When did leupold go down hill?

[FrankieP1988]

It all started when they didnt sponsor this site jk sorry ryan

 

[dmm08300]

I think a lot of people that love them think that re-zeroing your rifle every fall is normal because that's the way they've always done it...That doesn't make it right, just the devil they know and have grown accustomed to

 

[Schmo]

I think a lot of people that love them think that re-zeroing your rifle every fall is normal because that's the way they've always done it...That doesn't make it right, just the devil they know and have grown accustomed to

And meanwhile, with a Trijicon or Maven 1.2, plus other good scopes, I can have 4 different plane rides with the case being handled each flight, 1-2000 miles of driving, hiking, shooting, etc. and it’s still punching the bullseye when I’m all done.

 

[hibernation]

Even so, I think it important to recognize that the testing was not done scientifically.

This is going to sound pedantic, but it's definitely "scientific" even if it's not as precise or high-tech as you might want. The methods are documented, they can be reproduced, and other possible variables are controlled for and isolated as much as possible. The guy from Mythbusters wasn't far off when he said "the difference between science and screwing around is writing it down".

...the results should only be used to draw a general idea of how robust a particular scope line may be.

This is 100% spot on. It shows tendencies and maybe "worst case scenarios", which is all I'm really interested in. I don't care specifically about an actual drop, I just want a proxy that can tell me which one is better at holding zero. As long as the test shows consistent results across makes/models, that's useful to me.

I would like to see a standard developed similar to the waterproof ratings for electronics (IP ratings) but the scope mfgs don't seem to be interested.

That could be really interesting. I don't trust that an industry standard wouldn't fall short and get gamed for marketing purposes though. If the test becomes so specific that they design around the test rather than actual use, or depending how they quantify the results (like Leupold's durability tests), it might not be as useful as the real basic "slap it around and see if the zero moves".

Gunwerks is supposedly working on something like you're describing. Real high-tech, perfect reproducibility, but I wonder if it will draw any more meaningful conclusions than the low tech drop test. Missing the forest for the trees. Still, I'm interested what they come up with, more data beats less data.

 

[dmm08300]

And meanwhile, with a Trijicon or Maven 1.2, plus other good scopes, I can have 4 different plane rides with the case being handled each flight, 1-2000 miles of driving, hiking, shooting, etc. and it’s still punching the bullseye when I’m all done.

That sounds way more appealing to me! NF and Trijicon have treated me well in the same ways, worth the peace of mind to have that confidence when it counts!

 

[DKennedy951]

I have not had any issues and most of my rifles, slug guns, and muzzleloaders wear Leupolds. The oldest being a Vari-x II on a 300 WM to a VX5HD on a 6.5 PRC. The only issue I have had on a Leupold was an older rangefinder and they made it right with no questions asked and an upgraded replacement at no cost to me.

 

[rookieforever33]

I have a vx-2 bought in 2016 that has been on a slug gun, .270 winchester, and a .22lr. Its been bounced around and works fine. When I have had to readjust after changing rifles adjustments worked fine with no chasing or tapping needed.
I also have a vx- freedom bought in 2021. It has not fared as well since day 1. Zero wanders and the clicks are not always the same.
Vx-6 bought in 2023 tracks well so far, but I moved it to my rifle that gets walked into the woods for shots under 200 yards. No bouncy cars or clicks needed. I replaced it with a SHV on my rifle I take into rough conditions.

 

[Chris in TN]

The inconsistent adjustments go back as far as I can remember. Since “Leupold makes great scopes”, I thought that it was normal to tap on a scope with a screwdriver handle to “make sure the adjustment took”

I still tap on scopes after adjusting them. Call it childhood trauma. Doesn't matter if it's a $79 Bushnell or a $2000 Zeiss or my one NF.

 

[MallardSX2]

Sometime before 1/2/24......Both VX3-HD Scopes.

 

[RockAndSage]

When it comes to ammo, most Americans are like the most parsimonious quartermasters in history. People love to brag about how little they shoot. Saving ammo is a virtue.

Man, you really hit it on the head here. Ammo is definitely a scarcity mentality with most people. Most of the shooting I do is open public land, but in a spot that other people occasionally show up to. With some of the looks I've gotten when cycling through recoil-control and speed-precision drills with handguns and ARs, you'd think I was some sort of profligate squanderer of a nearly irreplaceable natural resource. Bill Drills and double/triples by the magazine are the worst for this. It seems incomprehensible to them that every single one of those rounds is an accounted-for, aimed shot. Or that 300 rounds of 9mm can be a warm-up in some training evolutions. But it's the moral tone that's so odd - like I'm being unvirtuous. Some sort of ammo harlot.

 

[hibernation]

Some sort of ammo harlot.

I'm listening...

 

[EdP]

Warrantees are great for hardware and equipment that isn't used in situations where failure is costly. The focus dial failed on my Leupold binos at a critical point on an elk hunt. Luckily it only cost me the opportunity to see my hunting partner take a nice bull. Leupold replaced the binos with no questions asked but that doesn't make up for missing the shot on his bull and it could have been much more costly.

 

[Fritz D]

Just a guess on my Part but id have to say that Leupold started to ‘slip’ in the early 2000s.

 

[jimh406]

Some of us haven't seen the quality go downhill. I don't have an explanation for why particular people have. Maybe their use cases are really that different.

I think you should buy what works for you. So if all Leupold's break for you, obviously don't buy them.

If you watch enough on how to mount scopes etc, you'll find there are lots of ways to damage scopes when mounting. A Vortex video on myths was interesting to me. One of the participants wondered how many scopes he had damaged over the years by overtorquing.

I ran across this the other night on YouTube. I found it interesting in this case, the mounting was too solid.

J

Thread 'Rings caused Point of Impact Shift'

Yesterday at 5:44 PM

I found this interesting because the fix was to put a relief groove in the rings. Made me wonder about what might be really causing point of impact shifts for some of the people here.

• jimh406

• 

 

[roadrunner]

Yes, I stated that they appear to have gone down hill. I asked which scopes are good to go. I think most of us have the opinion that the new vx line of scopes are not good to go. You’ve stated you haven’t been in the scope market since “2010 or so”. Yet, you still haven’t commented on which scopes are good to go, so you might want to re-read the original post

Well, I guess I have to admit then that I'm dumber than a box of rocks because I interpreted your original post as scopes of the past and not the present.

At least that's what I thought how it read.

I know the original mark 4 is solid but what other Leupold scopes from the past are good to go?

 

[Rich M]

Man, you really hit it on the head here. Ammo is definitely a scarcity mentality with most people. Most of the shooting I do is open public land, but in a spot that other people occasionally show up to. With some of the looks I've gotten when cycling through recoil-control and speed-precision drills with handguns and ARs, you'd think I was some sort of profligate squanderer of a nearly irreplaceable natural resource. Bill Drills and double/triples by the magazine are the worst for this. It seems incomprehensible to them that every single one of those rounds is an accounted-for, aimed shot. Or that 300 rounds of 9mm can be a warm-up in some training evolutions. But it's the moral tone that's so odd - like I'm being unvirtuous. Some sort of ammo harlot.

Many of us grew up shooting often, then comes the shortages and increased cost. If shooting inside 300 yards it doesnt take much to maintain proficiency.

 

[Joelweb]

I have a few Leupold scopes and have had no problems. VX-5 and VX-3

 

[BRTreedogs]

I think they were always bad.

But rifles and ammo have gotten better and people are more able to see the difference.

If you’re sporterized 1903 30-06 with a different box of ammo you got on sale was an inch off year to year you didn’t really know what was going on.

Now with precision rifles if if shifts and inch your like wth is going on.

I can tell you I was much happier a person and had much more time and money with an average old rifle and a leupold


Now it’s never good enough. I always seem to be chasing some kind of better precision now

 

[NStevens35]

glad i came across this. was torn between a maven and leupold vx5. choice made