Man, I didn’t realize we have so many members of Rokslide who actively seem to hate Rokslide and what is discussed here. The real question is if it’s just a giant cult, and it sucks so bad here and everyone is brainwashed, why join and login and participate? Plenty of other forums out there, maybe you’d be happier participating there instead of dragging us down here?
Anyways, to the OP, it seems to be more of a “thing” with newer Leupolds. It’s interesting, my family owns a LOT of old fixed 6x M8’s that just keep on ticking. In and out of horse scabbards, ATV gun racks, washboard roads, they just seem to work. But any of the newer leupolds don’t seem to behave that way. 2 anecdotal examples: I had a VX6 that was dead within 1 or 2 boxes of ammo on the back of a 7 mag, ended up with a spiderweb crack on an internal lens and erratic adjustments and I couldn’t get dialed in. The gun had been previously zeroed and functional with other scopes before that, and it all changed with the addition of an Leupy. Also had a VX3i on a 6.5 creedmoor that would wander range trip to range trip. Never further than a couple inches, not enough to miss inside 350-ish, but it was almost never where I left it the trip before. It also had a CDS dial that when dialed up and back down for multiple shots would end up being zeroed higher at the end of the dialing session than it was when I started. I’ve got no experience with the mark 5, but I’ve heard mixed bags of reports both on here as well in real world land. For a couple grand, there should be no mixed bag, but alas, there seems to be.
I know I wouldn’t trust the hunt of a lifetime to a post 1990’s leupold based on my own experiences and reading skills and comprehension. Law of averages suggest I look elsewhere. Which sucks, because Leupold’s eyebox is top of the market on every scope they make. There isn’t a maker out there whose scopes are easier to get behind. But that doesn’t matter if they won’t steer bullet to target reliably.
