My second Leupold spotting scope to break

[Mrvmax]

My first spotting scope was the cheapest one Leupold made, I think I bought it around 2017-2018. The glue that held it together gave way and the scope was in two pieces. I sent it in for warranty repair, Leupold no longer made it so they gave me a new one, the equivalent of what I had (that was May of 2021).

I only use this a few times a year, it stays in a padded case and I have never dropped it. Today I went to pull it out of my bag and the neoprene cover was all that was holding the two body pieces together. It looks like out of the three screws that hold the body together internally, two came loose. The last one held but ended up breaking the plastic inside that it was screwed to an it broke into two pieces as you see from the pics.

I'm sending it back for a warranty replacement (too bad I have to cover shipping and they do not pay for it). They should replace it, I am tempted to sell it when they send me a new one and get a better spotting scope. It is not much good past 200 yards anyway and I end up using my scope on my rifle to see where I am hitting.

 

[hesse]

Dang that stinks

 

[26Reload]

Look like you ought to have kept it in a solid box...or found a better place to store it.....my leupold travels with me often..in a soft case......never do I put it in jeopardy...
...but it is how it is.....equipment failures happen.....

 

[Mrvmax]

Look like you ought to have kept it in a solid box...or found a better place to store it.....my leupold travels with me often..in a soft case......never do I put it in jeopardy...
...but it is how it is.....equipment failures happen.....

I had heard some rattling but didn't really think about it. Looking back I think those two screws both backed out. One screw wasn't enough to hold it together and plastic isn't enough to take the stress. No matter what I keep it in, one screw would never hold both halves together.

 

[26Reload]

True....

 

[Mrvmax]

I kept my first spotting scope in a hard case and it still fell apart. I think I'll get a pelican type case for whatever I get next. Can't hurt.

 

[Hugnot]

I bought a Leupold Alpine 20-60X80 Alpine spotter (China) from Scheels. Upon testing it out minutes after buying it, to view our nice song bird friends, I discovered the ocular lens cup would not turn. The optics were somewhat disappointing. I returned it to Scheels and got a Vortex 20-60X85 HD Diamondback with no problems, quick & easy.

In addition to viewing birds, I look at deers and elks with the Vortex. I like the Vortex & it is used every rodent shoot by myself or my spotter. I wish the Vortex had some kind of reticle for distance estimation. Some image degradation over 50X but still useful. Normal use but no abuse over the past 2 years - no problems. I buy lots of stuff from Scheels.

 

[Litehiker]

I have the original Leupold spotter. Bought it in the 1980s and it has always held up. It's fallen off shooting benches (in an FDE Cordura cover), been rained on for hours and seen accidental storage in my car at well over 100 F. but still soldiers on. Some militaries use this scope for spotting so it is durable.

I would NEVER buy any optic made in China except HOLOSUN circle dot sights. I have two of them (509T on a pistol and AEMS on a much upgraded 9 mm RUGER PC "chassis" carbine) and they are very reliable with many good features. Somehow HOLOSUN has risen to world class level.

 

[Mrvmax]

Leupold is replacing it under warranty, unfortunately it's out of stock so I have to wait for it.