Leupold ruines my elk hunt very angry.

[peterb]

Just got back from a elk hunt in Fort st john, 1st day out we tested our rifles and my .338 ultra mag shot perfect until l looked through my scope for my second shot and the scope had come apart inside and was rattliing cross hairs were broken. The scope is a brand new 3.5 x10 vx 111 stainless. The scope cost me about $800.00 and l am pissed. l emailed leupold as soon as l got back but have yet to here from them. Everyone says they will go good for it but my whole hunt was ruined and l had no rifle for the next 6 days. l want speak to someone from leupold, l thought these were one of the best scopes on the market. Not Happy. Thanks just wanted to vent.
Pete

[RMG]

Heck of a way to ruin a good hunt. Hope it didnt hold you back too much from having a good time. I know if it was mine, they would be gettin it back a whole lot more busted, once I picked up all the pieces, if I could find them.

[Will]

Everyone says they will go good for it but my whole hunt was ruined and l had no rifle for the next 6 days. l want speak to someone from leupold, l thought these were one of the best scopes on the market. Not Happy. Thanks just wanted to vent.
Pete
Leupold's Warranty is second to none...however in your case I'm sure not needing the warranty at all would be better.......:neutral:

[Allen50]

it's a hard way to go on a trip, i would be venting too, take the scope off, but like mine i have no open sites on my gun,, bet you were stomping around for awail after thst,, good luck on getting something from leupold, hope they come up with something good for you,,

[Gateholio]

How many shots fired with this scope in place? Mostly a flawed new scope will blow p within the first 50 or so rounds of ammo.

[peterb]

l shot 10 rounds through this scope is there any good gunsmiths to put sights on a remington xcr.

[todbartell]

there ya go

test your equipment before going on a hunt!

mail your scope to Leupold, you'll have it back on your rifle by Halloween

[Steeleco]

It's not always possible, but on a trip like yours there's always a spare rifle in our camp. Leupold will make your scope right, not sure how they could fix your trip. Hopefully it won't ruin your whole season, there's so much hunting still to be done. Good luck.

[peterb]

there ya go

test your equipment before going on a hunt!

mail your scope to Leupold, you'll have it back on your rifle by Halloween
test my equipment ????,what are talking about l have just had my dream hunt ended by a piece of sh##. And the best advice you can give is to test my equipment. l better end my reply because l might say something l might regret.

[todbartell]

you take something on a dream hunt that you have fired 10 times?? how can you sight in a new scope and test downrange trajectory within 10 shots

gimme a break

[peterb]

you take something on a dream hunt that you have fired 10 times?? how can you sight in a new scope and test downrange trajectory within 10 shots

gimme a break
l do not know why l am wasting my time replying to you but this rifle was new and shot great. l thought it was a great combo for elk up north.

[Gateholio]

In the future, you will know about this- Most new scopes that fail do so early on.

I wouldn't take a rifle/scope that I wasn't very familiar with on a "dream hunt" either, especially a hard recoiler like a 338 RUM.

Leupold has a reputation for great quality, and it is well deserved. However they can make lemons, as just about any scope manufacturer does.

I feel really bad for you, but it's true, you should have shot it more than 10 times before going on a trip like that. Had you done so, the flaw would have become apparent at the range.

Call Leupold repair service in Canada, and they will have it back to you quick, and it will be better than new.

[WoodOx]

Too bad on the hunt! Would def been a piss off...

but couldnt you have used one of your partners rifles following their kill?

Despite this mess up, how was the hunt? Any elk down?

[todbartell]

l do not know why l am wasting my time replying to you but this rifle was new and shot great. l thought it was a great combo for elk up north.

well I recall many threads you started about the 338 Ultra, so I looked back and found some of your quotes


:(just got back from the range today and l was shooting factory 225 accubonds. The closest l got was 4'' to center. this rifle is brand new and l can not get it to group


The scope is a leupold vx-111 3x9x40, so l hope it can handle the recoil. l have shot remington factory ammo out of it with no success. Now l am trying the Federal 225 accubonds and it is not any better. My first shot was about 3 inches left of the bulls eye and then the next two were side by side 1 inch apart and about 2 inches high at a hundred. l let the rifle cool, and cleaned it and my fourth was about four inches to the left, on the same plane as the first one. l then tryed it out at 200 yards and the group opened up even more.


if your rifle was shooting four inch groups from a bench, obviously something wasnt right. This problem should of been dealt with during the summer, and it ended up screwing your hunt. You can blame Leupold, or Remington, or whomever, but you could also look in the mirror.

[peterb]

So if l would of said l shot it 30 times everthing would be okay and l would be considered a better hunter. How do you know when something like this is going to happen. All l am trying to say is that l am very disapointed and l do not know why this leupold did this but l wil get some answers.

[twoSevenO]

well I recall many threads you started about the 338 Ultra, so I looked back and found some of your quotes



if your rifle was shooting four inch groups from a bench, obviously something wasnt right. This problem should of been dealt with during the summer, and it ended up screwing your hunt. You can blame Leupold, or Remington, or whomever, but you could also look in the mirror.


bartell you outdo yourself sometimes :mrgreen::mrgreen:

[Wildfoot]

So if l would of said l shot it 30 times everthing would be okay and l would be considered a better hunter. How do you know when something like this is going to happen. All l am trying to say is that l am very disapointed and l do not know why this leupold did this but l wil get some answers.

No. He is saying that it was broke from the start and you had plenty of time to fix it. Either you thought 4" benchrest groups were great, or you knew something was broke and decided to wing it anyway.

It sucks your scope broke, especially during a hunt. But you could have been more dilligent in your initial troubleshooting and solved the problem before it interfered with your hunt.

[brian]

I guess one lesson you can take is it pays to have a backup?

[todbartell]

good point Brian, I dont go on a trip further than 1 hour from my house without a spare rifle

[mpotzold]

I always carry 2 rifles(one with a removeable leupold scope) . You could trip in rough terrain while carrying a rifle .(It happened to me 2x making the scope totally worthless)

[Chuck]

I know of an airforce pilot whose $20,000,000 fighter jet failed and he had to eject. He was p***** too.

[RMG]

We spend our money on what we believe is quality equipment, only to have it fall apart before it really gets used. I myself find it inexcusable that any quality rifle scope, made by any quality manufacture would come out of the factory busted. Regardless if things like this do happen, the dang well shouldn't not to me not to peterb, not anyone. We spend quality money on equipment and get junk. That is something you may expect, but I find it totally and completely inexcusable, weather the scope had seen 5 shots or 5000 shots this should never have happened. Just my opinion.

[Allen50]

well you guys quit yacking back and forth, the scope broke, no falt to the owner, his trip was ended, witch was not good, and he payed good bucks for the equipment to go, s**t happens, nothing you can do at the time, you can test it for days and days, and it works, it's that one time it fails, I just cut up a nice 6x6 elk for a buddy of mine, he has been driving his diesel gmc for years, on his trip near salmon arm he had truck problems, took it to a gm dealer, and poof broken truck, he though now what go home, on to h*ll with it, he rented a truck and went hunting, and a 6x6 elk was shot, came home went back to dealer and had both heads on the engine were cracked, had to be changed, $3,800.00 later, back on the road, so no one knowes when there will be a malfunction, we have to learn to live with it,, and deal with it whan it happends,, so come on guy's no more yacking back and forth,, like i said s**t happens to all of us, we must move on and hope for the best next time,,,, and happy hunting,,,

[Wildman]

good point Brian, I dont go on a trip further than 1 hour from my house without a spare rifle

Amen to that..I also have iron sights on all my rifles just in case I break my scope.

[Spitzer]

Crappy deal, hopefully learn from this and carry on. Like others said always carry a spare rifle. Two is one, one is none. That goes for binoculars and knives too.

[Elkhound]

good point Brian, I dont go on a trip further than 1 hour from my house without a spare rifle

words to live by.

And Chuck......LMAO...too funny:lol:

[4pointer]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/stainless_stalker_004.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=3890&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=1246)
This is my setup. A bushnell Elite 4200 on Weaver See through mounts over Weaver open sights. Sights are sighted in 100 yrds and scope at 200 yrds. In the case of your scenerio, this would of helped. This is the setup to get if you want to get if you want backup sights.

[Avalanche123]

Kinda off topic but.....I flew in to the Turnagin River a couple of years ago to paddle out to the Liard (2 week hunting.cano trip combo)...anyway as we approaching the lake where we were landing it dawned on me that I left my bow (recurve) on Bruce;s dock in Dease Lake! And we were the last flight. Bruce offered to go back and get it (at the cost of another flight) but I declined. My hunt never even got started LOL (Now I can laugh about it but at the time I was pretty pissed at my stupidity). Anyway it was a great trip regardless.

Backon topic now, sorry to hear about the optic let down. When I used to rifle hunt I rememer breaking my scope on the truck door as I was closing it.) From that day on, I put my iron sights back on my rifle with a scope that allowed for it. Live and learn. Sometimes the best lessons are the hard earned ones.
Again sorry for dream hunt gone array. Bet it was better than spending a week at work though!

[horshur]

That is why God made Enfields........sorry about your scope.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

333 ultramag packs a pretty good punch.

Should have gone with a Tasco:|.


SSS

[rgv]

you are angry at leupold? or angry at yourself that you didn't have a spare scope in qd mounts and/or iron sights on a trip that cost a lot of time and money?

Leupold QRW rings and bases $75
Cheap used scope $125

gas to drive to FtStJohn and back for nothing $800

[Rackmastr]

Yikes that sucks.....

But I'd strongly agree with Bartell that you didnt prepare yourself at all for the hunt in terms of shooting. Shooting 10 shots out of a gun and thinking that you're ready for a hunt (of any sort) is asknig for problems...

Crappy deal, but hopefully a lesson learnt in planning and preperation.....

[Will]

I think Leupold owes you a Big appology and nothing short of a Full blown Guided Elk Hunt at thier expense will minimise your pain and loss :smile:

But then my 4 wheel drive actuator went on my GM last year ruining my Moose LEH..........
GMC never made good for the lost trip either.......Heartless Ba$tards:mad:

[thatskindafunny]

If your sending your scope back to Leupold send it to the factory in Canada. I sent mine back to Leupold in the states in Janurary and did not get it back until mid March. Had to get an import license and they in turn had to get an export license. Someone on this site will probably give you the address. I believe it's in Alberta. Oh and there was nothing wrong with my scope, thought there was because of the clarity at low light, but being only 28 mill. objective I now fully understand.

[Derek_Erickson]

Did you go shoot your gun before you went on your dream hunt, or wait better, after you got out of your pickup when you arrived at this dream loacation did you check to see if it shot well enough and wasnt banged around during travel, Must have been a whole line up of scope falling apart... especially for the crosshairs to break all by themselves, were you cranking the knobs to hard when sighting it in? or how far did it fall from, Dont get me wrong but I believe that scope is magnum rated, got the same one, no problems no hassle nothing shoots on a dime, nevertheless I think your hooped for any sympathy from leupold

[Will]

Well I think you've been kicked in the teeth enough.......:redface:
But here's part of an article posted awhile back...thought it was fitting.

I have learned a lot about the woods, plants and animals from my father and the old men of the hunting camp. Today I sometimes have to force myself to recall the wisdom of those men. Each time I do so my hunting success improves dramatically. We have come to rely so much on gadgets, gizmos and expert advice that we have forgotten how to think, how to observe, and how to register it all and then put that information together in our noggins to formulate a hunting strategy. It seems we can’t function anymore without the aid of modern technology and if success fails us we’re quickly ready to blame it on the technology and not where the blame should really go - ourselves. In no way do I attempt to diminish modern science and technology but these things should be viewed as useful aids and not as do-all and be-all necessities. Once all is said and done hunting success boils down to one thing: us! We make it or break it- not our guns and not our camouflage or any other product.

Here's the Full Post and article if you want to give it a read...Good Stuff:wink:
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=15641

[rollingrock]

:biggrin: Iron sight, always iron sight. I don't mind putting a few hundred bullets through my gun before I take it out for hunting. Well worth it. But again, the bigger the gun is, the more money you have to spend on your bullets. :biggrin:

[Gateholio]

The world is an imperfect place. And manufacturers do make mistakes. It's not necessarily "right" but it is reality. Luepold makes good scopes, not perfect scopes. Nothing man made is perfect, really.

People that travel to hunt should test thier new gear, make sure it's working properly, and if possible, have a back up plan. A back up rifle is inexpensive insurance. So is another scope already zeroed in rings.

When I get a new pair of boots, I dont' just spend 10 minutes walking in them and then take them on a hunting trip. Does anyone do that?:eek: We had a thread here about survival gear- That stuff is PLAN B.

Leupold made a bad scope. They will fix it for you. You made a bad decision when you didn't fully test your gear and have a plan B. That is just reality.

Hopefully everyone learns from this....

[moose hunter]

stop this senseless arguing and go buy a bushnell.

[Dayto]

First off who only shoots 10 shots before a trip? , That gun should at least had 4 boxes through , how do you get a feal and comfort of a new gun after 10 shots? , you'r speanding the money on the trip you'r going after ELK!! and you gonna rely on a new rifle thats only been shot 10 time's ...

[Will]

... get a feal and comfort of a new gun after 10 shots?
"Comfort" and 338 Ultra Magnum don't sound right together.....:lol:

[Gun Dog]

That gun should at least had 4 boxes through ...I haven't put 4 boxes through my rifle in the 5 years I've used it for hunting.

[The Hermit]

Sorry to hear about your bummed trip. I had a bushnell go on me in the field once and ended my hunt. thankfully I was just an hour from home on a day trip but still pissed me off. I now take two rifles and a slingshot.

Chuck is a funny guy!!! LOL

[Gateholio]

I haven't put 4 boxes through my rifle in the 5 years I've used it for hunting.

Wow...I've shot more than 80 rounds through my 375 Ruger I bought a couple of months ago.:eek:

[Mattimoose]

All I know is my Leupold an my .338 win mag. kicks ass and on the whole, as a gunsmith, I've seen a lot more tasco's, weaver's bushnell's and redfield's screw-up than Leupolds so I'm surprised at the outcome. I have iron sights on my .338 win, BLR because shit happens. Spare scopes on big dollar trips are a good idea and most mounts re-zero pretty good these days. My cousin destroyed the red-dot on his Sako 75 and slapped-on the bushnell trophy he hadn't used in 3 years and shot 2 deer that same day without shooting-it for zero. Would i do that? Well he had faith in his equipment I guess.

[Avalanche123]

Hmmmm I have put 100 rounds through my 45-70 guide gun which I bought two weeks ago. But hey its new and I enjoy shooting it so I get proficent with it should I ever need it. (Scopeless too btw)

Sorry to see you are taking such a beating on your post.

[Walksalot]

I haven't put 4 boxes through my rifle in the 5 years I've used it for hunting.

Leupold has a product and warrant which is top shelf.
I envy you, I have no natural ability when it comes to off hand shooting. I have to spend time at the range and pound out rounds to be a decent off hand shooter.

[Walksalot]

I had a hunt ruined by having it raining all the time so I looked up and told Him He ruined my hunt. Lightning struck a tree close to me so I looked back up and told Him we needed the rain.

[kutenay]

Leupold makes among the finest riflescopes anywhere and I have owned/used about 50 of them over the past 40 years; I also own/use B&L, Zeiss and have had about everything else.

My serious working rifles and hunting rifles ALL wear either Leupolds or Zeiss Conquests PLUS GOOD IRON SIGHTS, I learned this the hard way, in the Lardeau in 1966. I ALWAYS take a matched pair of rifles in the same caliber on every hunt I go on, except when Grouse hunting with my combo. guns when I usually take only one other rifle.

My oldest Leupold is 33 years old, has been on .375s, .338s, 9.3s and whatever, even my hotloaded .45-70. It is now the second scope to a new Zeiss 4x Conquest on my most treasured original P-64-.338 and works like new.

Do you have a muzzle break on your rifle, if so, this is where your problem is and you really ought to have two scopes plus good irons on ANY rifle for serious BC hunting, no matter what some "expert" gunwriter in some US gunrag tells you.

Send it to Terry Korth in Okotoks, AB, he is the Canadian Leupy warrantee guy and can fix it real fast. Barry Jenkins of Delta can put good irons on your rifle, he is doing a custom chopped P-64-.375 for me now plus a 9.3x62 on a commercial FN action, both with Recknagel irons, the best available.

You DO need much more "prep time" with your rifle and Bartell is right, no offence intended, but, you asked advice here and have not really taken it, IMO.

[Macgregor]

I believe the guy said he just wanted to vent. There is some good advice here but it wasn't all that long ago I didn't think about taking an extra rifle until I learned why it was a good idea. I don't blame the guy for being a little choked. On the other hand I think he just learned a lot about what can happen to equipment and what to be prepared for on his next hunting trip.

[Gun Dog]

I envy you, I have no natural ability when it comes to off hand shooting. I have to spend time at the range and pound out rounds to be a decent off hand shooter.Off hand shooting is fun at the range but, when hunting, I prefer kneeling or sitting or using a natural rest. I do put thousands of rounds through my 22 and then I try to pretend my 300 win mag is a 22.

[Dad and son]

I always take 2 of almost all critical things when going hunting. That is everything from a 2nd pair of boots, hat etc to knives, rope, ammo, gun etc etc. In the past myself or my buddies in camp have brought the wrong ammo for their gun, forgot their gun, had it broken by the airline etc. A few years ago just before I started the evening hunt my rifle got knocked down really hard. What do I do then, is my scope still on sight or not. I did not want to take the risk so I just grabbed my backup rifle and enjoyed a stress free evening hunt. Two years ago my buddy and his son arrived in camp with only one rifle so again the backup rifle was put to good use. Also last year I lost one bag of gear from the back of the truck that had lots of gloves, rope etc in it. Glad I had backup of those things as well. The worst that happened to me was putting all my ammo in one suitcase when travelling by airplane. The suitcase arrived two days later. That was a major inconvennience borrowing ammo etc for 2 days as no ammo stores were nearby. I will never do that mistake again.

[BCLongshot]

Sorry about the scope.

I can still hear Tony at Wanstalls/E&D in Maple Ridge...."Have fun and make sure you bring a spare rifle".

What a good guy, I sure miss'em.

[tooty]

Had a bushnell scope chief 4x40.Fogged up one year in George.Pulled the scope of the 30.30.(one of the spare guns)sighted it in with lots of the spare ammo we take.Then sent the scope in when we got back.Then the next year again day two same place checked my scope before heading out and all the crosshairs tumbled down,nice.Did the same thing again.Pulled scope blah,blah,blah.I was so pissed I told bushnell that I was never going to buy their crap again.I owned a sports store and sold bushnell.Well they sent me a new baush 3x9 40m elite.Nice of them to see it my way wasn't it?Morral of the story,bring tons of guns and ammo.Oh,and I do lots of shooting before the season to make sure everything is just right.The elite is a excellent scope.

[mike]

Had a similiar thing happen to me twice last year, luckily had one of those gd rem 710 with me that I picked up for 200 bucks as a back up rifle, ended up taking a bull moose and a small buck with it ( still don't like it), Say what you want about the 710's best money I spent in terms of extra hunting gear. When you put all that money into gear, fuel and time off work you need back up equipment. Some good advice I was given, if you can't spring for a back up gun/scope combo just pick up a half decent used scope and rings and have it sighted in ready to just mount on your rifle should your number 1 go down, keep it in your pack and even if you drop your rifle 95% of the way up a mountain just screw it on and shoot with confidence at your trophy.

[jethrobuddy]

I think the repair depot in Canada is 'Jim Korth Agencies'. Oakatoks Alberta. A buddy had his windage and elevation screws changed from friction to click type. Had the scope back on the gun in 2 weeks. I have never had a problem with any of my Leupolds. Too bad about the hunt.

[BCrams]

Peterb - what rifle were you shooting prior to this one?

[youngbuck]

PeterB,

Too bad about the scope. I would have benn pissed just the same.
But, the first thing that popped into my head when reading your post was...spare rifle.....spare rifle...SPARE RIFLE!! yes i was screaming at the monitor. Any hunt that is more than a day hunt requires a spare rifle.

After reading some of the other posts, I've come to realize that I should pack extra things as well. I wish I had the option to pack 2 sets of binos.

as for putting more shots through the rifle, hind sight is 20/20 and maybe the scope would have broken or maybe not. Atleast you did not have game in your sights and have the scope go on you.