When I first saw the pictures of Leupolds new "crescent objective" line of scopes I rolled my eyes and burped up a pained - OH MY GAWD!
Witness my posts in this regard from some months back.
I thought to myself back then - what in the world are they trying to do here?
Is this a gimmick designed to somehow fleece gentle scope users like myself?
Well I finally got to get some hands on time with the Leupold VX-L's and I have to admit I am warming to these "strange new" scopes!
The image I saw through these scopes was CRYSTAL CLEAR! And was so, from edge to edge of the image!
Maybe those of us that are hesitant to sacrifice "looks" for performance (the Leupolds I have used for the past 40 years have both looked extremely well and performed extremely well!) can warm up to these new scopes and give them a fair try on our Rifles in the field!
This new idea from Leupold may just prove to be both a performance enhancement to their scopes as well as the "birth" of another "old reliable" type Leupold scope!
After my initial "hands on" experience with this line I openly admit I am changing my attitude from "rolling my eyes" to my eyes "bugging out" at the incredible clarity, even-ness of image and light gathering capabilty of these VX-L scopes!
I may just have to give one of these VX-L's a try on my next Big Game Hunting or Coyote Rifle!
Competition is good!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

To me, it still looks like some "varmint guy" got a little carried away in a prairie dog town -- and that his 56mm objective scope melted onto the red-hot barrel!

The optics may be great (I haven't checked one out), but I just can't stand the thought of that unsightly thing on one of my rifles.

And I understand the folks at the patent office said "no need to bother with registering this one."

Not to mention the PRICE! Jay

quote:

Originally posted by Jay Gorski:
Not to mention the PRICE! Jay

jay

thats because when you send one back for repair they don't charge for repairs. yes, i know, there has never been a broken leupold. just ask.

Looked thru one the other day at the local gun store who also sells Swarovski 1" scopes as well as others. Compared them side by side and there is enough difference even in daylight to pay the extra 200 dollars.

quote:

thats because when you send one back for repair they don't charge for repairs. yes, i know, there has never been a broken leupold. just ask.

Ah, just don't tell my brother-in-law they don't break. Jay

In case you hadn't noticed, a few years ago Leupold finally gave in to the modern era of marketing when their sales started to suffer due to the "gimmick war". First they revamped the product lines, which was really just a re-naming and shuffle of their existing lines. Then came a cheaper line of scopes because they still couldn't compete with the garbage sold by BSA, Tasco, Simmons, etc., that offered lifetime warranties as well. Now this barrel hugging thing that will be problematic due to different receiver and barrel contours, not to mention the guys who insist on using see-thru mounts...lol! Oh well, in a way you can't blame them...it's a fact that hype and gimmicks sell products. If that wasn't true, cell phones would still be used for making calls instead of taking pictures and movies, playing music, surfing the Internet, reminding people how to spell their names, and storing condoms! Having sold guns, scopes, ammo, and other hunting stuff for years at a large retail store, I have a refined understanding of what sells product...and 95% of the time it isn't quality. Not to say that Leupold doesn't make some good stuff...they do. It's just sad to see them enter the gimmick arena. Even Tasco and Simmmons have marketed a few good products over the years...granted, you can count them on one hand, but they never last long either due to pricing pressures or shifting production to a chicken farm village in Bongo Bongo where quality control is a pipe dream.