leupold problem?

jeffnvegas · Post by **jeffnvegas** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 7:29 am

had a 300 wthby accurized at Hill country rifle in texas. had them also put a brand new vx111 3.5 x 10 x 50 on it using talley rings/mounts. my first three shots out of the box were clover leafed at 100 yards. since then my groups have continuosly widened to 1" then 2" and now i'm getting zingers. altogether i've tried about 30 wthby factory rounds with both 180 gr. np's and x bullets shooting from a led sled. called hill country and they said they have had trouble with leupies made in the last couple of years and to try another scope. everything is tight and i can't seem to come up with any other explanation. i've always had great luck with leupold in the past, but this is the first scope i've bought made in china. my options are to send the whole thing back to hill country, to try a different scope, or send this scope back to leupold to see what's up. the problem is i drew a late season bull elk tag here and the season starts in 4 weeks. i have a back-up rifle, but was counting on this baby to give me confidence. i've killed a lot of elk with it when i had a vx11 on it. the other alternative is to buy another scope, but what if i get one and the same thing happens? any helpful suggestions or advice as to something simple i may be overlooking??

Post by **MuleyMadness** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 7:42 am

zingers

Not familiar with that term? What does it mean, simply erratic shot placement?

I just put the Leupold VX II on my scope yesterday in fact. So your post made me a little nervous thinking oh great now they are a bad scope.

But Horizontally I was pretty much dead on at 100 yds.

Vertically I was a little off, 1" high, then 2" low, then dead on. I'm looking to get it at 1" high at 100 yards.

So all in all I'm not to worried, I only shot 8 shots so far and will get out a shoot a couple of more times before the hunt.

I was happy and gaining confidence after my first outing.

Why did you toss the VX II, maybe you should put it back on??

Never heard of them having problems, crud I hope not but sounds like it could be true.

jeffnvegas · Post by **jeffnvegas** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:07 am

don't know what caliber your shooting, but remember i'm shooting a .300 mag. could put the vx11 back on, but already have it mounted on my .257 roberts. besides my rifle now sports a custom mcmillan stock and is teflon coated. would look pretty goofy with a gloss scope mounted on top, i'm going with an outfitter. i guess i could buy a new one and try my luck with that until leupold can get this one back to me. if you have a wthby then you know how expensive the ammo is. 59.00 a box
i really wanted to have everything dialed in by now so i could concentrate on off-hand shooting from multiple positions to get used to the new stock and scope. now either way i'm back to square one. i already bought alumina accessories and covers for the darn thing so i guess changing brands is out too!

jeffnvegas · Post by **jeffnvegas** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:11 am

my definition of a zinger is a wild shot every third shot or so. still on the paper at a 100 yards but somewhere 2 to 3 inches outside the group and no pattern. sometimes high, low, left, or right. note: i always clean after each shot when i'm trying to get em close and always allow for about five to ten minutes cool down time between shots.

Post by **MuleyMadness** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:25 am

I'm shooting a 270. Thanks for the clarification.

Crud not sure what to tell ya, sounds like you know what you're doing but the scope simply isn't performing.

You obviously are well prepared and equipped and seem to take all the right steps and measures to insure accurate shots.

My advice after reading your posts would be to keep the scope on for this hunting season. Have confidence and make the shot when you need to.

Re-evaluate afterwards to see if you're still concerned or unhappy.

Where are you hunting and at what distance do you expect to make a kill shot?

jeffnvegas · Post by **jeffnvegas** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 9:41 am

considering it took me twenty years of applying for a bull elk tag here in nevada to finally draw a tag in a trophy limited entry area, i'm throwing frugality to the wind for this hunt. which is why i sent the rifle out in the first place for a new stock, muzzle break, recoil tube and scope. not to mention the cost of an outfitter (the area i'm hunting is a wilderness area). taking a chance on missing a shot opportunity at a 350 or better bull is just not an option for me. this will probably be the last chance i have at a bull tag here as i'm over fifty and cannot start applying again for ten years if i fill my tag. i need to be capable of making a 5-600 yard shot if that's the only shot i'm going to get. i've never shot at anything beyond that because for me i never felt confident i had a sure kill shot at that range and have always tried to get closer. of course this has cost me a couple of critters through the years.
hope to try my luck at a utah tag one of these days for archery. maybe sometime you could give me some pointers as to a good area. course everyone wants to hunt the paunsagaunt and monroe mountain. i get over to sportsman's warehouse in washington city quite often. it's my favorite place to shop. would like to get some property over that way some day before i retire.

bigbuck92 · Post by **bigbuck92** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 1:37 pm

ya those 300. mags have a kick to um. my uncle has a swarovski scope or however you spell it and the 300 had so much kick to it that it poped the lense out of the scope. so he brought it to the local shop and the guy working there said that 4 other scopes have came in with the same problem. the guy there said that it was probaly a manufacture error with the scopes so maybe its sorta the same with you. maybe the manufacture screwed up. just sayin i know this was way off topic

txhunter · Post by **txhunter** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 1:51 pm

Thats strange because my family has used Leupold scopes for 20+ years and have never had any problems. I would think the problem is a defect in the scope or the recoil from shooting such a high caliber. I would take the scope back and have them install a new one (same model) to see if you just got a lemon. Good luck!