, I toured the Doctor plant in Eisfeld a few years ago, and each and every scope was run through a series of tests before leaving the factory. One particular test I witnessed, the scopes were mounted on a machine which shook and banged and bounced the scopes around to try and break anything in them. It was rather loud, you couldn't talk around it, pretty severe test.

Perhaps keep looking for an independent repair facility. I own several Doctor Optics and they have all been outstanding. Just a shame they are having financial difficulty, if I understand correctly.

This is the Scope Shaker tester that was used at Doctor Optics when I visited a few years ago.

This has become a remarkable deal that I must share.

I had bought this used scope several months back here on the 'Fire from TheBigSky. I posted that I was looking for scopes with crosshair/dot reticle. TheBigSky PM'd me and said he had the Docter with a very fine crosshair/dot. I bought the scope and it was a smooth transaction. Upon receiving it I briefly looked it over; there were no ring marks and everything looked 'Jake. So I put it in the safe and told TheBigSky I was satisfied. Finally got around to mounting it and at the range I discovered it was internally messed up.

Didn't want to start a pissing contest with TheBigSky as I felt it was on me for not inspecting it when I got it. So I posted this thread to try to find a way to get it repaired. TheBigSky happened upon the post and called me to confirm if it was the scope was the same one that he sold me. When I confirmed, he insisted on buying it back at full price (and he included cost of return back to him). He wanted to make it right.

I feel very obligated to state this: Thomas P. of Billings Montana, aka TheBigSky, is a man of integrity. Deal with him in complete confidence. We hear so much about scammers and funky transactions....this is complete opposite of that.

Please try to help him find a way to get this scope repaired. And/or, send him a PM complementing him on his fine character.

-Matt Norman
Grand Junction, Colorado

Wow that is unbelievably stand up!!

That is a heck of a testament to his character and integrity.