leupold scope shifting zero

[bigrich]

i've used leupold scopes for years , always held zero. had the windage adjustment go on a 223 with a 3-9x40 vx3i recently . sent in for free warranty repair , aside from that never a issue with loopy scopes . i've read on the net about yanks complaining of zero shift with vx3 HD scopes . anyone on here ever have a issue with leupold scopes ? cheers

[Wapiti]

Nope.
Even after being dropped, rough handled or sitting in racks vibrating and rattling around for years and years.
We continue to buy Leupold, because they haven't been beaten yet by any other brand, in any other situation.
Have tried others, and none have come up to what we expect, for what we do.
Between us both we would have over 30 Leupolds, plus spotting scopes and the old Golden Ring American-made Binos.
That sample size tells us everything we need to know, especially the ones on the go-to firearms being treated mercilessly.

To buy other brands has, for us, been a risk that hasn't gone well.

[bladeracer]

Redfield Revolution made by Leupold wouldn't hold zero, even after being sent back for repair. I can zero it, then do some shooting okay, but when I get it out next time it's not even close to zero. Got it for free on a rifle though so it doesn't bother me.

[bigrich]

thanks for the opinions fellas , i've hardly ever had a problem with leupold . i have a redfeild revolution 3-9x40 blade . swapped out the old vx1 2-7 friction turret loopy for it on my 7x57 ruger . the ruger didn't quite shoot as well after that , but it did hold zero . the loopys back on the 7x57 now

[Fester]

An interesting thing old Ron Spomer said on a podcast was when talking to a Leupold servce tech, he asked how much better reliability he would expect from a higher range Leo scope compared to the lower-level scopes.

The tech bloke answered that they are all built to the same standards and durability will be exactly the same.
The difference is only the features and stuff. I don't remember if they talked of glass quality, but it seems the mechanical components are of much the same standard.

No manufacturer can guarantee that something will never fail but Leupold must take the crown for practical lightweight hunting scopes that don't seem to fail very often.

[bigrich]

An interesting thing old Ron Spomer said on a podcast was when talking to a Leupold servce tech, he asked how much better reliability he would expect from a higher range Leo scope compared to the lower-level scopes.

The tech bloke answered that they are all built to the same standards and durability will be exactly the same.
The difference is only the features and stuff. I don't remember if they talked of glass quality, but it seems the mechanical components are of much the same standard.

No manufacturer can guarantee that something will never fail but Leupold must take the crown for practical lightweight hunting scopes that don't seem to fail very often.

i like watching ron spomer , he's a good fella with old school views i agree with , as well as a no nonsense approach to firearms and hunting . from what i've read the vx3HD has the same glass as the vx5 series . as you say the features are slightly different . i had a vx5 2-10 , bloody nice scope, but too heavy and bulky for my liking . i wish leupold had've just kept making vx3's as they were a quality scope that had as good a glass as you could want, in a reasonably light strong package

[Damo300]

I see these comments as well.
I assume they're purchasing, or being confused by the fake ones.
There's a run of mock up leupolds going around that look very close to the original items.

Not saying leupold are immune from problems. I'm sure owners still have legit problems with the brand.
And, there's 100 leupold sold to every other brand so the rates of problems circulating around the cyberspace pub will be greater.

I purchased a VX3i on a second hand rifle a while back. I emailed the serial number though to leupold and they confirmed it legit. Good to do for second hand ones.

Both of mine are beautiful scopes.
Best glass to look through imo. Better than my Leica and Burris, although the Burris is nice, it has the fish eye circumstance where the picture rolls out around the edge.

I had the CDS cut on my VX5 and it is spot on. I'm always adjusting elevation. Return to zero is a lock and it's perfect every time.
I don't really adjust for wind at close range, but I can't see wind age being a problem either, although you've got me intrigued now so next time I'm at the range, I'll max them all out and see what happens. .

Every brand has the haters.
Just look at the turn around over there towards tikka.
At first they were trying real hard to make tikka look bad, but those that knew, saw through the bulls**t, especially when it's the exact same model you have... haha.

[Wm.Traynor]

My worst Leupold was a 5 to 25 or thereabouts, which was bought new many years ago. This was in the early years of F-Class. About every month, the zero would shift, exhibiting groups that were strung out vertically or on the diagonal. When an adjustment was made, the rifle would group in the same plane as the original group. That is, vertically or on the diagonal. However, the adjustment would put the following group, "out the other side". That is, when I adjusted towards the centre of the target, the group would appear in the correct direction, only at the extremity of the original, instead of in the centre.
This was maddening and the scope was sent back to the U.S. every month for about three times until I got sick of it. The Americans would not tell me what was wrong and I never found out until chancing upon a post by Jackie Schmidt. He called the adjustments, "THE WEAKEST LINK".
I got rid of that scope pronto and have never persisted with a bad scope since.

[Die Judicii]

An interesting thing old Ron Spomer said on a podcast was when talking to a Leupold servce tech, he asked how much better reliability he would expect from a higher range Leo scope compared to the lower-level scopes.

The tech bloke answered that they are all built to the same standards and durability will be exactly the same.
The difference is only the features and stuff. I don't remember if they talked of glass quality, but it seems the mechanical components are of much the same standard.

No manufacturer can guarantee that something will never fail but Leupold must take the crown for practical lightweight hunting scopes that don't seem to fail very often.

I only own one Loopy (a VX2 1-4 x 20) which sits on my 375 H&H.
The above comment regarding all being built to the "same standards" begs the question,,, Why pay extra for the higher models ?

[bigrich]

I see these comments as well.
I assume they're purchasing, or being confused by the fake ones.
There's a run of mock up leupolds going around that look very close to the original items.

Not saying leupold are immune from problems. I'm sure owners still have legit problems with the brand.
And, there's 100 leupold sold to every other brand so the rates of problems circulating around the cyberspace pub will be greater.

I purchased a VX3i on a second hand rifle a while back. I emailed the serial number though to leupold and they confirmed it legit. Good to do for second hand ones.

Both of mine are beautiful scopes.
Best glass to look through imo. Better than my Leica and Burris, although the Burris is nice, it has the fish eye circumstance where the picture rolls out around the edge.

I had the CDS cut on my VX5 and it is spot on. I'm always adjusting elevation. Return to zero is a lock and it's perfect every time.
I don't really adjust for wind at close range, but I can't see wind age being a problem either, although you've got me intrigued now so next time I'm at the range, I'll max them all out and see what happens. .

Every brand has the haters.
Just look at the turn around over there towards tikka.
At first they were trying real hard to make tikka look bad, but those that knew, saw through the bulls**t, especially when it's the exact same model you have... haha.

hey mate , with the windage letting go on my 3-9 vx3i , i was out bush and missed some really easy shots , checked POI and it was waaay out . checked adjustment with a lyman "prism" type bore sighter when i got home , and the reticle didn't move at all . so it was sent away and repaired . the rifle hadn't been dropped or abused , it was laying on top of my dash in my 2006 prado , like all my tikkas when i'm out on a property , for quick easy reach . i read somewhere on a american forum that when they made the vx3i the springs in them were not strong enough , resulting in them letting go or having issues with holding zero . i've had plenty of older loopy's from vx1's with friction turrets up to new ones . never had a issue before . thought i'd start this topic after reading about holding zero problems with newer leupold's . my last new one i bought is a 2.5-8x36 vx3hd that lives on my 308 tikka . that also rides on my dashboard when i'm out bush . ALWAYS checked for not having a round chambered i might add .

i hate the CDS bullsh!t on the new loopys . i sent my 2.5-8 away to the leupold custom shop in brissy to have the cds turret replaced with a standard turret , couldn't be happier with it now . going to do the same with the 1.5-5x20 vx3hd i just bought for my 338-06 . i develop loads , once i've settled on one for hunting i sight in , 200 yard zero , then check trajectory at 100 and 300 yards. after knowing that it's more down to being good at estimating distance. works for me , i shot a boar at 200 with my scope still set on 2.5 power with my 308 tikka, off the door frame of my toyota on a previous trip . to me , the cds is a useless feature for hunting . probably a good thing on a higher powered scope used for range work at set distances or long range culling/varminting . but for me , no time to get out a range finder , then click the turret , then take aim . guess the range , i just allow for ballistics of your load and shoot . the fact they put cds on a 1.5-5x20 "big game" scope as a standard feature boggles the mind

[bigrich]

An interesting thing old Ron Spomer said on a podcast was when talking to a Leupold servce tech, he asked how much better reliability he would expect from a higher range Leo scope compared to the lower-level scopes.

The tech bloke answered that they are all built to the same standards and durability will be exactly the same.
The difference is only the features and stuff. I don't remember if they talked of glass quality, but it seems the mechanical components are of much the same standard.

No manufacturer can guarantee that something will never fail but Leupold must take the crown for practical lightweight hunting scopes that don't seem to fail very often.

I only own one Loopy (a VX2 1-4 x 20) which sits on my 375 H&H.
The above comment regarding all being built to the "same standards" begs the question,,, Why pay extra for the higher models ?

hey mate , vx2's were the best value scope in the leupold line up years ago , which is why they stopped making them. the glass and the coatings were the variation , as well as scope tube construction, but a lot of reviewers like chuck hawks rated vx2's highly for cash vs quality , i agree from the ones i own . my vx5 i had was pretty heavy , that weight had to be somewhere . i dislike the current vx freedom line of scopes , glass is reasonable quality for the money but the turrets just feel cheap . i'd rather step up to the vx3hd , which have great turrets and supposedly the same glass as the vx5 series . don't feel as quality as the old vx3 line IMHO , but this makes the vx3hd my pick in affordability vs quality . i just don't need to spend vx5 type dollars for my uses