hometheaterman

This might should go in the optic section but I figured It would get a lot more responses here.

Anyway, how careful are you about your scopes? How do you transport them in a vehicle to keep them from getting knocked off? Do you worry about it?

The Leupold I had I knocked the gun over. It was in a gun sock and got knocked over on carpet so it wasn't like it was a hard hit and I shot it the next day to see if it messed up the scope. Well, it was about 3-4" or so higher than how I had sighted it in for. That scope it seemed like if you bumped it wrong it would be knocked off. So I guess that combined with people saying that they get knocked off in vehicles and what not easily has worried me and got me always worrying if my scope is going to be on.

Then again I have a Simmons on my 10/22 that's been knocked over and hit the ground fairly hard. It's ridden around bumping stuff in the floorboard of the truck as well as in the bed of the truck. I'm not going to say the rifle has had the crap beat out of it but the scope has taken some abuse and if it's moved it's not more than 1/2" and I don't think it's moved at all as it will still take the bullseye out pretty much every time. I can shoot something the size of a penny pretty easily. So it doesn't seemed to have moved and it was sighted in probably 4 years ago or so and has done fine.

The Leupold has just made me super paranoid. On my rifle I have a Burris and it's mainly what I worry about as I use it the most. I try to keep my scope from hitting anything in the vehicle but sometimes accidents happen where another gun will fall against it or the scope will bump the seat. Even though it's soft it just worries me. Stuff like that. Or I will accidentally bump the scope. Basically I'm afraid to do anything other than have the gun sit there. However, I will say I sighted it in let it ride in a truck this year and had a shotglass fall from 2 feet or so onto it and have had a few other small misshaps like that but nothing big and it still shoots in the same spot it did when sighted in. Well, around the same spot. So it's held up fairly good for a few months but I'm just always worried about it and afraid that if I don't shoot it before I go out that I'm going to miss a deer so I find myself always going to shoot it a few times to make sure it's still sighted in which usually results in me just wasting expensive bullets. I usually shoot a couple each time.

Do I need to worry this much or am I worrying too much? Can I throw it in the vehicle and have it ride up front with me and not worry about it bouncing around on the seat and not worry about little bumps. Is it only if I drops it several feet I should worry or is it any little misshap I should worry about?

I don't know why I've gotten soo worried as I've had 4 scopes and the Leupold is the only one I've had want to lose zero like that however, other than the one on the .22 I've never had them take a lot of abuse and I did have to adjust the one on the muzzle loader once mid deer season as somehow it seemed like it was shooting a few inches to the left. Not sure if it was like that or if it got bumped or what. It was a cheaper scope.

So basically how are you about it? How much abuse can these things take? Should I just stop worrying or do I need to be super careful to make sure nothing bumps the scope?

nchawkeye

Scopes are more sensitive to being hit sideways than when recoil sends them straight back...I have a 1980 Bushnell ScopeChief that I used until a few years back when I upgraded to a Leupold (I have 3 of them now)...The Bushnell had never given me any problem so I put it on my nephew's rifle...He used it a few years and one day it was leaning on the porch and slid over sideways...That scope now won't stay zeroed and has been replaced by a Leupold...

I have hard cases for my scoped rifles...My .243 stays in my truck's tool box much of the year and also rides on the 4-wheeler in the case from time to time...I hunt out of a climber so it also gets pulled up into a tree 30 plus times a year...I check my rifle 3-4 times a season on paper, not just before the season...I don't have any problems with it moving...

Are you sure your mounts are good and tight and you have no problems with stock warpage and the screws that hold the barrel and action to the stock are good and tight??...I find more problems with our family rifles there than in a scope going bad...

One last point...You can check your scope by shooting a square...Basically, shoot 2-3 shots with it zeroed...Move the adjustments 2 inches to the right and 2 inches low, shoot a group...Move the adjustments 4 inches high, shoot a group...Move the adjustments 4 inches left, shoot a group...
Move the adjustments 4 inches down, shoot a group...Move the adjustments 2 inches right and 2 inches high and you should be shooting into the original group...Now, if you mount or stock screws are loose, this won't work...But it lets you know if your scope is tracking properly..

Folically Challenged

It's a Leupold: send it back, & tell them what you've told us. They'll check it out, & fix or repair it FREE! I'm not a Leupold man, myself, but I'd surely avail myself of their warranty if I had their product. A big reason people buy Leupolds is for the confidence those scopes bring them: if you're not confident about this one, send it back! You have nothing to lose, & everything to gain.


I hope the shotglass didn't fall on it while it was in the truck, and the truck was being driven. There's something about "shotglass", "gun", and "truck" all being in the same sentence that doesn't seem quite right...

I don't go out of my way to hurt anything that I own, but I'm not one to baby things too much, either. I buy scopes that I'm confident will hold up to the odd bump or scrape. I wasn't particularly happy thata pack horse stepped on my Conquest, but it held zero perfectly. I don't think I'd feel hindered by your Leupold (after you send it back) or your Burris.

FC

rozman62

I am careful not to bang my guns around. It is frustrating to keep losing the zero. I have had good luck so far. I use blue loctite on the mounting screws and haven't had any problems since. I also place a dot on the scope with a sharpie pen just ahead of the front ring as a check mark to make sure the scope is not moving from the recoil. If the dot starts to disappear under the ring then I need to torque the rings screws tighter. This slippage only happened once. All my mounts/rings are Weaver's.

DM

I've seen scopes take some real abuse! Onceon a brown bear hunt,i was walking across a deepice crevis on a tree that had fallen across, from the woods to the glacier... Iwastrying to get back tothe woods from the glacier, as it was the only way off the glcier and the way i got onto it eariler... The long tree was barkless, wet and very slipperyAND i fell on my rifle that had a Williams scope on it.I bent the scope when it hit the log, it saving me from falling into the glacial ravine and water.

After i made it to a spot where i could fire the rifle to check the scope, it was dead nuts on! The scope would no longer change power, so i took a pair of pliars and forced it. It made all kinds of grinding noises, but everything worked and it stayed sighted in.

As for Leupold, after many many years of hunting with Leupold scopes, they have been so reliable, i even quit carrying a spare scope into camp, even on extended hunts. I did carry my S&W M-29 to hunt with if something went wrong, but it never did.

Leupolds have been the most reliable scopes i've ever used in the field, and i never felt like i had to "baby" one! I would take one over the other scopes you mentioned in a heart beat!

Do as already suggested, send it to Leupold to have it checked out, and then stop worrying about it.

DM

hometheaterman

I sent it to Leupold as it got to where it seemed to start adjusting itself after shooting. They sent it back and I mounted it on new Remington Genesis muzzle loader but I haven't gotten it even sighted in yet. Just haven't shot it much and am still playing with what powder I want to shoot. I didn't specifically say that it kept losing zero as the biggest problem was it wanted to adjust itself when I sent it in but I'm hoping they fixed it all. Only time will tell.

As for the mounts on my rifle they are tight and it was the scope as since I've put the Burris on I haven't had the problem with it moving. On my .22 with the Simmons it's like I said fallen over fairly hard and just rolled around getting beat up in the truck and never lost zero.

I'm thinking it may have just been the Leupold was bad. I've had issues with that scope since the start. It's already been into Leupold twice for repair. They take care of you but it's starting to get old to have to keep sending it in. I'm hoping it's fixed now.

hometheaterman

No it wasn't. I didn't even think about that but you are right that all those words together aren't good. I was just trying to say it had been bumped around in the truck. Later one at a different time I had a shotglass fall on it. It wasn't one anyone drinks out of. I collect shot glasses and have quite a few of them. I just have them sitting on a display they don't get used. Anyway, I had the gun laying on the bed after a cleaning and had a few shotglasses stacked up on the dresser. I accidentally bumped them and a couple fell onto the floor however one just managed to land on the scope of the gun. I don't know how I have luck like this. I've since learned that I need to put them all with the rest of the display instead of leaving them just sitting around.

skb2706

"how careful are you about your scopes?"

Apparently more careful than some. If you consider that for the most part they are thin metal tubing and glass with some rather delicate small pieces inside. I treat my rifle scopes just like some people treat their cameras, same money same fragility. If you bump your scope, fall on it, hit it against something ....just because it requires re-sighting doesn't mean its a scope problem. It could just as easily be a mount problem. I have a real cheap BSA scope that I have used on several rifles to do load development with....works great its been hammered around alot.

HEAD0001

Which Leupolod do you have??

I personally do not care for scopes that have friction erector(or adjustment) systems. Your story is the main reason why. A scope with friction adjustment can change POI when the scope is impacted in any way. Do you remember when the old timers slapped their scope with their wallets?? They were trying to get the crosshairs to settle in.

I prefer scopes with positve adjustment. they cost more, but they are definitely more reliable. This is one of the big unseen differences between high quality and low quality scopes. Leupold makes, and markests both types of erector systems. That is a big difference between VXII and VXIII.

As far as scope care is concerned, I like to use the optic wash for cleaning the lenses. A small bottle of it is pretty expensive, but it will go a long way. Then make sure you get the proper cloth to clean the glass after you have washed them. And make sure you get the disposable ones. One use then throw them away. This way your glass will never get scratched. Tom.

bigcountry

Let me put this way, I was in Newfoundland 3 years ago, and fell down a hill side, and my scope banged several rocks. I saw a moose that evening and missed. At camp, it was 4ft off at 400 yards.

But with all that said, Ihad a sluggun fall out of a tree drop 20ft, and hit so hard, a shell ejected and took to the range, and it was dead on.

Both leupolds, the one in newfoundland was a 4.5-14 VariIII, and other VXIII.