Erector Assembies

[Fartrell Cluggins]

Nightforce and SWFA have earned a reputation for being tough and tracking precisely and reliably. Leupold has a reputation for being unreliable in that regard.

Have any of you torn into the erector assemblies to see what the differences are? If those two companies are putting out a product that has developed a great reputation and a cult like following, if I am Leupold, I'd figure out what they are doing and do it better. I don't think we are talking about a difficult engineering feat. I don't think we are talking about rare and precious materials that add substantially to the cost. I don't think we are looking at too much of a weight penalty.

If any of you know the actual differences, what are they? Pics would be useful or sources of your info would be useful.

 

[Apollo117]

This is a great topic and great questions. I've often wondered this myself.

I think Form wrote a post describing the engineering that went into SWFA scopes when they were trying to land a government contract. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Here is a Swarovski X5. It's by far my favorite LR hunting scope.

 

[Chris B]

I asked this same question over on 24 hour campfire and never got a response.

 

[wapitibob]

We used to build parts for a certain made in the NW scope and during that time hired a cpl former leupold employees; both commented they had never seen tolerances as tight as the made in NW brand.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

Good topic, I would have to imagine it’s a cost issue. I bet they weighed the cost of making them cheaper and pumping them to box stores knowing a certain percentage come back for warranty VS making a better scope that costs more to make and may not hit objective price points.

 

[Chris B]

Good topic, I would have to imagine it’s a cost issue. I bet they weighed the cost of making them cheaper and pumping them to box stores knowing a certain percentage come back for warranty VS making a better scope that costs more to make and may not hit objective price points.

You probably hit the nail on the head . Sad that profit above quality seems to be the norm .

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

You probably hit the nail on the head . Sad that profit above quality seems to be the norm .

It seems to me that it would be more profitable, especially on the higher end of the spectrum, to make a scope robust enough to compete with the best. Otherwise consumers buy the competition's scope.

 

[Chris B]

It seems to me that it would be more profitable, especially on the higher end of the spectrum, to make a scope robust enough to compete with the best. Otherwise consumers buy the competition's scope.

You would think that . It seems more people want cheaper prices more than quality nowadays.