Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics leupold tracking maybe its just cheaply built?

So I bought a leupold. I had sold all my leupold scopes about 4 years ago. I generally prefer japan built LOW scopes of various companies. bushnell, zeiss, weaver, huskemaw, etc. but I wanted a duplex reticle with a dot. I wanted the illumination to turn off on its own. I wanted a scope that was light weight and had a huge FOV. there was nothing else quite like it out there so I bought a leupold 1.25-4 with firedot duplex. These aren't one of leupolds cheaper scopes. Its a 30mm tube scope and I paid nearly $450 for it used. I went to sight in the scope and the previous owner must have put the elevation cap on "farmer" tight. because when I used my leatherman to add a little extra twist to the turret cap. keep in mind I was doing this carefully because I didn't want to dent or mar the turret cap. the entire turret mechanism came out of the scope.

looking at the scope, IMO the way its built isn't confidence inspiring. you can stick your finger in there and feel the spring tension on the erector. that is the silver part in the scope you see. I find it mind blowing there is only barely 2 threads that hold that whole adjustment assembly into the scope body. you have 2 threads holding it, meanwhile it has to hold back spring pressure the erector assembly is pushing on it. The turret cap is actually secured much better to the adjustment assembly than the scope body itself, LOL the metal to metal contact that turret mechanism makes on the erector, I would see how it would occasionally stick on potentially not adjust. I also noticed the aluminum erector inside the scope looked like it was a cheap looking piece of aluminum pipe, something akin to what might be in a hardware store. not a machined erector.

so when it comes to leupold and weather they track or not, maybe they are just crappy built? look at say and SWFA SS scope. it has brass that is screwed in with tons of threads holding it into the scope body. compared to this its lightyears more robust. see for yourself.


[img]https://i.imgur.com/auSULUe.jpg?1[/img]

So it didn’t even remotely fail on you but some dipchit super glued the cap on. Is that a used VX-R?

I do agree, the turret should have more than two threads holding it.

The good news is you can send it back and they will fix it.

Oh, come on cowboy. That looks like good well made chidt to me. Ask Jud, he'll agree. Where's varmintguy at. He has 1,000 leupolds on 1,000 rifles that have never failed.. I call bs.. you sure that isn't a tasco?

I don't know if it's possible to build a durable scope -and- make it lightweight. That is Leupold's problem.

All this negativity on scope construction was debunked by Mule Deer in his Optics for the Hunter book long ago.

if its published it must be true right? look at the pictures and you tell me how robust this is built. these scopes (this model in particular) are marketed for high recoil rifles like what is used for african game. you have erector spring pressure, you have the force of holding the seal down and in place and you have recoil of a 375 H&H or more, as well as just general banging around while carrying etc. you can see the threads for yourself, its only 2 threads, they aren't very deep and strong looking threads either. I don't even trust the adjustment cap to stay on with 2 threads much less the entire click and adjustment assembly, but that is what the deal is with this scope. like I said the adjustment cap is held on with LOTS more threads.

That scope has solid reviews on Amazon but we know those reviews are fake!

https://www.amazon.com/Leupold-1-25...OC#aw-udpv3-customer-reviews_feature_div

More fake reviews

https://www.opticsplanet.com/leupold-vx-r-1-25-4x20-matte-rifle-scope.html#reviewAnchor

Send it in, get it fixed. Then sell it and go buy a legendary SWFA.

MTH:

I'd appreciate if you could share the excerpt where scope construction and it's interrelations to toughness and functionality was debunked. Or at least paraphrase it. For me, to read in print that scope construction doesn't have a corollary relationship with toughness would cast a shadow of doubt on other discernments and conclusions from the author.

It's not that I don't trust JB; I've looked forward to and enjoyed his work since before he was the editor with Gray's. It's more that I've had trouble with Leupolds of various iterations holding zero and adjusting accurately going back to their friction adjustments on up through their i varieties, while I've also run scopes from other companies that are clearly more robustly built and have stood up better to tough use and higher round counts from heavy recoilers.

I've had/have some offerings from Leupold that have given a lot of years of good service, and I still think they'll do OK depending on what you're asking of them, but I stopped championing them as tough scopes some time back.

I read JBs book long ago right after it was published, a friend bought it and loaned it to me. I don't have the book before me but I remember JB writing a lighter scope has less inertia during recoil so the internals hold up better.

I have ran mostly Leupolds most of my life, had a few others. I've stumbled and/or slipped more than once and slammed my Leupolds into the frozen ground or tree branches and never had one fog or fail. But I used mostly DD mounts back then. I did have one get knocked off a couple of times and it did cost me, but I attribute that issue due to the old STD mounts which used pinch type screws to hold the rear ring.

As for tracking I've never had an issue with either click or friction adjustments. I do go past the intended click and then reverse click.

Maybe my experiences are a rarity but I do know this forum is highly prone to the monkey see - monkey do game. I don't fell the need to play musical scopes, never had the need to.

Alot of good animals fell to the newer gen Leupold scoped rifles this fall including my older one.

Jud probably killed more animals in the past two years than you have in your life there Paper Queen.

Where did you buy the scope?

Serial number, please.

Leupold Counterfeits

Don't feel bad.......you're not the first, or the last.

The bro crush is well noted. 👍👍

Now is where you post some target pics, and I post up bigger bulls than you’ve seen, that I’ve killed with open sights dummy. 👍👍😂😂

That’s a fact uncle Johnny. The leupold haters just can’t handle it when folks don’t have “trouble “ with em. Oh you don’t shoot enough. Oh you don’t spin turrets. Oh you don’t hunt hard enough. Blah blah blah... gets tiring, but it’s never not funny!! 😂😂

Any chance its a Chinese rip off?l Such has been known to happen in the optics and cameral world.

Would be interesting to 1) verify it’s not a knockoff and 2) compare it with a disassembled, comparably priced scope from another manufacturer. The VX-R was far from a top of the line scope. Used @$450 does not sound like a good deal to me but I haven’t priced them. I think if you intend to compare it to scopes that cost $1000 or more, it’s a little unfair.

2 threads might be the trick to the whole thing. Make it so it gives a little, thus it doesn't break....

I for one am glad you showed some respect and capitalized 'Paper Queen." Well done uncle Johnny!

Thanks smoke.....caught me on a good day I guess. bsa it the perpetual clown show.

well its already been sent to leupold so if its fake we will know. however the box and the rest that came with the scope says NOT fake. BTW a fake might be better at this point.