Yeah, I am afraid so........ From 2005 to 2014 we were doing some serious shooting here, 416-.620 caliber, most of it 458-500 caliber, to the tune of 8000+ rounds a year. This was load data, pressure data and bullet tech. Along with getting rifles ready to go to the field.
I am a scope shooter, always have been. What you have to have in a big bore Dangerous game scope is huge field of view.... at 10 steps you want to be able to see the entire body of lion, not a tan spot. Eye Relief and size of the scope is important since you are going to have to carry this around all day, unless you are the sort of chap that lets someone else carry your rifle.
I had always been a Leupold fan, and the 1.5 X5 Vari X and later VX3 was about the most perfect DG Big Bore scope you could get, it had the Field of View, eye Relief and it was small. Only one problem, it was horribly unreliable. We had 15 or so Leupold 1.5X5 we were using here on various Big Bores. It was very common to have 3-4 at Leupold for repairs, 3-4 on the bench to send to Leupold waiting on the other 3-4 to be returned. It was a constant circle of busted scopes. One day I took a brand new Leupold 1.5X5 VX out of the box, mounted it on a 50 B&M for some 50 yard accuracy work. Settled in at the bench, fired 1, then 2, then 3 rounds....... On the 3rd round fired I watched the scope explode inside and it went completely out of focus. Session done and over in 3 rounds.
This was hindering my productivity and taking a tremendous amount of time dismounting and remounting sight systems weekly, daily......I was spending more time doing this than getting any research done...... ENOUGH. I started looking for available alternatives. I bought 4-5 different scopes to see if any could replace all the attributes I required, #1 Field of View #2 Eye Relief #3 Size.
In this batch I bought a Nikon 1X4 African (at the time, buffalo on one of the caps). It had all the attributes I required, and the quality for me seemed even better than the Leupold. However I didn't care much for the larger turret it sported. I also had a 1" Trijicon that is now no longer made, it also had all the attributes, but about twice the cost. There were a few more, but none of them made the grade in quality, and other attributes.
I started shooting, figured for sure something would bust...... I kept shooting and after several weeks the Nikon was growing on me seriously. I bought another. I had them on the heavy kickers, 500 MDM and 50 B&M, all with high recoil impulse, that is devastating to scopes. Still no busted Nikons, I bought some more as the months went by, and was completely astounded that I had yet to have an issue..... ??? I was so used to dealing with busted scopes, I really was confused, after all the Nikon was actually less expensive than the Leupold, it is rare that you see that in these times, something less expensive out performing the more expensive model.
It was not long before I tried a few other Nikons larger scopes for smaller calibers....... and more Nikon 1X4 Africans........... Then Nikon decided the African was racist or some stupid shit, and just called them the Monarch, which was the top of the line Nikon scope series....... Still no issues at all with any Nikon, larger, smaller or in between.
Time to get rid of the Leupolds I had a big sell off, sold 35+ Leupolds of all shapes, sizes and what have you, 15 or so 1.5x5....... gone........ The only Leupold I kept was the Scout model, forward mount 2X. These I had never busted, and had one on a heavy kicking 510 Wells for years, and it is still on it. Other than those, the Leupolds hit the door....... and all were replaced with Nikons and then some.......
Nikon went woke a few years ago, ceased the entire line of rifle scopes. By this time I had enough 1X4 Nikons to last a lifetime and then some........ Fortunately. And to this day, 1000s on top of 1000s of big bore rounds fired, I have never ever not once busted or had any issue at all with the Nikon 1x4 African/Monarch....... Even the very first one that was on a 500 MDM, it is still on that gun.
The 1 inch Trijicon did well too, I still have it on a 458 and never had an issue. But now, seems all you can get is the 30mm Scopes, and I just do not like the size and weight of 30mm anything. It is true that most 30mm scopes are more robust and will hold up, but they definitely do not fit my # 3 factor of SIZE....... I have recently worked with two 30mm Trijicons, one is on 458 Lott and doing well so far, but it is big. The other was on a 458 Lott, and replaced by a spare Nikon 1X4 I had on hand.
I had several guys that wanted the 1X6 Swaro's on their 500 MDMs, and each and every single time the scope busted trying to sight it in. So I am not so much on those, and refuse to mess with them anymore.
I continue to look on occasion just to see if anything is out there, but have yet to find any real replacement for the loss of the Nikon. Even though I don't need any, if I run across one, I snatch it up, recently bought 3, two from a friend and one that was on Ebay........
If you shoot these Leupolds enough then you will sooner or later have the same experience. If you shoot your big bore 5 rounds a year, then it might last a little longer, but when you sit down for 200 rounds a week, then its a matter of time, and could be on that 3rd round fired from new in the box, busted............
A Leupold rep once told a friend of mine when questioned about the Nikons. His statement was That Leupold customers like to customize their scopes, and that Nikon "Glued" their reticles in place, and Leupold did not do that. I said..... better get the damn glue out....... But it was not so much the reticles that I was having issues with, it was focus and tracking...... They would just give up......and if you can't focus, you can't see, so what is the point.......Talk about shake rattle and roll when you take those off the gun, sounds like a baby rattler.......
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