Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics VX II - Hard to turn the adjustment??

The dial to turn the power from 3-9 is very tight, can I adjust this?

thanks

If it's tight when mounted your rings may not be aligned properly! Found that out with some Talleys awhile back. Otherwise I don't know whether there is a way to loosen the ring.

Send it in, Leupold will take care of it.

That's the [bleep] part of the vxii's, imo.

All the ones I own are pretty tight. It's a joke in the winter months...

Return it to Leupold for a quick repair. I had a 4.5-14 that was very hard to turn also (a pipe wrench would have been handy <grin> ). I believe the problem is an o-ring on the inside.

RR

I don't know what it is but I'm seeing ALOT of posts on ALOT of forums dealing with this Leupold issue. My new VX-III 1.75-6x32 is the same way and it was like this before I mounted it.

SuperSeal, isn't this a Joke, buy a variable Leupold and end up with a Fixed power scope? Ha.

There is NO excuse why ANY brand/model variable lacks the 'finger adjustable power ring' that has a raised portion to enable a good grasp.

The best solution? Buy a Bushnell Elite, great optics, rainguard and easy to turn power knob. I like the VX3/IIIs and the Fx II/III/3s but cannot and will not use Leupold's variables w/smooth knob. It is a simple design to change if they wanted to, but they know they either upgrade many buyers, or lose them to the competition. Heck, even the new Value priced Pentax have easy to change power rings....Leupold is in my opinion going to start losing customers for many reasons....as a prior thread someone started mentioned....

When you can get value in other brands, not only in the optics but also in how easy/fast you can spin the power ring, why spend more to have less? Bushnell, lower end Nikon's etc. all offer very good optics at better prices and I think Leupold has intentionally failed to match/beat their competitors by not having the same power ring on ALL variables as their higher priced models.

I beg Leupold to argue with that...and substantiate their side

Leupold makes good products, but there are some things they need to upgrade as the competition is getting stiffer with great glass/features, also good warranties, and better prices. As things stand, They WILL steal market share, I am sure. I believe in the Free Market.

My hope for the USA workers there and our USA economy is ALL USA mfg. will make the best products hands down, at reasonable price levels.

Interesting. I have a VX-II 6x18x40 AO on my 25.06 on which the power ring is exceptionally stiff to turn, somewhat more so than on my VX-III. Definitely annoying.

Frankly, I'm starting to share the same opinion as 65BR.

thanks for the info,

Just thinking, IF every owner of those 'hard to turn' models sent their scopes in to Leupold for 'repair' to loosen them up, it would put a serious backlog of repairs.....so much I don't know how logistically they could get them done.

Really, I cannot think of any other brand scope that has this problem.

It does not say much for Leupold. If buyers stop buying them and shop elsewhere, the mfg. would change them or discontinue those models. Likewise if all current scopes were sent in to have their scopes worked on.....I don't think this was a design flaw/mistake but rather a continued strategy. Seriously Sir Springer and life is too short to have the hassle of the power ring being that stiff. Had a 6-18 years ago....never bought another after selling it either. VX-IIs COULD be a nice scope at their price point if they changed the power ring. Until then, none for me.

Mine is the newest Leupold I've handled lately but I have more of my own(pre VX models)and have access to a few other pre VX models. NONE have been near this bad and are in fact what I consider perfect. If this is the norm for the improved VX line then Leupold needs to take a step backwards as far as this improvement goes.

BR...

Son-in-law put a Bushnell Elite 4200 4x16x40 AO on his Remington.

While it's a tad large, there's no questioning its quality. Optics are excellent, too. I've owned a number of Elite 3200s, and never, ever had a problem or failure.

I've got my sights now on the new Elite 6500 2.5x16x42. Got a chance to look at one close up a while back. Very, very impressive on every count. Reasonably compact, too.

I shot a sub 1/2 inch group with that very scope on a Ruger #1 in 6mm BR.....at 330 yds.....NICE optics no doubt.

Speaking of compacts, the scope that I hear very little about is the ELITE 3200 3-10X40 SA COMPACT. Made for short actions, it's short, but gives FULL size performance. Priced right, if they made a 6x40 like that I'd own a few.

What Bushnell lacks in options like reticle choices and target/tactical knobs on various models, they do make up in EXCELLENT glass and I never had a problem with any scope from them.

Only real complaint, I miss the Bausch and Lomb name which I associated with top end optics. Bushnell saw differently when it spun off that division selling contact lens, etc. All in all, my buddy swears the 6-24x ao is the only scope he has ever owned that will allow him to see 22 bullet holes at 415 yds, when no mirage is present.....says alot....and that is vs. Leupold and Burris....and others in the same magnification range.

Maxx , i have 2 of them and they both are so tight that u can forget about a quick adjustment in the field , i usually just hunt with them on low power anyway and use the higher setting for sighting in.

Ditto, two bought in the last few years (one a VXII 3-9x40 bought in 2006 the other a Century Limited VXII 3-9x40 bought in 2008). They are both difficult to turn (the Century is the harder of the two). The standard VXII is getting slightly easier to move (been messing with it - up & down, repeat). None of my Vari X III or VX III scopes are like this. Leupold does need to take a look at their assembly of the VXII.

My current Leupold scopes started off with hard to turn power selector rings also. But if you put on a glove (to avoid blood blisters) and turn them stop to stop a hundred or so times they get broken in and operate much easier.(cheaper than sending them back to Leupold)

If I remember corectly, something getting harder to do, JB wrote that hard turning was a sign of quality, correct me if I'm wrong
Coop

I would think good tolerances can be held AND having a power ring easier to turn. I would ASSUME the force needed is the same to operate vx2s and 3s but the LEVERAGE one is able to get on the more expensive scope is the REAL difference. I noted the VX3 is said to have graphite on the o-rings or something like that per leupold website....

I won't argue wanting tight tolerances in a variable scope as wanting consistent POI when going across power ranges...BUT...

Imagine a guy in Africa.....charging Lion or Elephant coming in the bush and you cannot turn the damn thing down from 8, 9 or 10x, and the shot is close! As bad....imagine a Sniper, in War or a SWAT, a shot of NECESSITY presents and the scope needs to be immediately turned down.....and can't......

Those are extremes but it is important...and one needs to worry about other things when in the field then why a scope is that hard to turn. My regular hunting buddy has a 4.5-14-50 Illuminated ret. scope on his 280 700KS, and had a very hard time with his....I think he talked of sending it back, but either he, or the guy at the shop he bought the combo at put some oil on it IIRC......not something I would do.....seems it would eat the seals over time....that was either a Vari x III or VX-III, WITH the raised portion, it was just DARNED stiff...as I remember trying it. QC standards need not be compromised but there surely is a balance, and having an easier to turn knob I am not sure correlates with sloppier tolerances with what goes on inside the scope. I may be wrong but I think it's a function of how the parts fit/tightness against the O-ring seal. Just my guess.

Kal, no offense but it's like getting a revolver that you have to dry fire 500-1000x to get the rough edges off.....and smooth it up. It simply should not be that way when you take something out of the box.....IMHO.

Must say, all the Bushnell Elite's in my past, several, were firm, but easy and quick to turn, no gloves required

What are the mechanics of the power ring? What else besides a tight O-ring could bind it up like that?

I guess the definition of hard would have to be clarified. I would rather have one harder than easier but I don't face any charging animals bigger than a groundhog so
Coop

I guess I really don't see the problem. Don't you break in a new car engine by keeping your speed below a factory specified speed until the engine is broken in? If you start with tolerances that are loosey-goosey to start with what are you going to have when the parts wear in? Ever felt the difference between a bolt action rifle thats been extensivly used for 30 years versus one thats brand new?
P.S. did you actually torque your ring screws or are they "Farmer tight" (Mule Deer term)?