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Leupold reliability

Hammer101st

I need a lighter weight scope for one of my rifles and Leupold fits the bill for the weight im goin for but im a little trigger shy on buying one with roomers goin round here lately ive been in the vip program for three years now but never pulled the trigger. What do you guys think of them?

And list some lightweight allternitives
 
I have several Leupolds on hunting guns and love them. They are mostly of the older Vari-x variety and 2x-7x or 1.75x-6x. Of the newer ones, I have been impressed with the VX5-HD line. An alternative would be the Steiner hunting range, which I think, are now US made. But if these are outside your budget, there's a glut of good asian built scopes around from Element, Tract, Falcon etc.
 
nettle said:
I have (6) Leupold scopes. Oldest being a 1984 model that is still crystal clear. Leupold has a lifetime guarantee. My last Leupold is a VX-3 I bought last year.
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Not questioning ther glass they have good glass. Hear in the last couple months ive been practiceing dialing a scope because im not a fan of some of these reticles today and i here horror stories of them not tracking and looseing zero. Im not the one to take the internets to heart but thers been enough complaints a person would have to think about it
 
I have probably owned more than 30 Leupolds over the years. The majority were on hunting rifles although some were on bench guns. They ranged from the lightest variable scope Leupold ever made (3-9 non-AO Ultralight) to current 40X model Competitions, 3-9’s, 4.5-14’s, 2.5-8’s, 6.5-20’s, 8.5-25’s and others. I have fired literally thousands of rounds with these scopes mounted on everything from 22LR to .416 Rigby's. I only had a problem with one of them. It was on a 36BR scope and they repaired it free of charge, no questions asked.

I really don’t understand where all the bad reports come from but remember, it is the internet and people repeat what they read on the internet. Of course everything on the internet is true…

Dave.
 
Dave Way said:
I have probably owned more than 30 Leupolds over the years. The majority were on hunting rifles although some were on bench guns. They ranged from the lightest variable scope Leupold ever made (3-9 non-AO Ultralight) to current 40X model Competitions, 3-9’s, 4.5-14’s, 2.5-8’s, 6.5-20’s, 8.5-25’s and others. I have fired literally thousands of rounds with these scopes mounted on everything from 22LR to .416 Rigby's. I only had a problem with one of them. It was on a 36BR scope and they repaired it free of charge, no questions asked.

I really don’t understand where all the bad reports come from but remember, it is the internet and people repeat what they read on the internet. Of course everything on the internet is true…

Dave.
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Well its starting to sound like a resounding fooey on the subject. I guess ill have to kick around the idea again
 
For me reviews outweigh rumors. All my scopes except one are Leupolds and I have owned close to 20 total. They have treated me well in the 3 instances I had with warranty work. The rumors must be based on those "Leupy" scopes which could be China counterfeits.
 
I have a 40x leupold that seems to be as solid as any scope I have. I have and I made a run of scope checkers and I check my scopes periodically. Thankfully, all three of my current scopes on br rifles appear rock solid. I've heard rumor that the 40's gave no problems but the 45's did. I find that hard to believe, that there is any internal difference but, maybe. Either way, I have a good one and I'm happy with mine. The glass in either is more than sufficient, imho, but glass is not my main concern, as long as it's good. It doesn't have to be great..just very good, and it is that, by my standards for BR work. I'd rate the glass a little better than the NF BR scopes that are bullet proof. As long as the loopy holds poi/poa...I'm very pleased. So far, so good. It's actually a pretty old scope with a low round count on it. I don't know either, exactly but as long as i's working like it is, I'll probably stay with it on that rifle
 
I have a MK_4, M-1 16X. Came with fine cross hair and a 1/8 min dot.
Sent it back about 6 years ago asking for the wind plex recticle to be put in it.
Got it back with the TMR recticle and a note saying they didn't have the engineers to put the Wind Plex in it.
About 2 or 3 weeks ago, Saw a Leupold add that they have 80 engineers designing new scopes!
So why can't one of those 80 figure out a etched glass wind plex reticle for a 16x power scope?
I won't buy a leupold scope again. Customer service SUCKS!
 
I have around a dozen Leupolds and have been using them for nearly 40 years, in all that time I have sent 1 back and returned 1 to place of purchase for a refund. The one I sent back was a 4x pistol scope I bought used at a gun show and between the time I looked at it originally and went back and purchased it someone had apparently dropped the gun it was on (Ruger SBH) and knocked the reticle loose, Leupold sent me a new one ASAP. The other was a 3-9 Rifleman I bought at Wally World that didn't hold zero on my TC Encore muzzle loader. I won't hesitate to buy another when I need one.

Edit to add:
I have a 2.5-8 VX3 I ordered from the custom shop and while practicing with my .375 H&H for a safari in 2018 the scope took a nasty fall. I had the scope mounted with Leupold QD mounts and I would always shoot a few shots with the irons when I practiced. I had it off the rifle and laid it on the lid of my hard case, it rolled off the lid, hit the bench and did a half gainer about 3 feet down to the concrete landing at a sharp angle right on the objective. I reattached it immediately and shot it at 100 yards, the poi had shifted about 4" I dialed it back and fired a confirmation shot. This incident happened less than a month from the start of my safari, I went home and ordered a back up, it was dialed in and in the case when I left for Tanzania. I hunted the entire time with the damaged scope after 5 plane rides including a Cessna 208 it never shifted a bit.
 
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