Leopold vx5 problems

[wildwillie]

I've read that there some previous posts about vx5 problems. How would I find them or does anyone want to comment. I'm thinking of buying one. Vx5 hd 3-15x44

 

[General RE LEE]

What's your type of shooting and what are your goals? What cartridge you shooting? That helps.

VX5HD is an excellent hunting scope and will serve you well recreationally shooting with some dialing. If your goal is to load up every weekend and go shoot tournaments that require hundreds of revolutions of dialing, I'd get something else.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The two biggest problems would probably be:

-losing zero from minor inpacts
-not returning to zero after being dialed.

 

[General RE LEE]

The two biggest problems would probably be:

-losing zero from minor inpacts
-not returning to zero after being dialed.

I've never had those issues and had 4 VX5HDs. Interesting considering I have first hand experience with multiple versions of these scopes the OP inquired about.

 

[slowelk]

Using your preferred internet search engine, search "Leupold Vx-5 issues".

 

[TxLite]

Use the search function and you’ll find quite a bit

But @thinhorn_AK basically gave you the short and simple. I’d add that they are also prone to losing zero from riding in their case while in the truck (mine did this often). I sent it in and was told it was working fine. It now has a new owner with its clean bill of health.

Features wise I loved mine and wish I didn’t have issues. Some people have had good luck with them. I wouldn’t buy another one until they make changes personally.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I've never had those issues and had 4 VX5HDs. Interesting considering I have first hand experience with multiple versions of these scopes the OP inquired about.

And I’ve never had issues with my vx3 2.5-8x36 scopes but the problems are documented well enough that for me, it’s not worth the risk. If I was walking out to tree stands every day after work, I’d worry a lot less but I might only get to hunt 2x a year and be spending thousands of dollars on flights in and out so my personal decision has been to move away from leupold for my own piece of mind. That being said, I have absolutely no stake in what anybody else chooses to use.

 

[TxLite]

I've never had those issues and had 4 VX5HDs. Interesting considering I have first hand experience with multiple versions of these scopes the OP inquired about.

So do I and I had repeated issues

 

[General RE LEE]

Mine rode in vehicles in the soft case on the farm with all the rocks, bump and ditches and never lost zero so there is that.

 

[TxLite]

Mine road in vehicles in the soft case on the farm with all the rocks, bump and ditches and never lost zero so there is that.

Wish I had your luck. Loved the scope until it started wandering and not returning to zero. The tenmile that replaced it has held zero spectacularly

 

[wildcat33]

The tape tells the tale. I.e. just read the old threads on this site. That you have to ask the question should tell you something.

 

[rcook10]

I've had two good 3-15x44s that have been run pretty hard. My mounting jobs are all set with a wheeler wrench and blue loc-tite, I then nail polish the bolts into the recesses so I can inspect for any cracking. The first I've owned for 5ish years and shot 2000ish rounds of 270 and 308 with it on 4.5-6.5 pound rifles. It has ridden around in the back of my truck thousands of miles across Wyoming on back country two tracks and highways usually in a simple soft case in a decked drawer, loose in my passenger seat, or on back of the seat gun hooks. It has been knocked over onto carpet in my house and in the field onto trees, the ground, and rocks. This year I had a bad fall during a pack out and more or less tossed my rifle 3-4 feet down a rocky slope after banana peeling with a full pack of meat. It hit the left side of the rifle on the stock and side focus and slid another 5-6 feet on a 40 degree slope. I would not characterize it as an isolated scope hit but it was a very significant impact. Besides a few scrapes and dings in the housing and on the turrets everything has continued to turn appropriately and adjust well. I took the rifle to the range and it had moved about 1" to the left but rezeroed without drama and dialed a 20 minute verification test without fail. It's still mounted and doing its job several friends used the rifle to kill animals at 2-500 yards this year. The new one is in the impact 29 reticle and has only had a year of this experience and about 300 rounds of 280ai out of a kimber. I hunted extensively with it this fall and shot a cow last week with it at 300 yards. While I am no longer a fan of christmas trees and will likely sell the newer scope or trade for another duplex I can't say either has done anything but be a functional, bright, lightweight and accurate. Both have dialed a little tall at 3% and 4% respectively. I dunno what most roksliders do to their rifles but they have been fine for me as a western hunter that is not kind to his gear.

Edited to add: I'd also say that I have sent multiple vx-i/vx-ii scopes in for problems related to wandering zero and such so i'm not saying leupold is without fault.

 

[SCHUNTER73]

I have been pleased with mine. No problems thus far. That said, internet reviews are generally negative because that’s what people like to talk about. I’m sure that if everyone reported their positives, those would significantly outweigh the the negatives. Same thing with trucks, atvs, boat motors, tires, restaurants, etc.

 

[MuleyFever]

It's about failure rate. Every brand has a rate of failure above zero. The Leupold brand has a higher rate of issues compared to some other brands based off some Internet research. Leupold scopes have nice features if you are willing to take the chance.

 

[SCHUNTER73]

I hear what you are saying, but are you talking about failures as a quantity or as a percentage of Manufacturing?

 

[nobody]

I had one on a Howa 1500 7 mag that died within about 150 rounds. One of the internal lenses cracked and it started acting wonky and wandering. Warrantied it out and sold it.

I also had a VX3i that would wander around in a 2 MOA radius from time to time. Never enough to miss a target, but I always wondered in the back of my mind when it was gonna move or shift.

No more gold rings for me. For similar specs and pricing I would pick up a Trijicon Tenmile.

 

[KoolBreeze]

I put a 3-15x44 firedot on a 280AI last year and I’m very pleased with it thus far. For my use on a deer rifle, I’ve not seen anything else in its price range that is even close. That said, I rarely dial a shot and it might see 20-30 rounds a year if that. It rides to/from my hunting spots in the truck seat and so far the 0 hasn’t moved.

Really the only negative thing I’ve noticed about it is the parallax adjustment seemed a bit stiff last week while hunting with it in single digit temps. It’s back normal now inside the house, so I’m not sure what’s up with that. I was a little stiff too, ha.

By the way, if you get one, the alumi lens covers are a must have. Every manufacture should be making them for their scopes.

 

[toddh]

MIne has been great. Had it since 2020. Never lost zero.

 

[Macintosh]

Hard to say. Some folks report perfect scores with these, I had one that had a consistent 2moa or more wandering zero, as well as a couple vx3's with wandering zeros about the same amount--leupold told me multiple times they had the same internals, so seems relevant. I had one that never wandered, and my brothers hasnt wandered. For me it was too high of a problem rate. Others seem to have good luck. Hard for me to gauge why, or if folks just havent noticed. Its not a bargain scope, so you have some options in that price range. For a scope with over 10x max magnification I'd want a FFP scope anyway--maybe check out the new maven 2.5-15 that folks are reporting good reliability with, that seems like a similar scope in terms of what it would excel at. Trijicon credo 2.5-15, NF SHV 4.5-14, nxs 3-15, nx8 2.5-20, swfa 3-15, and S&B klassik 3-12 are all other roughly comparable scopes that, depending on your use and priorities might be comparable, and all are pretty universally considered to be reliable.

 

[tnanselmo]

My VX5 was delivered so out of whack I had to send it back in. I am supposed to get it back in mid-May. I still have high hopes for it, but that was very dissapointing.