Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics So Leupold are Junk anymore. Now what

Shooting LR increases the number of critical variables and in doing so, brings the mechanical stability of the aiming device into sharp relief. Successful LR shooting starts with an accurate rifle and a scope that repeats; if you have those two things you can get to work. Notice I didn’t say “tracks”.... it can even track funky in the sense that X number of clicks results in more, or less, POI movement than it “should”, but as long as the adjustments are repeatable, you can work around that with some rounds expended and good data collection and record-keeping.

What happens is, or rather what happened to me, is that as one is trying to sort out this multi-variable equation, eventually as one churns through gear, burns powder, reads the forums, and so on.... if you persevere and spend enough $$ eventually you hit upon the convergence of a truly accurate rifle and a truly reliable scope. That’s a light-bulb moment. In my case it’s the rifle I call the “Lite” because it’s basically a 7-mag Sendero “Lite”.... it’s a short action 7 WSM with a 24” barrel in the same HS stock Remington uses, or used to use (I don’t pay attention anymore) but without that god awful palm swell. So, a Sendero Lite. I built the rifle, chambered it myself, etc. It is freakishly, phenomenally accurate. Conversing in private with the very knowledgeable EHG, he put me on the trail of a used NF 5.5-25 NSX and that scope, on that rifle, combined with my awesome shooting skills (ahem) were my light bulb moment. The rifle is for most intents and purposes perfectly accurate. Ditto for the scope. That leaves the nut behind the butt, and atmospheric considerations, and of course the fine details of making premium ammo. But removing scope variability is, I’m tellin’ you, a complete game-changer. It’s as tangible as dropping a rock on your foot. You KNOW IT when you see it. And there’s no going backwards from that.

Obviously some have had issues with Leupold....the same as some have stated they have had issues with every other brand...And to your last sentence no...if only obviously...

But let us start with the posts header...."So Leupold are Junk anymore." A definitive statement...which some think is either pure BS or posted only to bring about controversial opinions...A troll question if you will...A post that has been discussed here over and over and....Little different than Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Dodge...and one that all know will bring out the same, over and over and...

What do you think?

Addition: Here is mine....Leupold is not the best of the best, Leupold is far from junk, while the entry level and middle class Leupold scopes will not suit the needs of the dedicated LR shooters....and that would be those that can consistently go past 500...Those same entry and middle class scopes will reliably handle 99% plus of the needs of those who are shooting mostly standard rifles, that are being used by most hunters...Verification???? One only needs to look at the success story pics, with the vast majority showing a Leupold doing the work.....

Best I can sum it up....

LEUPOLD SCOPES ARE NOT FOR DUMMIES.

ASIAN SCOPES ARE FOR DUMMIES.

Not a fan of Leup’s incredible shrinking eye relief feature as the power goes up, either. It does give awesome eye relief/ eye box at low power settings, but the price is that the scope pulls away from the eye as you crank it up. Zeiss and Swaro take a different approach where the ER/EB is biggest in the middle portion of the magnification range. A minor nitpick.

If you are including Japanese in “Asian” then you, sir, are the dummy.

Japanese scopes rock.

Then stay the hell away from them because you are an idiot

For "verification" I'll relate my experiences with Leupold, which seem to be aligned with some others' experiences as stated on these type of threads and with others I know personally.

For years I preached the Leupold gospel. At one point I had over 30 scopes from them. Some took some ammo to get sighted in, but almost all of them served their purpose well for a lot of years. If I did have an issue, their CS was always great.

As mentioned, I had a fair amount of scoped rifles, so while I shot a lot, each individual rig didn't see very high round counts. As time went on my long range shooting equipment and skill set evolved, and I started dialing instead of hold and hope with a duplex or holding off with graduated reticles of various forms. I found my gold rings weren't up to being turned on regularly, and I had trouble with a few before moving on to other brands.

Around the same time, I sold a fair amount of guns off and sort of upgraded what I decided to keep and buy. This resulted in less rigs being shot more frequently, wherein I experienced more use induced troubles with with certain equipment, which included Leupolds that were still being used on set and forget rigs.

While I have "lost the faith" a bit, overall, I don't disagree with you that the use profile of a lot of hunters and shooters would still be served OK by Gold Rings.The vast majority of my game pics include gold rings, including the largest bucks and bulls I've ever taken. I've recommended them to a lot of people through the years and haven't received any negative feedback, while over the same time frame a lot of game has been taken by those folks and their gold rings.

I don’t know whether I can really add to this discussion but I will give my experience with leupold scopes. I have nine mounted on rifles from VXll to VX3i. I have criticized them in the past because I didn’t think the optics were as good as the reputation but I like them because of the lightness and for me durability and reliability. I must be lucky because for me I have not had point of impact shift, I have one 2x7 that has been on a model 70 that shoots to the same point of impact today that it did when mounted in 1993. The others have been shifted from rile to rifle but I have not seen a change in zero over the years. I have not had to use their warranty yet. I can’t do enough hunting with the restricted game limits to wear out a scope or rifle, but I do go to the range often. Because of the success I have had with them most of my hunting rifles wear Leupold and a couple wear Bausch& Lomb.

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but Metallic Silhouette shooters adjust their elevation turrets more than anybody I know, typically up and down over about a ten MOA range every match and practice plus sighting in, Leupold is by far their preferred scope brand. Granted that is with target turrets, top level shooters shoot enough to wear out the adjusters at which point they send the scope to Leupold for a warranty rebuild and start the process over.
I've had dozens of Leupold scopes over the years, many years ago I had a 2-7X compact scope that did experience adjustment problems similar to what's been described here, unfortunately I had to send it back a second time to get it fixed, which is certainly frustrating. I've sent a few scopes to the custom shop as well and also had to deal with some confusion that seemed to come from an internal communication problem at Leupold.
All things considered I still consider Leupold to be my first choice in scope brands.

I had a Vari X III 2.5x8 that was bad from the get go.Warranty. I bought a used Bushnell Scopechief 3x9 , it did the same as the Leupold. They didn't fix it well, unlike Leupold. . It went for a swim with the Canoe Rifle , this time they sent me a 4x Scopechief. If someone had bought a Bushnell Scopechief 3x9, they would have turned into Leupold believers.I have an old Vari X III of the same cloudy, poor adjusting vintage. I bought a used 1.5x6 4200 Bushnell. It came off a 375 H&H . It had to be firmed up , chuckle.

Great Warranty means it failed. A mechanic told me that when I mentioned Craftsman tools years ago.

Bushnells in Canada are a relatively fairly priced whereas Leupold are over priced compared to USA.

Interesting thread in a way, It makes you think back to your own experiences. I still have and use the same Vari X lll 2.5 x 8 I bought new in 1978 with never any problems with it either. Never had any problems with the M8's I have nor with the Vari X ll's or llc models. Most were bought 2nd hand (used) which saved me a lot of money on purchase price. I have and use many other brands of scopes as well , most bought used. I never worried about buying a used Leupold because if it was screwed up I knew they would fix it. One of my favorites is the M8 6x but most who have them like them also and never sell them. I've found the best subsitute for an M8 6x is a Vari X llc 3 x 9 yeah you turn it to 6x and leave it there. Which brings me to a point, I' m a set and forget type user for the most part but I have been learning the turret models use. The thing is none of my Leupolds are the newer models which people have problems with I couldn't afford them new so I was allways buying used older ones relying on Leupolds warranty to sort out problems that never materialized. The older ones are going up in price like everything else these days. Maybe I should quit buying guns to save money on scopes. Gotta find a scope for my 6mm Creedmoor RAP first though....mb

I’ve only used the Leupold warranty 1 time in 20 years: & that was due to a new scope that had a scratch on the front glass about 18 years ago.

I just bought a VX-R patrol 3-9 with the Fire dot in MilDot, it’s now rebadged as a VX-3HD. That would be my recommendation for you.

Anything else in that ~$500 price point is going to be imported completely.

Some strong statemants about peoples faith in Leupold scopes.

I don't thing you'll ever see that same confidence level with Asian made Junk scope.

I believe the true consensus is Asian scopes are Junks.....

Confushus say if you happy with Asian made Junks you easy please.

You guys ever notice how people that like Asian made scopes are so bitter and nasty ?

I think I know why....

I'd be pissed at the world too if I had been stupid enough to buy Asian made "Junks"

Q: Leupold VX-Freedom Rimfire Riflescope
Q:Is the glass made in china? leupold said it could be but wouldn't specify. i was hoping it's japanese glass.

A: A: Winston we source our glass from a few select and qualified vendors in Asia. All of our glass is manufactured to our specific specifications and is inspected upon arrival at our factory in Beaverton Oregon by our optical engineers. Any glass that does not meet our exacting standards is rejected and returned to the vendor. The actual origin of the glass is of little consequence, what is more important the optical design and assembly process. It would be a bit like getting hung up on where the rubber trees were grown for the rubber in your tires. What is really important is how the tires are designed and constructed. The same holds true with our riflescopes that is why all of our riflescopes are design, machined, and assembled in our factory in Beaverton OR USA.

You're an idiot

You really don't get out much, do you?

If it makes you feel any better, I've had way worse experience with a Swaro than I ever did with Leupolds.

What a comment from a Campfire correspondent. Your vast knowledge and experience is duly noted and ignored.

Only 5 pages of you calling people idiots. Slacker.