Leupold vx3hd 4.5-14 failure

[fwafwow]

HAD to be user error. Leupys are bomb proof.

 

[2-Stix]

I road hunt in rain and one year I tracked a buck came back in the truck, closed my caps. Opened them 30 mins later to shoot a buck and it was fogged up for 15 seconds. I got rid of caps. The same thing happened again because the hot and cold on in the truck after I got rid of caps.

Also that picture you sent the jamb nut needs to be tight to the ocular lens.

 

[N2TRKYS]

HAD to be user error. Leupys are bomb proof.

Failures can happen with any brand. I’ve never had any problems with any of my Leupolds. However, I’ve only been using them since the ‘90s.

I did have a problem with a Bushnell back in the ‘90s, though.

 

[Dbevans]

I tried it out in sunny conditions and it was crystal clear. It rained later that day so I brought it out and it fogged up and had condensation. The eye piece was all the up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Elkhntr08]

I guess I don’t see how that’s Leupolds fault. With it screwed out that far, it definitely looks like user error. Locking ring was not properly tightened down.
I have 4 of the vx3i scopes and never had one single issue.

 

[atmat]

Modern Leupold’s are trash scopes and not looked at fondly here. This is hardly a surprise.

Look into SWFA, NF, Trijicon, or S&B.

 

[Dbevans]

HAD to be user error. Leupys are bomb proof.

I road hunt in rain and one year I tracked a buck came back in the truck, closed my caps. Opened them 30 mins later to shoot a buck and it was fogged up for 15 seconds. I got rid of caps. The same thing happened again because the hot and cold on in the truck after I got rid of caps.

Also that picture you sent the jamb nut needs to be tight to the ocular lens.

I guess I don’t see how that’s Leupolds fault. With it screwed out that far, it definitely looks like user error. Locking ring was not properly tightened down.
I have 4 of the vx3i scopes and never had one single issue.

The eyepiece was not unscrewed. I checked the top turret and side turret. Those looked fine so I looked for what else it could be so I unscrewed the eyepiece and saw the hole. The eyepiece was tight with the scope.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[atmat]

The eyepiece was not unscrewed. I checked the top turret and side turret. Those looked fine so I looked for what else it could be so I unscrewed the eyepiece and saw the hole. The eyepiece was tight with the scope.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ignore the naysayers and blamers. Leupold scopes have a strong history of failure. They’ve absolutely bombed the testing done here. By and large, they don’t even handle bumps in the backseat of your car.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Was the optic fogged up on the outside or inside? If it was the outside there's no optic thats completely fog proof extrenally, it's physically impossible to do that but some optics have better coatings than others to disperse the moisture on the outside. If it's fogged up inside your nitrogen purged out which shouldn't happen under normal use.

Your diopter adjustment being so far out and also the lock ring not set is highly suspect. I've never had a Leupold apart to see if there's anything to prevent it from being fully unscrewed but some optics will have an internal nut that has to be removed first, some don't and you can just unscrew the occular and it will purge the nitrogen.

 

[fwafwow]

The eyepiece was not unscrewed. I checked the top turret and side turret. Those looked fine so I looked for what else it could be so I unscrewed the eyepiece and saw the hole. The eyepiece was tight with the scope.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was being sarcastic

 

[pol6320]

I am not sure of others, but I have held a scope too close to my face and my heavy breathing waiting for a shot fogged the scope up. Perhaps in those 15 minutes this happened? I know people bash leupold but myself, family and friends have had no issues.

 

[atmat]

I am not sure of others, but I have held a scope too close to my face and my heavy breathing waiting for a shot fogged the scope up. Perhaps in those 15 minutes this happened? I know people bash leupold but myself, family and friends have had no issues.

You should honestly try a drop test on your rifle and see if it holds zero. Shoot a 10-round group, drop your rifle into padding from 3 feet, and shoot another 10-round group on a different target. See if you’re scope is really having “no issues” or has just been “good enough with a yearly re-zero.”

My Leupold’s all failed, so they’re all gone.

 

[pol6320]

I will do that. You have me curious now

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

 

[atmat]

I will do that. You have me curious now

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

Thanks for having an open and curious mind! Lots of people will dig their heels in defending their position since they already spent the money. I get a pretty massive discount on Leupold retail and still won’t buy it now. All of my old scopes were Leu once upon a time.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I grew up with Leupold and all my experiences are with older stuff so I dunno if the new stuff is different. I've watched my sister drop her .223 out of a tree stand hard enough to crack the stock, dad shot it and it was still dead on. Dad set his 7mag on the truck tire and ran it over, scope still on, and I dropped my loaded 243 over my back once and got my butt whooped but the scope was still on. I never dropped it but it took plenty of bumps and dings and the Vari-X III on the 300 Wby mag my dad bought me when I was 16 years old still shot same POI 30 years later when I gave it to my son with my old ammo, we gave it a couple clicks for the new ammo he bought because it shot differently. Got a couple VX-L scopes that have taken lots and lots of 1000 mile truck rides and vibrated down poorly graded caliche roads so bad my truck battery fell out of place. I could go on. We do have other scopes, some Vortex and a Sig so I'm not brand loyal I've just learned to trust. All these are set and forget style though, never had anything to dial until I got a used Freedom last year but I never dialed it. It ride to Colorado with me and had lots of range sessions, not a full test but no issues for the little time I used it.

I did finally just mount a VX-5HD on a rifle last week so I guess I'll see how it goes and I'm sure hoping y'all are wrong. This is something I'm not gonna be able to believe until I experience it though, just too many solid old scopes with no issues (I almost said zero issues lol) to overcome. I'll run it through some dialing to test it out back and forth and see how it goes before putting it to work. I do suspect there's so many Leupolds on the market that it's natural you'll see more failures, not necessarily more failures per capita just more overall due to the sheer volume on the market compared to other brands, gotta be a lot of Vortex too. Last week there was a SWFA failure thread here, dunno how many they sell but clearly not as much as ol gold ring, so no brand is gonna be fool proof.

 

[medvedyt]

Modern Leupold’s are trash scopes and not looked at fondly here. This is hardly a surprise.

Look into SWFA, NF, Trijicon, or S&B.

i had a S&B failed on me and i had to ship it to germany to have it fixed local canadian stuff was useless and i had one that failed on me as well in europe and the french dealership where i bought did not want to do anything with the german factory took care of it but not without some discussions. all mechanical stuffs can fail. but i will say NF is maybe the less prone to fail but as of today i never had a 2.5-8x36 vx3 failed on me but im not playing with the cds and never will. i do not shoot too far as well. i had a few leupold failing me while going for bison hunting on a sled but again never the 2.5-8x36. the only other that never failed on that specific hunt are the made in japan bushnell 4200 and elite alas too heavy for mountain hunt and no more made ...

 

[Valumpessa]

Modern Leupold’s are trash scopes and not looked at fondly here. This is hardly a surprise.

Respectfully disagree. My first experience with Leupold was a 30 year old VX-3 3-9x40 on an old 270 Weatherby my grandpa passed down to me before my first elk hunt. He zeroed it at 100 beforehand. After 15 years of hard hunting I've never had to adjust it. It impressed me so much, I bought a new 4.5-14x40 to pair with my Tikka Superlite. Again, no issues, after 3 seasons.

All my family own Leupold and I have not heard of failures from any of them. I will admit I have not dropped my rifle/scope on the ground. If that happened, regardless of how expensive the scope was, I'd be testing it for accuracy afterwards.

 

[atmat]

Respectfully disagree. My first experience with Leupold was a 30 year old VX-3 3-9x40 on an old 270 Weatherby my grandpa passed down to me before my first elk hunt. He zeroed it at 100 beforehand. After 15 years of hard hunting I've never had to adjust it. It impressed me so much, I bought a new 4.5-14x40 to pair with my Tikka Superlite. Again, no issues, after 3 seasons.

All my family own Leupold and I have not heard of failures from any of them. I will admit I have not dropped my rifle/scope on the ground. If that happened, regardless of how expensive the scope was, I'd be testing it for accuracy afterwards.

I grew up with Leupold and all my experiences are with older stuff so I dunno if the new stuff is different. I've watched my sister drop her .223 out of a tree stand hard enough to crack the stock, dad shot it and it was still dead on. Dad set his 7mag on the truck tire and ran it over, scope still on, and I dropped my loaded 243 over my back once and got my butt whooped but the scope was still on. I never dropped it but it took plenty of bumps and dings and the Vari-X III on the 300 Wby mag my dad bought me when I was 16 years old still shot same POI 30 years later when I gave it to my son with my old ammo, we gave it a couple clicks for the new ammo he bought because it shot differently. Got a couple VX-L scopes that have taken lots and lots of 1000 mile truck rides and vibrated down poorly graded caliche roads so bad my truck battery fell out of place. I could go on. We do have other scopes, some Vortex and a Sig so I'm not brand loyal I've just learned to trust. All these are set and forget style though, never had anything to dial until I got a used Freedom last year but I never dialed it. It ride to Colorado with me and had lots of range sessions, not a full test but no issues for the little time I used it.

I did finally just mount a VX-5HD on a rifle last week so I guess I'll see how it goes and I'm sure hoping y'all are wrong. This is something I'm not gonna be able to believe until I experience it though, just too many solid old scopes with no issues (I almost said zero issues lol) to overcome. I'll run it through some dialing to test it out back and forth and see how it goes before putting it to work. I do suspect there's so many Leupolds on the market that it's natural you'll see more failures, not necessarily more failures per capita just more overall due to the sheer volume on the market compared to other brands, gotta be a lot of Vortex too. Last week there was a SWFA failure thread here, dunno how many they sell but clearly not as much as ol gold ring, so no brand is gonna be fool proof.

I’ll say to both of y’all what I said above: You should honestly try a drop test on your new scopes/rifles and see if it holds zero. Shoot a 10-round group, drop your rifle into padding from 3 feet, and shoot another 10-round group on a different target.

 

[Smtn10pt]

What rifle are you hunting with that you can shoot a 10 round group, drop the gun and then shoot another 10 round group. My 300 RUM is good for 2 maybe 3 shots then the barrel is smoking hot and groups are out of the question.

 

[Macintosh]

Let it cool?

Otherwise, how do you even zero it well-enough to know your zero isnt 3/4 or 1 moa off, enough to cause a bad hit at range long-enough to really want a cannon like that?