Author Topic: Leupold scope problems (Read 1484 times)

gkdave · « **on:** November 29, 2005, 01:17:18 PM »

Well, Not to offend Leuplod fans, but the Vari-XIII 3.5-10 X 50 mounted on my HS Precison 300 Win Mag, in Warn Mounts, will not hold up to the recoil. It's been back to Leupold twice. To their credit it has been fixed both times at no charge. I recently remounted the scope on the rifle and after several shots, the scope loses point of aim. In my opinion, Leupold has as much a failure rate as other brands on heavy recoiling guns. Leupold optics are great, but there's more to a scope than the quality of the optics. Will I get another Leupold scope, you bet, but not for heavy recoiling guns like the 300 Win Mag.

My 2 cents.

Dave

Lawdog · « **Reply #1 on:** November 29, 2005, 01:46:49 PM »

While I'm more of a Burris fan(got more Burris scopes than Leupolds) it sounds to me like you got one of the few "lemons" that every optic company makes every so often. If it were me I would ask Leupold to replace it. They have done it for others shooters that I know. Lawdog

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 29, 2005, 04:50:10 PM »

Quote from: gkdave

Well, Not to offend Leuplod fans, but the Vari-XIII 3.5-10 X 50 mounted on my HS Precison 300 Win Mag, in Warn Mounts, will not hold up to the recoil. It's been back to Leupold twice. To their credit it has been fixed both times at no charge. I recently remounted the scope on the rifle and after several shots, the scope loses point of aim. In my opinion, Leupold has as much a failure rate as other brands on heavy recoiling guns. Leupold optics are great, but there's more to a scope than the quality of the optics. Will I get another Leupold scope, you bet, but not for heavy recoiling guns like the 300 Win Mag.

My 2 cents.

Dave

I have Leupolds on my 416 Rigbys, and I had one on my 375 H&H. No problems at all.

Graybeard · « **Reply #3 on:** November 29, 2005, 06:38:15 PM »

I can assure you the scope will handle the recoil. What it cannot do and neither can any other scope made no matter by whom is stand up to the obviously improper mounting to which you are subjecting it.

Toss the stupid base/rings and buy you a set of Burris Signature Rings and appropriate base and you'll never have another problem. Of course you could also just buy a proper lapping and alignment kit and learn how to properly mount scopes. But the Burris Signature route is cheaper and easier.

Don't blame the scope for being mounted improperly.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #4 on:** November 30, 2005, 02:48:57 AM »

Graybeard is correct, most of the time it is the way a scope is mounted that will destroy a good scope.

JCM · « **Reply #5 on:** November 30, 2005, 02:53:30 AM »

Oh man,....I usually see things pretty close to the way Greybeard responds, but this time I gonna differ (at least a little).

I'd have a hard time saying it is "obviously" improperly mounted. For me, I can't tell if the rings are a little off until I lap them. I'd have a real hard time saying it was obvious in this case. Improper mounting is one of the first things to check out in any scope problem, but it's just one of many.

Dave, are you seeing ring marks on the scope, especially heavier on one side/section/area? It could very well be off.

I'm guessing GB doesn't like the "stupid base/rings" that Warne makes. I like them. I think they're the best weaver type ring on the market. I do believe they should be lapped. I believe all rings should be lapped. I've not used the signatures, but from what I understand they don't need lapping. Give them a try or try lapping. Lapping would tell you if the alignment is off for sure.

Do the signature rings come in a Weaver type? Could leave your bases and just pick up the rings.

Then again,......it could just be a bad scope. I like Leupold's, but nobody's perfect.

My different view for the day....probably for the next year.

JCM

TheOpticZone · « **Reply #6 on:** November 30, 2005, 03:35:12 AM »

I personally do not think that the problem is from rings and bases. If that was the case everyone would own Burris Signature rings and all the other scopes with regular rings would be falling apart which is not the case. Like some one said, it just maybe a lemon. Take in consideration, I had a truck that had 3 new transmissions put into it. Why 3? Who knows, but in my opinion, there was something else in the truck that was making the transmission break or wear out. Might be the same in the scope. They fix the problem, but it actually might be something else that is not broke that is causing something else to not work right.

Grubbs · « **Reply #7 on:** November 30, 2005, 06:39:43 AM »

Graybeard, it's amazing how you can diagnose the problem without having ever seen his setup. You're the man.

Lone Star · « **Reply #8 on:** November 30, 2005, 11:30:38 AM »

Quote

I personally do not think that the problem is from rings and bases. If that was the case everyone would own Burris Signature rings and all the other scopes with regular rings would be falling apart which is not the case....

The leap of logic here escapes me. :roll: Let me get this straight - if Warne mounts are no good, then that means all mounts except Burris are no good? This is just goofy typing, made apparently just to prove some point which escapoes me.....

My take: the mountiong of the scope is the most probable cause. The thinking man knows that this hardly means that the Warne mounts are "bad" - the mount holes could be off, the installer may have used too much/too little torque when tightening mount screws, the installer may have switched the ring halves (common mistake which can ruin a scope). Or the Warne mounts may be bad. Or there may be a problem with that particular Leupold scope. And unless that .300 Win Mag weighs less than 8 pounds, it isn't' that "heavy" of a recoiling rifle in today's shooting world. :eek:

TheOpticZone · « **Reply #9 on:** November 30, 2005, 01:43:51 PM »

Lone Star,

I think you may have misunderstood my comment. I am not saying that the scope could not be mounted incorrectly. I am just saying that I don't think it is the rings and bases. Also, Burris signatures are good, but not all other rings are junk.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 30, 2005, 05:24:46 PM »

Now I agreed with Graybeard about a scope that is mounted wrong, it will destroy a good scope. Now I personally like Warne mounts and rings.

Graybeard · « **Reply #11 on:** November 30, 2005, 06:03:14 PM »

I reckon any brand of base/ring out there can be mounted correctly and work as designed. If not they likely wouldn't still be in business. BUT some designs are more prone than others to incorrect mounting. All of them except "maybe" the Burris Signature line can also be mounted incorrectly and ruin even good scopes.

Leupold scopes just do not fail repeatedly at the recoil level of a .300 magnum unless they are improperly mounted. I'll stand on that until someone can prove me wrong.

As best as I recall I mentioned the option of buying the correct tools to do the mounting job correctly and gave the Signature rings as another option.

moontroll · « **Reply #12 on:** December 02, 2005, 04:42:05 AM »

Send it back agin and tell them to put some loctite on the rectical screw,its probably vibrating loose.They will probably laugh,and send you a new one.

Hey GB it may be a maufacturing flaw that nobodys caught yet,something so simple like an improper sized hole that the tap wouldnt cut deep enough.LOCTITE.