Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics How many have blown a shot because of Leupold ?

My wife missed an eating-sized mule deer a couple of years ago at about 200 yards because of a fairly new, Leupold VX-III 3.5-10x40 that went nuts. A friend had a 3-9x Compact go bad on him when we were hunting mule deer in Colorado, but that scope had been on the same rifle for at least a decade. Those are the only two "defective Leupold" miss I've seen, but have personally had at least 3 expensive Euro-scopes go nuts in the field on me, causing either misses or wounds. Have also seen higher-quality Asian scopes of several makes go sproing.

As somebody already noted, any scope can (and sometimes will) break down.

I have never been unable to aim at an animal (either big game or varmint) with a Leupold, whether because of their incredibly fuzzy lenses or their dim view. Then again, on the occasions I've hunted at night I've either used a spotlight or a night-vision scope. In fact the only occasion when I can recall any difficulty aiming at a game animal was many years ago, with an El Paso K3 Weaver. It was before sunrise and several whitetails were a couple hundred yards away. Two were bucks, but in the scope I couldn't see antlers on anything. Some quick back-and-forth between binoculars (B&L's) and the scope finally resulted in a 1-shot kill on the bigger buck, but after that I quit using old Weavers, except maybe for rodent shooting.

I like Leupold scopes and have or currently run several, but I have to admit that I have had to send back more than 1 in the last 3 years for tracking issues. What really bothers me is that the guy at Leupold always knows exactly what I am about to tell em, before I tell him, Erector issues. Why is this? And then they come out with the new VX-3's that claim to have a dual erector system that will eliminate the erector issues so many have dealt with. IMO the newer Leupies (pre VX-3) are not as well made as the older ones, most of the troubled scopes I have had have been less than 5 years old production, kind of makes me wonder whats happened in the last 5 years. Never missed an animal cuz of one, but very well could have had I not spent adequate time at the range prior to the hunt.

Heck, I've never had any scope fail me, mechanically or in low light, in 35 years of hunting and target shooting. I have owned Tasco's, Bushnell's, Simmons, and Nikon's, and have had good success with them all. I will admit that I have over twenty rifles wearing glass, calibers from .243 thru 300WinMag, as well as a 20 and two 12 gauge shotguns that are scoped, and so none of them ever get a ton of rounds thru them. I also have hunted out of state or long distance from my home only a few times so have not had to deal with agressive baggage handlers. One of these days I'll spring for a really good scope and see what I've been missing.

I've never had any scope fail yet, from Tasco to Leupie, whether due to poor optical quality or mechanics.

To those unhappy with those POS Leupolds, send them to me with a check for $25 and I will make sure they are properly disposed of so they can never fail on you again Russ

Dead horse "E". You are wrong, have been proven wrong numerous times about this very subject by several different optical engineers. You are just too Bull headed to realize that you are wrong................................DJ

Hey - wait a minute - I already took that approach on the Haters thread - GET IN LINE --but dont hurry ..I have not had any boxes sent to me yet -go figure !! LOLL

Prolly the best thing stated here in some time!

I have read this from you and often wondered about it.


My eyes with glasses are 20/20 and I have a hard time seeing 25 cal. holes at 100 yrds using 6x. That is why I use a spotting scope.


Everyone's eyes are different.

Not a knock on Leupold because stuff happens. I was on a guided hunt for turkey in Texas & as an after thought decided to hunt a Blackbuck. Several times I asked the guide to go to the range & let me check zero. Scope was on a 257 Weatherby & had seen lots of severe duty on planes, ATV,s, & trucks. I missed completely & upon flying back home checked zero. Erector had a problem & of course Leupold repaired promptly. On an African safari I had difficulty zeroing a Leupold on a 300 Win. Mag. The baggage handlers must have dropped the gun case out of the hold of the plane because another rifle had the action knocked loose. The problem wasn't with the scope because after a few shots I noticed the rings were knocked loose. I still use Leupold scopes as well as Conquest, & Swarovski. Given enough abuse anything is subject to failure.

So far I have been very fortunate, never had a shot blown by the scope (most of mine are Leupold's, but there are a few Bushnell Elites and a couple of Nikon's in the mix).

i made the longest shot I have made in my life at dusk with a leupold and im not a big leupold fan. I believe there are better but Leupold is almost always "good enough"

I once whiffed a two shots at ~350 yds. at about a 380 pt. bull with a Leupold riding atop my rifle. The day before I had slipped on a shale side-hill and gone down with the rifle under me. Later at the nearest convenient spot we set up a target at 100 yds. and found that it was shooting 12" to the right, no doubt due to the fall on the rocks.

The next year in Wyo on the biggest horse I'll ever climb up on, my rifle, upside down in a scabbard because I'm a lefty, was pulled out by a branch snagging a rear loop of sling. A mile later on dismounting I discovered the scabbard sans rifle. I backtracked, found it in the snow almost the whole mile back. Remembering the past year, I fired it at a make-shift target and found it "dead-on."

So, maybe it was the assaulted Leup's fault, but I'm just as apt to claim it innocent. There will never be a optical/mechanical instrument that will not fail at one time or another when subjected to strain.

like others I have had zeiss, Leupold, Kahles, Nightforce, all go back for repairs, maybe I am tough on stuff I don't know. I argued for years about optics clarity, now I "get it" that holding the zero is what's most important. Yes I did make a bad shot due to a Leupold 1-4 on a 44 mag that would not hold zero.

Not me, I buy Leupold because it has never let me down!

come to think of it I did blow a shot with a Leupold -

It was a big azz hog - slight angle ,bout 140 yards.Took the shot and watched the hog drop dead right where he stood- then I blew the smoke from the end of the smokepole and turned the power back down to 4.5 on my 4.5x14- so yes - I blew a shot with a Leupold.LOLLL

Broke many scopes shooting and testing but, never broke one hunting. Luckily!!!

Edit: I had a 460 Smith eat one, it will remain unnamed to protect the innocent..Complete miss and the scope rattled like a cow bell...The erector tube was in a floating mode!

I wouldn't argue against that.

I've seen most brands of scopes go bad in the field at one time or another, Leupolds are as good or better than any I have used so they are my choice..I have used Leupold more than any other, and I have no complaints. Of course I have sent some back for repair, but they were returned within 2 weeks, fixed or even replaced, no questions asked..I can't say that about any other scope, I had to pay on the rest most of the time.

European scopes are over engineered, over priced, too heavy, and too bulky, and they go heywire as much as any quality scope.

Like everything else on these boards, mostly opinnions.

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Of course you must be aware that the Swarovski 3-10x42 is actually lighter and shorter than a VX3 3.5-10x40,and a Swarovski 3-9x36 is lighter than a VXII 3-9x40.