Scope Reliability

[BJH65]

Yes, preorder for $1500.

https://www.eurooptic.com/nightforce-nx6-1-6x24mm-capped-e-5-moa-4a-i-second-focal-plane-reticle-riflescop

 

[EuroOptic]

https://www.eurooptic.com/nightforc...e-riflescop?utm_source=eoic2018&utm_medium=JT

Here's our listing for $1500, We are taking backorders
You can also call in to place your backorder, Which I can do over the phone with a 20% deposit vs paid in full.

Gimmie a shout if you are interested in our best pricing on any of the products we carry!

 

[Foxfyre]

I ended up getting a BDC reticle version of the Nikon Monarch 3 African 1-4x20. From what I can see, they were listed on Nikon's site as basically the same except for the reticle. Hopefully, that's true and both are tough as nails.

 

[Rule 303]

I have a question for you folks.
I have a Weatherby Mark v in 300 Weatherby. Right now it is wearing a Leupold Vx-1 3x9x40 scope.
This rifle will mainly be used for hunting whitetails in open country. I hope to take this rifle elk or mule deer hunting in Colorado. Maybe a trip to Texas.
Anyways, I like to have a little more magnification, and I’m looking at a NIB Meopta Optika 5 3x15x44 scope that someone has for sale locally. It has their “Z-plus” reticle.
I have no experience with Meopta. I’ve never used or even handled one before. Do you all think this would be an upgrade from the Leupold?
I don’t want to send a whole lot on a new scope, but I’m open to suggestions.
A lot of my rifles wear Vortex or Nikons.
So what’s your all thoughts?
Thanks in advance for the advice.

Meopta is a definite upgrade on Leupold. The Meopta are a very good scope. I do not have any but mates do. By the time I was aware of them I had all my rifles scoped.

 

[Mawzer308]

Here in NZ our conditions are rugged and very changeable. I hunt most weeks, the only brand that hasn't let me down is Nightforce. I have had to send 3 Leupolds back, mainly for internal fogging or tracking issues.

 

[Beck]

I have a question for you folks.
I have a Weatherby Mark v in 300 Weatherby. Right now it is wearing a Leupold Vx-1 3x9x40 scope.
This rifle will mainly be used for hunting whitetails in open country. I hope to take this rifle elk or mule deer hunting in Colorado. Maybe a trip to Texas.
Anyways, I like to have a little more magnification, and I’m looking at a NIB Meopta Optika 5 3x15x44 scope that someone has for sale locally. It has their “Z-plus” reticle.
I have no experience with Meopta. I’ve never used or even handled one before. Do you all think this would be an upgrade from the Leupold?
I don’t want to send a whole lot on a new scope, but I’m open to suggestions.
A lot of my rifles wear Vortex or Nikons.
So what’s your all thoughts?
Thanks in advance for the advice.

Buy the Meopta if the extra weight doesn't bother you. It is a much heavier scope, but it is also a much nicer scope.

 

[Brickman301]

Buy the Meopta if the extra weight doesn't bother you. It is a much heavier scope, but it is also a much nicer scope.

I did buy the Meopta scope. Haven’t had a chance to sight it in yet, but the little I’ve looked through the scope, I’m impressed.
Hopefully this weekend, I’ll get it sighted in.

 

[coreydb]

All scopes have a fail point. At one point or another, they all had something brake. Question is, accuracy with longevity and for me, it's Leupold (30+ yrs) and believe it or not, Vortex (20+ yrs). My Vortex scope has been like a Timex watch in that it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. I switch it between my AR-15, AR-10, 9.3x62, and my 375H&H. That scope/rifle combo is pictured in my avatar.

 

[dchum]

All scopes have a fail point. At one point or another, they all had something brake. Question is, accuracy with longevity and for me, it's Leupold (30+ yrs) and believe it or not, Vortex (20+ yrs). My Vortex scope has been like a Timex watch in that it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. I switch it between my AR-15, AR-10, 9.3x62, and my 375H&H. That scope/rifle combo is pictured in my avatar.

Glad you have had good luck.

Those are the only optic companies I have personally had failures with.

 

[MS 9x56]

I have a Leupold fthats over 50 years old on a savage 99 in 308. Haven’t had to make an adjustment since I sighted it in over 50 years ago. I have Meopta mounted on my BLR in 358 win that hasn’t been adjusted since sighting in 25 years ago.. I have 3 bushnells one each on Ruger American 30-06. Thompson Center Thunderhawk 50 caliber and a Ruger 77 RSI in 250-3000. Never had to adjust any of those after zeroing. Maybe I just lead a charmed life.The only one of these scopes I bought new was the Meopta. Guess they just haven’t reached the fail point yet.

 

[Rule 303]

I have a Leupold fthats over 50 years old on a savage 99 in 308. Haven’t had to make an adjustment since I sighted it in over 50 years ago. I have Meopta mounted on my BLR in 358 win that hasn’t been adjusted since sighting in 25 years ago.. I have 3 bushnells one each on Ruger American 30-06. Thompson Center Thunderhawk 50 caliber and a Ruger 77 RSI in 250-3000. Never had to adjust any of those after zeroing. Maybe I just lead a charmed life.The only one of these scopes I bought new was the Meopta. Guess they just haven’t reached the fail point yet.

Similar in that I had a Weaver that was on my 270 from 1978, without any problems. The reason I took it off was I looked through a Kahles and the difference amazing. Far better clarity and definition and I far better in failing light. So it was usefulness not failure that got me to retire an older scope.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thankfully PENTAX is out of the rifle scope business so I don't have to warn you off. But,
I will anyway.

 

[steve white]

IMO, if you want your scope to last longer, don't put your rifle in the rack on the safari truck! Hold it in your hands, and I can guarantee it will last 50% longer.

 

[steve white]

I have a Leupold fthats over 50 years old on a savage 99 in 308. Haven’t had to make an adjustment since I sighted it in over 50 years ago. I have Meopta mounted on my BLR in 358 win that hasn’t been adjusted since sighting in 25 years ago.. I have 3 bushnells one each on Ruger American 30-06. Thompson Center Thunderhawk 50 caliber and a Ruger 77 RSI in 250-3000. Never had to adjust any of those after zeroing. Maybe I just lead a charmed life.The only one of these scopes I bought new was the Meopta. Guess they just haven’t reached the fail point yet.

No, they lead a charmed life belonging to you! You obviously know how to take care of your equipment. When I read of folks having multiple problems with different scopes, I wonder a bit where the problem was....

 

[dchum]

No, they lead a charmed life belonging to you! You obviously know how to take care of your equipment. When I read of folks having multiple problems with different scopes, I wonder a bit where the problem was....

Yes my guns are tools when hunting. I don’t baby them and I use them hard.

When scopes have failed for me - it’s because I was using them. I take full blame

Some scopes can handle that and some can’t.

Also, If I can’t torque the tube more than 20-22 inch pounds. I won’t use it anymore.

 

[45-70guy]

All my rifles have leupold scopes, except a few old red fields. On a current 35 whelen I have a scope that came off one hunting rifle with 300+ hunting loads through it, rides in the SXS and hunting truck on the seat, it’s fallen over and dropped on the ground d before but never SMASHED off something.

That 1 particular scope is now on another whelen and another 200 rounds through it, dialing from 100-150-200 yards and back to zero works fine.

Some guys say their guns lose zero sitting in the safe, I’ve never seen that. I constantly swap scopes via QD rings and even then they stay zeroed.
Hard to beat for the price and warranty if you needed it.
Though during covid even the best of names had quality issues and it opened many of our eyes.
I’ll run leupold for the weight, price, and warranty. I’ve bought rifles for dirt cheap just because they had leupolds on them that still work ( old gloss steel tubes )

There’s definitely a glass quality difference because the swaro stuff is a whole new level. I’m just a fan of lower power levels and 1” tubes. Binos same situation, just a matter of how hard you are on stuff. Total bomb proof can be reassuring but at a cost.

 

[steve white]

For me the priorities associated with the optic are 100% driven by the rifle its going to be mounted on...

For a high recoiling rifle.. lets say 375 H&H and above.. the scopes ability to take the abuse that recoil puts on it is paramount (internals have to be able to take some abuse)..

For a combat type rifle.. the optics ability to take the abuse that would be experienced by getting slammed around into walls, dropped, drug over rocks and debris, etc.. is paramount (externals and internals have to be able to take some abuse)..

For a hunting rifle.. it depends..

On my wifes Kimber Adirondak for example.. why would I want a tank of an optic mounted? Slapping a 22.2 ounce (1.4lb) Nightforce SHV 3 3-10x42 optic on top of a rifle that only weighs 4 pounds and 13 ounces bare.. makes zero sense and defeats the entire purpose of the rifles design and build (uber light and compact gun designed for hauling long distances for hunting, that will be carried a lot, but shot little)..

A swaro Z3 3-10x42 that weighs 12.7 ounces makes a whole lot more sense (as do talley lightweight aluminum rings, etc..etc..)..

Matching the strengths and benefits of a particular optic to the strengths and benefits of a particular rifle is the path I take...

Some of my guns need rugged optics.. they are rugged guns...

Some of my guns need svelte optics.. they are svelte guns...

All of them need quality optics with clear, bright glass.. a forgiving eye box.. and reasonable eye relief..

^^^^^THIS!^^^^^^^

 

[Rule 303]

Warranty's are great when you are home but of no use at all in the field. When you are in the middle of nowhere and a scope fails, what good is the warranty then. Leupy's of today seem to have a higher failure rate than those of old. Just an impression I get.

 

[Brian]

This could be a very long story, so I will try to cut it as short as possible............

First, lets clear the air a bit, I do not like 30mm Scopes....... they are too big, too bulky, too heavy for my tastes, and even my guns......... Most 30mm Scopes it is my belief they are a bit tougher than 1 inch scopes and most can probably handle more recoil overall. Regardless of that, I just cannot deal with one on my rifle, of any make or design.

In my early days of this great adventure, For the overall Size, FIELD OF VIEW at very close range (10 steps), and of course eye relief, I found it hard to beat the 1X5 Leupold Vari or VX 3, or even the 1X4 Leupold VX2 or vari....... Perfect in every way, except for one........

Now, mind you, I am or was a shooter, developing several big bore cartridges, different rifle designs, short and handy, developing bullet designs, and doing load data and pressure data on all these. I am shooting anything from 200-300 rounds of big bore every week, several days a week, from 416-.500 caliber, and most of this 458-500 caliber........ Week after week, for several years........ I had probably 15+ of these Leupolds on rifles and on hand. I was busting these weekly, I always had 3-4 on the bench to send for repairs, while waiting on 3-4 to be returned from being repaired, it was a constant, consistent circle for a very long time. It was just another price to pay, except it was greatly interfering with my productivity, taking broken scopes off, and putting new or repaired one back on, sighting back in, takes a lot of time, and if you are doing this a couple of times a week....... well, eats into your time you could be doing pressure data, load data, bullet tech tests, and so forth.......

I was working close with JD Jones at the time, SSK Industries did all my work. JD caught wind of my scope busting issues, and contacted a person he knew at Leupold. JD knew everyone in the industry at that time. The fellow from Leupold touched base with me and I explained the problems. He asked if I had tried their 1X6 30mm something or other, and I explained my disdain for 30mm and why. He told me he would replace all my 1X5 and 1X4s with this scope if I wanted!!!! HOLY COW< the scope he was talking about ran about $1200 at this time...... I said thank you, that was an incredible offer, but really I just could not do 30mm on my rifles, damn scopes bigger than the guns! Finally he talked me into trying one as a test, I agreed and I did test it for about 150 rounds of 50 B&M, which is a scope busting little rifle..... fact is, one time I put a brand new 1X5 VX 3 Leupold on a 50 B&M and it busted on the third round fired trying to sight it in!!!!!!! 3 Rounds and it was done! I watched it explode inside. The 1X6 30mm did very well, I did not bust it in `150 or so rounds, but it was just too big, bulky and heavy for my purposes, I boxed it up, sent it back with my gratitude for the test and the effort, thank you, but no thanks...........

I was growing somewhat weary of the continuous circle of busted scopes and lost time doing research. I decided to take a look at what was available....... My requirements;
1. 1 Inch Scope... similar in size to the 1X5 Leupold
2. Large Field of view at very short range. I have two full mounted lions at 10 yards, I wanted to see the entire lion on low power at that range.
3. Eye Relief of 4" or so, not so much fun getting your head busted at odd shooting scenarios.

There was not much to work with, I found a Trijicon 1" at the time, 1X4 with German Crosshairs...... A 1X3 Weaver that looked promising, and a 1X4 Nikon African that looked promising. I ordered all three to test.

There was some issues with the Weaver, clarity and some other things I don't remember now, so it was ruled out.

The Trijicon actually did a fantastic job, I still have it today on a 458 of mine. It never gave any issues at all, and I wish that the 1 inch version was available today, which I can't find that it is. All I see is the 30mm versions. Of which I bought the 30mm a couple of years ago, and 30mm is still just too bulky on most of my rifles, the B&M Series guns are short and handy, most 18 inch barrels, some at 20......... and 30mm just is not suitable on those. I put the 30mm Trijicon on a 458 Lott with 22 inch barrel, its ok there, but I will never hunt with that anyway........

I did not much like the Nikon to begin with, the turrents were just too tall it seemed from what I was used to. Glass was as clear as I can use, eye relief plenty, field of view great, size was right too, both weight and length. I put it on a 500 MDM that has a great deal of recoil, 8 lb rifle, 20 inch barrel, .500 caliber, 500 gr bullets at 2450 fps........ I did my best to bust the scope, but after a few 100 rounds it was holding on with zero issues.

I had a choice, I needed a lot of scopes to set up on several rifles, 10-15 at least........ Trijicon cost at that time around $600 for the 1" version, the Nikon $276.00 from any source. Hmmmm? I went with Nikon. I bought a couple more, put on 458s and other .500s, after many 100s of rounds, still zero issues, nothing, no problems, no busted scopes, zero......... I repeated this again, and still no issues on anything........I boxed up all Leupolds and sold everything at 1/2 price, as is....... replaced everything with Nikons........I even moved all the 8x 10X to Nikons............ Just did a quick count, 28 big bore rifles equiped with 1X4 Nikons, they dropped the "African" and went to Monarch, and I have 7 spares not on rifles........... I have hunted them extensively, have fired 1000s on top of 1000s of rounds of big bore, and to this day after many years, I still have never had one bust, break, or have any issues at all, ZERO. And I still have that very first Nikon that was put on a 500 MDM and after 1000s of rounds in it, zero issues, problems......... So, for that first year, I was able to get much more done without having to change scopes every two or three shooting sessions.........

A few years ago Nikon went seriously WOKE, really too bad, they quit making any scopes of any kind. The best place to find one today is Ebay, I bought several of my spare scopes from there.

Yes, we have also busted other scopes here, some guys used to come in with the Swarovskis and they can't handle the recoil, and those had to be replaced with 1X4 Nikons........ there have been others over the years as well........

This is an 18 inch 458 B&M of course with the 1x4 Nikon.......... This gun weighs in at 7.5 lbs, no scope, so it is rather handy and not too difficult to tote around all day.......

Yeah, I know, many of you are convinced you have to spend $1000-$2500 or more on a scope to be reliable and whatever other attributes desired, I just never found that to be the case, and in fact was served very well by a $276.00 Nikon for many trips, many a buffalo, many a elephant, hippo and so forth, and above all many 1000s of rounds fired, big bore, not mediums or smalls............ I wish Trijicon still had those 1 inch versions, it is still around and doing fine as well, but at a bit more cost.
Ended up being a long story after all...... Apologies.........

Michael,, That is a very useful story! Thanks for posting. Brian

 

[45-70guy]

Warranty's are great when you are home but of no use at all in the field. When you are in the middle of nowhere and a scope fails, what good is the warranty then. Leupy's of today seem to have a higher failure rate than those of old. Just an impression I get.

The old scopes it was much less coming to mess with them after zerod, it was common to wrap the scope 1-2 times with a knife Or leatherman after making a new adjustment to “set the reticle” and the scopes worked fine even with that primitive technique.
I wonder these days how many scopes are actually defective or broken due to “tracking” issues when most of us are not using a machine test to eliminate all human error.
I’ll see guys say it’s something like 1-2 clicks off after said incident.
There definitely is a difference between each brand but even the vortex scopes seem to get purchased and used year after year by the general public without much complaints.

Hard use on a hunting rifle was not the norm for a scoped rifle, Elmer Keith used to talk about putting a scoped rifle on the backseat padded against bouncing as to not knock it off zero, we’ve come much further than that