I was at the range today getting in a little pre-hunt practice with my 416 Mag, and trying out a set of Talley rings for return to zero. Everything was going fine for about 20 rounds or so, the Talleys were returning to zero nicely, and the loads were grouping well. Then after a shot which unexpectedly landed about three inches from the group, I looked back through the scope and the target was blurry. No amount of changing of the focusing adjustment would clear it up. I have destroyed scopes on hard kickers before, but this was my first time for destroying a Leupold. It was a Vari-X III 1.5x5, and has had between 300 and 400 rounds of 416 mag fired with it. I knew that it would happen someday, so now I guess that I will get to see how good their repair service really is.

How long have others had to wait for warranty repairs from Leupold? As luck would have it, I ordered a new 1.75x6 Leupold two days ago, along with another set of Talley rings, but I was planning on using this 1.5x5 as my backup scope for my hunt in Tanzania. This really reinforces the need to have a backup scope along if you do not take a second rifle of similar caliber on a dangerous game hunt.

Good hunting,
Jim

[ 05-26-2002, 03:31: Message edited by: mbogo375 ]

Jim,

The only problems I have had with Leupolds have been accuracy related. A lot of Leupolds from Australia get sent back and we get them back in quite quickly.

They do things to and that is for sure. About 3 years ago I gave six 6 X 42s to the Leupold agent to send back. However, as an experiment I deliberately included 1 scope that was OK. When the scopes came back the little report with each scope did identify the good scope as being OK.

We have also found that the scopes that come back are superior to new Leupolds out of the box.

I know that this Forums leader, Mitch, has also found that to be the case.

Mike

The only scope that failed on one of my rifles was the same one as yours, a Leupold 1.5 x 5 20mm. Sent it back and it was fixed and returned within a week. They included a letter stating that a lense had come loose and that they epoxied it back in. Fired a lot of .375s in that rifle after that with no more trouble.

Mike375 and Muletrain,

Thanks for the info. I am going to call customer service on Tuesday and explain my situation before I send my scope in. Maybe they will take pity on a poor idiot who has sun-fried his brains to the point of wanting to hunt buffalo and lion in the wilds of Tanzania, and expedite the repair .

Good hunting,
Jim

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mbogo375:
mbogo375,
What brand is your 416 Mag. Just curious due to Bruno's and 1.75 to 6 scopes not working to well together.

470 Mbogo

470 Mbogo,

My 416 Mag is a Win Mod 70 Super Express. I wanted to put a Leupold 2.5x8 V-X III on it, but the Talley mounts on the 416 length Mod 70 require a longer tube. I could use a V-X II 2x7, as it will fit, but I am a bit concerned as to it's durability on this rifle. This is the reason that I am trying the 1.75x6 E, as I have wished for better light gathering on some previous hunts than the 1.5x5 provides. I didn't bother checking on extended rings, as I don't want to use them on a heavy kicker (just personal preference), and I also want as unimpeded acess as possible to the mag for rapid reloads.

Jim

470,

The Varix11 2-7 I have on my .416 Rigby has held up so far with know problems. I load the woodeligh 410 grain SN's to around 2600 fps. It is held on with cz mounts, I have fired aprox 100 shots so far with know issues. My mate has the exact same set up on his .416 Rigby and has fired closer to 250 shots through his with know problems.

Give the 2-7 a go I reckon it has a lot going for it, good field of view, bit of magnification if you need to crank it up and there well priced.

mbgo375. One of my shooting buddys has had his Leupold variable go down 3 or 4 times. They fixed it each time quickly. At the last occurance they advised him to use the 4X shotgun scope claiming it will hold together better. He shoots his 416 Rigby a lot. You might ask them about this and see what they say... Let us know. P.S. Buy one of the Leupold bore sighters. They are very small/handy and you can use them to check your scope after arriving in camp and durring the hunt.

The Leupold 2.5x fixed compact holds up the best.

You need to be very carefull in mounting a leupold 1.5X5-20MM scope. I've had two break due to using rings which were too close to the front lense. The front ring needs to be at least .5 inches behind the lense and this often isn't easy to do on rifles with long actions due to the typical scope spacing. I've found that using Warne extended bases particularily over the front ring will provide adequate clearance. I've also had too friends break their scopes on the first shot with improperly mounted leupolds.-Rob

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mike375:
"We have also found that the scopes that come back are superior to new Leupolds out of the box".

Mike, I fully agree with you & Mitch on this.

ROBGUNBUILDER - I agree with your comments on mounting this scope.

ROBGUNBUILDER & others,

The timing of this post could not be better. I got a Leupold VXII 1X4 20mm scope yesterday to mount on my CZ550 375H&H. If not for this post I am sure I would have set the front ring too close to the front lens. By setting the front ring as far back as possible in the groove on the action I was able to get the 1/2" clearance from the lens. You mention damage on shooting when the scope is improperly mounted - could you give a few details as to what you think the problem was (ie too loose, rings not lined up, etc)? Also, I have never had a scope of less than 3X and I notice that at very low power the front sight is very visible and tries to distract my focus from the reticle and target. Is this a common finding with low power scopes or is it due to a mounting mistake? At higher power the front sight is not noticable. Thanks for the information.

DrScott,

It is normal to see the barrel with low power scope.

Compression of the tube near the front lens is fatal to accuracy and depending on how much compression and how near the lens, it will either be a temporary problem (solved when ring is moved back) or permanent.

You could think of the objective lens as being like reflecting the image of the sun with a mirror on a wall a considerable distance away. The slightest movement of the mirror and the image of the sun moves a long way across the wall.

Any lens in front of the reticle is a potential problem area. On the other hand, lenses (such as the eye piece) that are behind the reticle, could be all loose and not impact on accuracy.

If you loosen off your eye piece and with the rifle on a bench aimed at a target, wobble the eye piece about. You will the target move about but the reticle moves with it. If this was done with a lens in front of the reticle, the target would now move in relation to the reticle.

Mike

[ 05-29-2002, 18:08: Message edited by: Mike375 ]

375mbogo:

Had the same thing happen to the first scope I mounted on my Lott. Leupold had it fixed and back to me within three days of when they received it (five days total including the two days it took to get to them). Leupold's service is absolutely the best I've come accross.

Well, I was out with my new 1.75x6 Leupold today on my 416, and while sighting in the scope I ran out of adjustment range. At 25 yards it is still about 1.5" low and 1.75" left, but shooting into one ragged hole, so I am confident that aiming error is not involved. I was using the same Talley rings and bases that had been sucessfully used on the 1.5x5 Leupold, so there is no major misalignment involved. Now I have another problem to deal with . I remember similar experiences being posted before on this forum, but I don't remember if it was the 1.75x6 that was involved. Has anyone had similar problems with other mounts and this scope?

I tried Leupold and Talley QD bases/mounts with my Mod 70 .375 H&H with the same results with a Vari-X III 1.75-6E.

The scope offered two full turns from center to stop on the windage turret.

Rick.

Rick,

Thanks for the reply. I talked to the customer service at Leupold this morning. They were very nice, and promised to try and get my 1.5x5 repaired and shipped today. They also offered to send some shims to try with the 1.75x6, although they were surprised that the windage range was not sufficient to zero the scope.

I also talked to Talley, and they are sending new bases to try. Once again they were surprised about the windage problem, but not the elevation problem.

Both of these fine companies seem to be going out of their way to get this problem solved before my hunt. I want to publically express my appreciation for their prompt and courteous attention to this matter.

I also ran out of veritical adjustment on my 1.75-6E. Had to shim the rear base. The 6x fixed I had on the same gun didn't require the shim. Sounds very much like your situation.

Almost makes we wonder if the current 'lot' of 1.75x6's aren't centered...

Michael