What to expect from Leupold?
- Thread starter samhain
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1eyedshooter
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I have never had to send one back, I do own three one is 20yrs old and I really like what I have read here !!!
Care to share your data source to back this claim up?
ImBillT
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While I can’t say MUCH about their CS other than what I’ve heard from friends, I can say a FEW things, part personal, and part second hand.
1) my experience is that I wasn’t impressed with how hard it was to get a live human on the phone.
2) they gave me a wait time similar to the OP’s which also does not impress me.
3) no one I know has been disappointed in the result of sending them a product. They will make it right in the end.
4) Their CS does not seem to be needed as often as most companies offering similar warranties. This contributes to why I can’t say much about their CS. I have only needed it once, and it was for an incredibly minor issue.
All that said, last time I shot competitively, which was a long time ago in terms of product/technological advancement, Leupold was very looked down upon the realm of tracking and adjustment. If a shooter shot Leupold, they didn’t want to touch a dial when it mattered. Of course, no one wanted to touch a dial on ANY MANUFACTURER’s scope when it really mattered, but there were a few brands that were FAR MORE TRUSTED if one was going to dial before a recorded shot.
I have seen a certain film personality miss a fair number of shot that were within his comfort zone shortly after dialing a Leupold scope. He had never blamed his scope, and his scope may never have been at fault BUT my experience leads me to be VERY wary of dialing any scope in the field, and that goes doubly strong for Leupold.
1) my experience is that I wasn’t impressed with how hard it was to get a live human on the phone.
2) they gave me a wait time similar to the OP’s which also does not impress me.
3) no one I know has been disappointed in the result of sending them a product. They will make it right in the end.
4) Their CS does not seem to be needed as often as most companies offering similar warranties. This contributes to why I can’t say much about their CS. I have only needed it once, and it was for an incredibly minor issue.
All that said, last time I shot competitively, which was a long time ago in terms of product/technological advancement, Leupold was very looked down upon the realm of tracking and adjustment. If a shooter shot Leupold, they didn’t want to touch a dial when it mattered. Of course, no one wanted to touch a dial on ANY MANUFACTURER’s scope when it really mattered, but there were a few brands that were FAR MORE TRUSTED if one was going to dial before a recorded shot.
I have seen a certain film personality miss a fair number of shot that were within his comfort zone shortly after dialing a Leupold scope. He had never blamed his scope, and his scope may never have been at fault BUT my experience leads me to be VERY wary of dialing any scope in the field, and that goes doubly strong for Leupold.
I sent in a scope I broke by cranking the rings on too tight. They refurbished it for me & sent it back. It came back just like a brand new scope and has been working flawlessly for 7-8 years now. Nothing to worry about on a refurbishment.
I called Leupold this morning and spoke with a tech rep, we were on the phone about 30mins discussing my issue and according to him its possible my scope was out of adjustment (out of adjustment range). He said they test scopes to way more recoil than a human could tolerate and their scopes would not lose zero because of being dropped or gun recoil. He was nice, but I got the impression he was putting the blame on me and/or my dealer for how the scope was mounted and bore-sighted. We spoke briefly about vortex and he said their scopes have a much broader range of adjustment vs Leupold but Leupold could be set to much tighter tolerances. I don't know how a scope can be out of adjustment range from being bore-sighted and then trying to zero at 100yds. I might have turned the adjustment knobs 16 clicks each (windage/elevation) certainly no more than 20 for either. I will admit I'm no optic expert but it sounded a little BS'ish to me, $1000 scope that can't be adjust much passed bore-sighted?? They still don't have my SN in their system so I'm going to try to get a tracking number from my dealer. I will say I will never use any dealer to handle my issues, that was a big mistake because now because of privacy limitations Leupold will not communicate to me what's wrong (if anything) my scope because I didn't send it in my dealer did. I'll continue to update as I get information.
That is my big problem with the way Leupold has reacted to the criticism the last couple years...they act as if its impossible, when there are piles of documented cases of exactly the opposite happening. They are stuck in a hard place, if they actually fixed something they couldn't tell us, because then they'd have a pile of customers holding "faulty" scopes that will be pissed. They'll just keep pumping them out, and a majority of them will work just fine.
SticksMcKinley
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I hope the OP gets his scope issues squared away soon as I know just how frustrating those problems can be for the end user. FWIW, I sent a scope to Leupold once for a reticle replacement. Leupold did the work, shipped it out and UPS lost it in transit before it even left Oregon. The scope once belonged to a dear friend who had left the world too soon and I was planning to mount it on my son's rifle for an upcoming youth hunt. I panicked when I discovered it was lost and called Leupold. To say they took care of me is an understatement. My son had a scope for his hunt and my old scope was eventually found and returned. Leupold doesn't make the perfect scope for all of my rifles, but their optics are mounted on more of mine than not. I understand why @Big Fin is in partnership with Leupold and as a result of their service, they are my first thought when shopping for a new scope. Plus, @schmalts is the man when it comes to great prices!
ImBillT
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It’s not about how far you had to adjust after bore sighting. It’s about how far from the scope’s center you adjusted it. If you did an awful lot of clicking to get it bore sighted, then only 16-20 clicks, you still may be 80ish clicks from center. If you mount a scope with turn-in style rings, you should leave your scope centered, and adjust your sight-in with the rings first. Once you’re close, fine tune with the knobs. If your elevation is way off, then you should shim the base, use Burris offsets, or base with elevation built in. All scopes by all brands work better with the adjustments near the center. All lenses are better looking through the center. When you build in a lot of adjustment, you sacrifice field of view. When you adjust a long way using knobs, you’re looking through the edge of the lens.
It’s very possible to end up needing to go a long way if the holes in your receiver are off, if your scope base is imperfect, or if you used turn style rings, and didn’t ADJUST THE RINGS FIRST!!!
If anyone has any “broken” Leupolds for cheap. Shoot me a PM. I might buy.
ImBillT
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I didn’t post the person’s name for a few reasons.
1. The post wasn’t aimed a person, but at the possibility that the practice of dialing in the field may not be as foolproof as it appears. I mentioned that I’ve seen someone on film dial and then miss to point out that it’s possible that dialing issues aren’t just something that competitive shooters have noticed, but it MAY even be something we have witnessed on a hunting show. If you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it. If not, naming the person isn’t going to make you watch every episode of every season to see if it ever happens. It might also show up on more than one hunting show. I wouldn’t know. I only watch two, and one is almost exclusively archery. I disliked hunting shows before I found the two on question.
2. I did not want my statement to be taken as rude or disrespectful. I respect the person in question. He seems like a great guy who has done a lot for hunters, for animals, and for public land. Again, I wasn’t calling him out, I was suggesting that dialing in the field may be an issue.
Randy Newberg doesn’t hide the reality of what happens on the hunts that he goes on. He has missed a few times, and he shows it on his show!!! He would never blame his scope or system for any of his misses, and maybe they were all him. When it happens, I can’t help but wonder in the back of my mind if dialing and shooting may have played some role in the miss. I was wary of dialing in the field before I found his show, and I remain wary. I have nothing but respect for Randy, and if pointing out that I wonder if dialing in the field could have been a contributing factor in any of his misses is interpreted as disrespectful in any way, then you misinterpreted. If leaving his name out was interpreted as disrespectful or chicken, then you misinterpreted. Randy has a lot of experience. I’m confident that he’s a good shot in the field. We all miss. I watch his show because he shows his misses, and he shows his hunts when he doesn’t fill a tag.
Lots of testing done with a scope mount that allows two scopes to be mounted to a single rifle simultaneously has shown that many scopes from all brands fail to move properly on the first 1-2 shots after making an adjustment. Some brands offend more than others. Occasionally a scope won’t hold zero at all. The number of scopes that function flawlessly is generally lower than the number that take one shot after adjustment to settle in, and that’s even amount the top brands.
I believe all but one of my misses was all me. On my first deer all three shirts were way left. 1 and 3 were hits, but it was an unpleasant experience. It was a barrowed rifle. I had shot it before the hunt, but I never shot it after to see if it was the gun or all me. I do wonder considering the first two shots were prone and none were over 150yds. The rest were definitely all me.
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rjthehunter
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Nothing to worry about for a refurbished scope. It was yours in the beginning. The warranty stays with you throughout owning it. Whether it's refurbished. I'm sure they'll pull through and repair it if it can be repaired. All of this being said, I shoot Vortex, but that doesn't make a difference. Similar warranty process.
sethkuhl
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I had a vx1 go down about 16 years ago still buy leupold because of the way that they treated me. It was a hand down scope from my dad. A wedding present from my mom 30 years before. I shipped on my dime, they fixed it and sent it back on theirs, no questions or complaints. I wrote them a letter thanking them for their fast turn around/ customer service/ warranty system, and they sent me a free hat and stickers and a scope cleaning system for free. I have only bought leupold since.
ImBillT
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But what was your purpose for calling me out? To make me look disrespectful? Just to stir crap up? Just didn’t have anything better to say? What exactly was your point? Name the person or don’t post you say, and then you act like you never cared.
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ImBillT
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Looked more than curious to me.
Internet perception Bill. Get used to it. mtmuley
ImBillT
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Well perhaps I’m the one who misinterpreted.
