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Started By
Message
re: Looking at a new rifle scope, suggestions?
Posted on 6/14/26 at 1:34 pm to Theduckhunter
Posted on 6/14/26 at 1:34 pm to Theduckhunter
quote:
You’re obviously very passionate about this, but your concerns are overblown.
He’s right though. I grew up thinking that leupold was the only scope brand, it wasn’t even a question that you would just put a VX-something on whatever you had.
Every year, it was understood we’d have to go re-sight the rifles even though they’d just gone from a truck seat to a stand to a safe. Every year they needed to be adjusted, sometimes a lot. You always tapped the turrets because if you didn’t the adjustment wouldn’t take. This was always just a known and accepted part of owning a deer rifle.
I generally think Rokslide is full of PNW assholes who enjoy sniffing each other’s farts, but you can’t really argue with their methods on this one issue. Leupold seems to have implied they never designed their scopes to hold zero in that circumstance. You may never bump your rifle hard enough to cause it, or ever even notice a 1” shift shooting factory ammo. I still have VXIII’s on a couple rifles and it’s not a crisis, I just baby them.
2
Posted on 6/14/26 at 2:34 pm to bradygolf98
My usual recommendation to this is a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 on EBay. I hadn’t priced them in awhile, though, and I see that they’re out of your price range. I wish I’d bought 10 of em back when they were $300.
Posted on 6/14/26 at 2:54 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
quote:
Rokslide is full of PNW assholes who enjoy sniffing each other’s farts, but you can’t really argue with their methods on this one issue
:kige:
Posted on 6/14/26 at 3:35 pm to bradygolf98
EuroOptic has a 4-12 x40 30mm Trijicon Huron on sale for $465, you’ll have a hard time beating that deal.
Posted on 6/14/26 at 4:01 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I had a bushell that quit on me about 40 years ago. Other than that, no scope problems. And I hunt a lot.
Posted on 6/14/26 at 5:23 pm to 257WBY
quote:
no scope problems. And I hunt a lot.
Never had to adjust a scope in 40 years of hunting a lot?
Posted on 6/14/26 at 7:51 pm to secondandshort
quote:
am having some second thoughts after seeing other suggestions for trijcon and swfa. Any thoughts?
Do you plan to drop and beat up your rifle and not bother rechecking zero? If so, maybe look for something “bomb proof.” If you plant to treat your rifle like a loaded weapon, you’ll be fine. (Assuming nothing else changes with your rifle when you drop it.)
There’s a guy on rokslide that deliberately drops rifles on their scopes to test them out. Pretty good if you want something you can throw around, although his sample size is small.
There’s plenty of people with Leupolds who’ve had their rifle fall on the scope and didn’t have any issues. Certainly way more than the number of people complaining about zero problems on the internet.
Personally, the majority of my rifles are fancy walnut stocked. I’m more worried about banging that up or cracking a stock.
The concerns about Leupold durability are overblown and not going to be an issue to 99% of the hunters on this board.
ETA: I check my rifles every year because I usually switch it up. Never had to make an adjustment. Ya’ll trying to tell me they move on their own in the safe? I bet it’s more likely user error. And FWIW my buddy zeros rifles for a local gun shop. He’s zeroed hundreds of rifles and his favorite by far is Leupold.
This post was edited on 6/14/26 at 7:55 pm
Posted on 6/14/26 at 8:10 pm to Theduckhunter
quote:
Do you plan to drop and beat up your rifle and not bother rechecking zero? If so, maybe look for something “bomb proof.” If you plant to treat your rifle like a loaded weapon, you’ll be fine. (Assuming nothing else changes with your rifle when you drop it.)
Dropping it is usually not the problem. Its four-wheeler rides, boat rides, riding in the truck, etc.
Thats why people's zero shifts through the season. Everybody knows when they drop their rifle they need to check it. Nobody ever considers that when your zero is off at the beginning of the season that means you were hunting with it off last season. It didnt shift sitting in the safe all summer.
Why have a less reliable scope? A trijicon doesnt cost any more than a comparable leupold or vortex. It weighs a tiny bit more (because it has proper internals). Its the superior rifle sight option.
Posted on 6/14/26 at 8:15 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I know I’m not going to change your mind.
I’m just here to let others know that it’s perfectly ok to get a Leupold and they’re likely not going to be disappointed.
Especially when someone complaining about eye relief gets recommended a scope with poor eye relief.
ETA: And the guy’s been shooting $100 scopes for 20 years! You think extreme durability is at the top of his priority list all of a sudden?
I’m just here to let others know that it’s perfectly ok to get a Leupold and they’re likely not going to be disappointed.
Especially when someone complaining about eye relief gets recommended a scope with poor eye relief.
ETA: And the guy’s been shooting $100 scopes for 20 years! You think extreme durability is at the top of his priority list all of a sudden?
This post was edited on 6/14/26 at 8:28 pm
Posted on 6/14/26 at 8:53 pm to Theduckhunter
quote:
You think extreme durability is at the top of his priority list all of a sudden?
Its not extreme durability though. Its just the scope doing its job, which is tell you where the bullet will land, and lots of them dont do a good job of that.
Its illogical to buy a less reliable scope for the same amount of money.
Posted on 6/14/26 at 9:32 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
lots of them dont do a good job of that.
It sounds like you’ve had some problems with Leupolds. Did they still have problems after you got them back from warranty work?
You started out by saying they’re not bomb proof but they’re “fantastic” if you don’t hit or drop them. Now you’re saying lots of them don’t do a good job.
They are reliable scopes. They are not built to be beaten up. That is something to take into account. It doesn’t mean they can’t take a lick. I’ve made plenty of mistakes over the years and haven’t had an issue. They’ve also made plenty of bumpy four wheeler and jeep rides.
For somebody looking for a better scope, the Huron and the VX-3 are two great options. Vx-3 is lighter and has better eye relief. The Huron is more expensive, more robust, but has (almost an inch) less eye relief.
The internet has a way of skewing people’s opinions of things. The people with bad experiences scream the loudest on here. I just think we should be a little more objective in our recommendations.
Posted on 6/14/26 at 10:04 pm to Theduckhunter
quote:
sounds like you’ve had some problems with Leupolds.
Yes. I have had to rezero many leupold scopes that were not subjected to any kind of abuse. Just deer hunting. Enough that I am skeptical of anyone saying they've never had to adjust their zero with one.
quote:
Did they still have problems after you got them back from warranty work?
I have only sent one back (vx 2 ) and I dont really use that rifle anymore. If I sent back every leupold that I had to re-zero or watched a friend re-zero, id be sending back more than one every year. Most of my friends use leupolds. Some number of them will be adjusted every year, not always the same ones.
quote:
they’re “fantastic” if you don’t hit or drop them. Now you’re saying lots of them don’t do a good job.
They're light and have good glass and for some reason that's what people worry about when buying rifle scopes. Its illogical. You can have a light scope with good glass that can also take a lick should you accidently give it one.
I used to hunt trying to protect my scope and now I dont have to. Its wonderful, and I want other people to experience it. I went shoot this morning. Virgin trip, not even bore sighted SWFA 3-15. One shot at 25 yards, measure the correction with the reticle, dial the correction, back up to 100 yards, first shot one mil high and one mil right. Dial that and done. I could have put it away then because I knew, 100% for sure, it was now dead on. I was there to play though and Shot it again and of course, dead on. Two shots on a totally new setup to get zeroed, and itll be there until I move it. Its so nice.
Posted on 6/15/26 at 7:47 am to bradygolf98
quote:
I've looked at the Trijicon Huron, some Leopolds, and Burris online.
I own 4 Burris Signature HD in 3-15 x 44 with the ballistic e3 reticle. I love them and can't make myself spend more on a rifle scope when these do exactly what I am looking for every time.
This post was edited on 6/15/26 at 8:57 pm
Posted on 6/15/26 at 8:07 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Yes. I have had to rezero many leupold scopes that were not subjected to any kind of abuse. Just deer hunting. Enough that I am skeptical of anyone saying they've never had to adjust their zero with one.
Is this a recent thing or have Leupolds always been like that? I have a VXII and I dropped the gun 25 ft from the stand and the zero moved about 1.5". Other than that I only had to change the zero when I switched ammos. I have a Mark 4 on my current rifle and it's been solid so far.
Posted on 6/15/26 at 8:18 am to Theduckhunter
quote:
Ya’ll trying to tell me they move on their own in the safe?
We’re telling you they shift from normal recoil in a light hunting rifle. It’s a consequence of the erector design where light weight and glass quality, the two things people are more likely to buy a scope based on, are the highest priorities. If you can live with minor shifts then there’s nothing wrong with using one but I personally got really tired of watching the impacts wander around on paper with no rhyme or reason.
Posted on 6/15/26 at 8:36 am to Theduckhunter
quote:
And the guy’s been shooting $100 scopes for 20 years! You think extreme durability is at the top of his priority list all of a sudden?
anything should be an upgrade to what I've been using. I do get downshift's point about reliability, at the same time I baby rifles. Sits in a hard case unless I'm in the stand because I can drive my truck to within 400 yards of every stand on our place. So not exactly taking it on 4 wheeler rides. Mainly just wondering how the glass upgrades are going up to the $500 price point. I'm still undecided, but trijicon is up there on my list.
Posted on 6/15/26 at 10:25 am to bradygolf98
quote:
wondering how the glass upgrades are going up to the $500 price point.
I mostly hunt with an swfa 3-15 which has shite glass by almost any comparison and its no hindrance. Its not as cool to look through as a swarvoski, but its certainly no handicap unless you're outlawing. The VX3's are dramatically more pleasant to look through from an image fidelity perspective. The SWFA is clear, but there are definitely some color shifts going on.
So, that out the way, I find theres a substantial jump in glass quality from sub $200 scopes to leupold vx3/low end Weiss/ other comparable $400-$750 scopes. Past that, double the money doesnt get you double the glass IMO. I can tell a Z7 swarvoski looks better, but I would never buy one with my own money even if there were no reliability issues. Binoculars or spotting scope, maybe. A riflescope just doesnt get the eye time to justify the dramatic costs of incrementally better than good enough, IMO.
This post was edited on 6/15/26 at 10:26 am
Posted on 6/15/26 at 10:30 am to Loup
quote:
this a recent thing or have Leupolds always been like that?
They have some reliable models but its always been a thing as far as I can tell. The oldest ones I know of still in use are from the early 80's and one of them has the wandering zero syndrome.
I think all of their lightweight scopes suffer from it.
Posted on 6/15/26 at 10:39 am to bradygolf98
Go watch a few YT videos. I'd probably buy an Arken.
Arken EP-5
Probably overkill for you but they have some cheaper options too.
Arken EP-5
Probably overkill for you but they have some cheaper options too.
Posted on 6/15/26 at 4:39 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Almost always a leupold or vortex, sometimes its mine.
There's a reason those scopes have an excellent warranty. You're going to use it.
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