The Accurate Reloading Forums
Leupold issue

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08 December 2020, 04:17
bghntr416
Leupold issue
Curious if anyone else has had this issue with Leupolds. I have a brand new VX6 HD. Once mounted I was checking the adjustments. I had the rifle held in a vise and a borescope to get the crosshairs centered. I then checked the travel of the crosshairs by dialing the scope as you would for long range shooting. Once I got to about 11 moa of adjustment the crosshairs stopped moving. I could keep dialing the scope to the max (about 38 moa I believe) but no more movement of the crosshairs. Crosshairs did not move till I started to dial back down and got all the way back to 11 moa and then they started to move again, going right back to zero. I had this same issue years ago with some VX-III's. If you are using a Leupold to dial for shooting you may want to give it a check. JB
08 December 2020, 08:39
DanM
Interesting. I don't recall seeing that before but will pay better attention. Did you try the same thing in the opposite direction and if so did that work ok?
08 December 2020, 20:29
bghntr416
The other direction did work as I recall. One scope did have the same issue except with the windage adjustment.
09 December 2020, 08:12
DanM
If you can duplicate the issue again, try giving the scope a few taps and see if the crosshairs move. It might be that the erector springs are binding or something is stiffer than design or poorly lubricated. Usually, shooting the rifle will release a bound erector assembly but tapping works also.
10 December 2020, 05:35
bghntr416
Dan. Thanks for the tip. I will give it a try this weekend and report back. JB
11 December 2020, 07:01
tsturm
quote:
Originally posted by bghntr416:
Dan. Thanks for the tip. I will give it a try this weekend and report back. JB


Rings / mounts binding the tube?? Take it off the gun & see if all is ok un mounted?? tu2


11 December 2020, 19:46
Stonecreek
quote:
Rings / mounts binding the tube?? Take it off the gun & see if all is ok un mounted??

Quite possible. A slightly bent tube could very well limit the amount that the internals could move. I'd ship the scope back to Leupold who will fix whatever is wrong or replace it -- usually even if it is the result of improper use. Of course, it could be a factory defect, but that would be rare (or would have been rare in the past) with Leupold.
12 December 2020, 08:04
sambarman338
quote:
Originally posted by DanM:
If you can duplicate the issue again, try giving the scope a few taps and see if the crosshairs move. It might be that the erector springs are binding or something is stiffer than design or poorly lubricated. Usually, shooting the rifle will release a bound erector assembly but tapping works also.


Yes, that or tsturm's tube binding (possibly crushing the erector tube's gimbal) are likely causes. I doubt whether lubricant would be used inside, though, because of the chance it might get on the lenses. For this reason, good scopes used to have certain moving parts made of brass, a greasy metal. The trouble then is an erector tube's mass moving under recoil inertia, which can put twisted springs under stress when adjustments are taken to the edge.

The whole idea of providing a constantly centred reticle by articulating the erector set is dodgy IMHO. Keeping the reticle as near as possible to the scope's optical centre is the best way to avoid trouble but that questions the whole point of this supposedly idiot-proof technology.
11 January 2021, 20:57
Atkinson
I have no doubt that Sambarman is correct, He has a lifetime of scope knowledge, however I am sold on the centered reticle and if it doesn't work I send them back to Leupold, nobody has a better guarentee than Leupold IMO..

Regardless of make of scope when I sight in I give the adjustments a light wack with the screwdriver handle, it that doesn't work I give it a harder wack!! it works 99% of the time.

Right or wrong, I find the centered reticle the best of both worlds, not perfect Im sure, but Ive been able to live with it, I hated shims, surface grinding and chewing gum patches and hit an miss sighting in with the old Lyman Alaskan of yesteryear even though it worked for sure,but even then "built my man" concept raised its dirty head from time to time.. shocker

With the centered concept one must have his adjustments centrally focused or in the scopes focal plane if you must...I twist the adjustmets to the end, count the number of twists on the return,then go half way back to center, then turn the number plate to "0" is handy, and the crosshairs are centered in the adjustment scale..Now it time to sight in the rifle..It usually holds its close enough for guvment work!! with sight in adjustments tu2

With this method,They do hold their zero much better, especially the big bores. I also like a surface grind action thats level with the world..These steps pretty well eliminate the movement with the use of QD return to zero mounts, a boon to the use of iron sights with your scope, and off and on as often as you need, as I do use my irons as much as my scope, for no particular reason, just like to shoot irons..


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
29 January 2021, 14:31
Johnny reb
Did you get scope straightened out?