Older gloss leupolds

[Roostergun985]

Has anyone done any drop test on the older leupolds? Do they have the same reputation for holding zero as the newer ones? I apologize in advance if this has already been discussed, I am new to the site. Thank you

 

[walk2112]

This is a good question… Disclaimer: I only have fudd lore level of info about them, and the story below contributes as to why I’m curious here also… I am NOT a Leupold lover. I’ll prob never buy another one. Too many scopes since 2002 ish have let me down and I’ve finally learned my lesson.

But… I have my late grandfathers ‘81 steel Browning BLR in 7rem mag he hunted elk with for the better part of 15 years before switching to a ‘fancy new lightweight 325 wsm stainless BLR’. He used to go out by himself with 2 horses and say ‘if I’m not back in 4 weeks, come looking for me in this drainage’. You can tell the rifle has been through some stuff (ha), dropped on rocks, dinged up stock/receiver/barrel steel bluing polished off etc. it’s always worn a late 80’s/early 90’s Leupy 3-9 that has a ding from a rock where a horse lost its rear footing on a hill while he was pulling it from the scabbard and it got dropped and slid down through rocks…

Anyway, got sentimental there, he swears the thing has never lost zero, leaked, fogged, etc.
and he checked often, enjoyed shooting, and always killed an elk each year. I pulled it out years ago after TSA handling and it had moved with me to 3 different homes in different states (lots of bouncing around). Put rounds from an old box of ammo he liked for elk (175gr match bullets funny enough haha) and put 3 in a tight little group on the bullseye. (Side note, he favored the .220 swift with the heaviest VMax bullets he could find for killing everything smaller than elk…the prev. generation had some stuff figured out)
I’ll never use that scope on any other rifle, leave it how he liked it, but I’m convinced in my sample size of 1 that the guts/internals are substantially better than the VX series today (where I have substantially more evidence of sh!t zero retention).
**Edited to correct the damn autocorrect misspellings

 

[TaperPin]

Some models are much more durable than others.

The variable scopes have a huge slot cut almost halfway around the scope tube. I’ve had numerous issues with VX 2 scopes as they changed point of impact with a fairly light bump. When I was trying to sort out what happened to a 3x9, I bumped the objective with my palm and the impact shifted. A compact 3x9 did the same. My other gun had a fixed 4x and bumping it the same amount didn’t do anything, and that day I became a fan of the fixed power scopes.

The VX 3 variable scopes strengthened that cutout in the scope tube so it’s not as weak. A lot fewer people seem to have issues with them, but they are still not as tough as a fixed scope.

Fast forward to today and I still use a 20x from the 1970s, an 8x from the 1980s, a 4x and 12x from the 1990s. I normally have a 6x, but that was given to a family member and hasn’t been replaced yet. I make a note every time the zero is adjusted even a little bit to help identify a scope starting to have problems, and so far all these are going strong.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I have 6 VXIII's, all variables. ( 3 3x10, 3 4x14 & a 6 x 20) . I have never had a problem with any of them and I shoot them all lots. Hunt with 4 of them too and have been for 25 or so years.

 

[Roostergun985]

All the scopes I own as of yesterday have been leupolds. I had a Trijicon accupoint arrive yesterday that I purchased after doing some research on here. I see absolutely no point in owning any of these Leupold I have if they won’t hold zero. I do have 2 or 3 older gloss leupolds one being a fixed 4 power. If they would just hold zero for me and be halfway reliable without the extreme abuse I would just keep them. Problem is I don’t shoot my guns much at all to know. I hunt about 40 times a year in thick Georgia timber where my shots are never over a couple hundred yards.

 

[TimberHunter]

I have 6 VXIII's, all variables. ( 3 3x10, 3 4x14 & a 6 x 20) . I have never had a problem with any of them and I shoot them all lots. Hunt with 4 of them too and have been for 25 or so years.

You just sight in each year before you go hunting correct??

Just giving you a hard time…


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[Colorado Cowboy]

You just sight in each year before you go hunting correct??

Just giving you a hard time…


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Pretty much. I have developed a load for each rifle and have the Leupold ballistic turret for each. When the load I have developed continues to shoot less than moa, there is no reason to change anything. I do verify my zero every year before I hunt.
I shot my first deer when I was 12 ......71 years ago! I started reloading when I was 16 and only shoot factory loads on rimfire calibers.

 

[cmahoney]

Has anyone done any drop test on the older leupolds? Do they have the same reputation for holding zero as the newer ones? I apologize in advance if this has already been discussed, I am new to the site. Thank you

I grew up using VX2’s on a couple different rifles. I hade to re-zero every year.


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[KenLee]

This is a good question… Disclaimer: I only have fudd lore level of info about them, and the story below contributes as to why I’m curious here also… I am NOT a Leupold lover. I’ll prob never buy another one. Too many scopes since 2002 ish have let me down and I’ve finally learned my lesson.

But… I have my late grandfathers ‘81 steel Browning BLR in 7rem mag he hunted elk with for the better part of 15 years before switching to a ‘fancy new lightweight 325 wsm stainless BLR’. He used to go out by himself with 2 horses and say ‘if I’m not back in 4 weeks, come looking for me in this drainage’. You can tell the rifle has been through some stuff (ha), dropped on rocks, dinged up stock/receiver/barrel steel bluing polished off etc. it’s always worn a late 80’s/early 90’s Leupy 3-9 that has a ding from a rock where a horse lost its rear footing on a hill while he was pulling it from the scabbard and it got dropped and slid down through rocks…

Anyway, got sentimental there, he swears the thing has never lost zero, leaked, fogged, etc.
and he checked often, enjoyed shooting, and always killed an elk each year. I pulled it out years ago after TSA handling and it had moved with me to 3 different homes in different states (lots of bouncing around). Put rounds from an old box of ammo he liked for elk (175gr match bullets funny enough haha) and put 3 in a tight little group on the bullseye. (Side note, he favored the .220 swift with the heaviest VMax bullets he could find for killing everything smaller than elk…the prev. generation had some stuff figured out)
I’ll never use that scope on any other rifle, leave it how he liked it, but I’m convinced in my sample size of 1 that the guts/internals are substantially better than the VX series today (where I have substantially more evidence of sh!t zero retention).
**Edited to correct the damn autocorrect misspellings

I had an old 3-9x40 vx-ii that was tough as nails til she crapped out. After 25 years of use, on opening morning before work, I shot once to check zero. Must have blew apart that morning, because that evening it was 20 inches high at 100 yards.