I have the same scope my experience is the opposite of yours
I can count spikes on a elk when its too dart to see it with
the naked eye there must be a problem

Express!!!
Do you think that if you were used to driving a Mercedes
You would be happy in a Ford Escort.

Lyle

At the price range these new leupold VariX-III go for (around $500 I believe), what would be the most reliable scope to invest in. I was looking at those new leupolds, but after hearing that I feel that there may be better scopes out there. I don't think Leupold is all they are cracked up to be. Too many people use their great customer service which means too many of their scopes are breaking. So whats the new Leupold VX-III?

Sevens

To many people get hung up on the picture. I submit that just about any of today's scopes are bright enough for any LEGAL shooting done stateside. If I spent 10 hours a day looking through a scope it would be different, but as someone once said, it is just a place to store the crosshairs.

Reliability, eye relief and weight (if that is a concern) is what keeps me using Leupolds.

I've had nothing but outstanding experiences with my Leupold scopes and binos. If I were you I'd ship it back to them with a note and they'll make it right. Sounds like you've got a bad one there unfortunately.

That's an expensive scope, so you want to get what you paid for.

Let us know how it goes...

I recently recieved a Leupold Vari XIII 4.5-14x42 with the B&C reticle and stuck it atop a lightweight 7mm08.



The main reason I baught this scope was due to its weight, when compared to the European scopes I tend to mount on my rifles. It weighs less than half of some of my other scopes.



The scope was fine, I quite like the B&C reticle and the eye relief is, if anything, too long.

I have it mounted as far forward in the rings as it can go and I would like it further back still. I might add a spacer to the stock for that.



It wasnt until I compared it to another scope, in this particular case a Schmidt & Bender 1.5-6 that lives on my trusty old .375H&H at last light that I saw a great difference.



The S&B is over 10 years old, has been to the ends of the earth and abused in ways that those who know me will appreciate and it has never, in my recollection required ze-zeroing at every check.

Aside from this, it (both were at 6x) has a much wider field of view and is much brighter and clearer. Noticeably so.

The Leupold has great troubles with flareing and going dark if you point it in the general direction of a setting/rising sun, and looks dark and narrow in comparison.



I would have liked to have thought that the latest generation Leupold would stand head and shoulders above an old Euro scope that has endured years of unproper wiping off with gloves and other things we do to our gear in the field.



I will keep the Leupold, in fact, I may buy another one when eye relief and weight are concerns.

Im not going to say its a piece of junk, just that when you compare it to some "quality" glass, even old gear, it does not shine a winner.





PS:



I was out again tonight watching some fallow deer till last light.



It had gotten too dark to shoot while I waited for a big old buck, so I decided to stay and watch the does and yearlings play.

After some time, I noticed that the picture through the said scope, was actually DARKER than it was to the naken eye.

Now I know this is an unfair comparison, but with the scope I have been using most the past few years, a Nighforce 3.5-15x56 - 30mm tube I can get at least 15mins of "extra" shooting light.

This scope seems to take away 15mins worth of shooting light.



I cant say if this particular scope is a dud, or if that is the norm with Leupolds, but I am unpleasantly surprised that the clarity of the glass is so poor.

I hope it is at least as durable as so many claim it to be...

Wow I wonder if Leupold is slipping a bit in their QC?

Any others on here got input? Interesting thread to watch here. How about older vs newer Leupolds? Anyone perhaps noted anything there?

The Vari XIII (assuming yours is the new generation VX-III unless you had the B&C reticle installed on an older scope) is an excellent scope but it is not the latest generation. To gain a better appreciation of lense quality, you will need to compare your S&B to the Leupold LPS.

I know what you mean. I bought a new VX III earlier this year and was disappointed with it compared to my other scopes. I ended up selling it.

I too am frustrated with a Leupold Scope. Although mine is a 3-9X33 compact model. The only scopes that will fit this rifle must have OAL lengths less than 11.75 inches or they hit the rear sight on the barrel. This really limits ones scope choices. This scope is only 1 year old but has been a constant source of frustration. It is fitted with friction rather than click adjustments. Ok I could live with that if the darned adjustments worked. The actual adjustments are nowhere near what is marked on the danged knobs and actually apear randum. Although they do hold possition well but it makes actually zeroing where you want it a royal pain in the patooty.



Now I understand that this particular scope is far from their top of the line scope but just yesterday I was shooting a Model 99 Savage with a 30 year old Busnell scope along side my Mauser 7mm-08 with this Compact Leupy. At 9 power on the Bushnell I could see 7mm and 30 cal holes. I COULD NOT see ANY holes with the Leupold also on 9 power.

In fact the Leupold 9 power was more like the Bushnell's 6 power. Now the Leupy was brighter but still...



The scope definately need to do back to Leupold if nothing else to be retrofitted with click adjustments. What they can do about the rest is a mystery. And I am seriously considering fitting the Mauser with a Burris Compact in 3-9 or 4-12. Both under 11 inches in length.

What did you expect comparing it to a 30mm tube thats costs 2 to 3 times the price? Same observations go for binoculars.

Express - I've had similar experiences. I have a Burris Compact 2X7 on my 7mm-08 and no more problems. In fact I like it so much I have the same scope on six more of my rifles. Just food for thought.

Kevin,

Many folks here will tell you Leupold is the "best scope" regardless of cost...

For the record, my own observations mirror those of Express. I have looked through several Leupold new VX111 scopes over the course of this summer and I have not been impressed by any of them. They were all "hi power" variables with objectives in the 40mm to 50mm range as I can't lay my hands on any of their 1.5-6 scopes over here.

I am not sure about the prices in Europe, but the difference between Leupold and the Zeiss Conquest/Kahles/ Swarovski A line is not so marked over here plus we don't have Leupolds service dept on our door step like you go do. So all in all, Leupold is not such a "bargin" over here.

Regards,

Pete

It' been said before, but for the money, I'ld own the Leupold. A fairer comparison might be between Leup. LPS & the S&B. I also like the high end Zeiss over the Leup. but over here they are 2-2.5 times more expensive.

The only way to fairly compare any optics is by comparing equally priced products. I have no complaints about my Leupold VXII's performance. It's light gathering abilities and clarity are all that I expected them to be when I bought it.At 3-4 times the price of my VXII; a Swarovski or top end Zeiss had better make a huge difference to be worth the money.

Varmintguy,

I gave an account of a personal evaluation between a Leupold and a Swarovski scope...nothing more, nothing less..I gave the pro's and cons of both scopes as I saw them....With regards the reticule, I was not knocking Leupolds, merely stating I prefer the No 4...not sure why that should an issue?

You are right I have never hunted with a Leupold though...The reason? Because when making a scope choice, they have been discounted before even going on my rifle..Now I know Leupolds are decent, rugged waterproof scopes or I would not even have bothered testing them...

However, I am just not impressed with their brightness and image quality, nor their coating with regard controlling flare.. Again, they are not "bad", just that I find Swarovski, S&B & Zeiss are noticably better.....at a price of course!

And please don't lecture about wet cold weather as Scotland has more than its fair share...cheap scopes/optics just tend to fog up too easily...and I don't mean Leupold by that, but the crap that comes out of the Far East..

I am glad you are pleased with your Leupolds but I will stick with my Meopta's Swarovski's and S&B. I am currently in the market for something like a 1.5-6 and I will certainly look at Leupolds offering, but unless their latests lens coatings have improved dramatically, I will probably end up paying the extra and going with a S&B...

And BTW, two months is a a short season when you can legally hunt deer all year around!

Peter