Leupold Quality Control

It does not matter which "great" brand - Leupold, Bushnell, Weaver, Burris, Vortex.... All made in China or close-by. Wonder why buying scope rings on-line alltogether.

I can't confirm about other makes but I have been to the Leupold factory a few times and have watched them manufacture their rings on sight from scratch. We carry an enormous selections of most scope rings and bases and by far we use Leupold more than all the rest. In the several thousand Leupold rings we have opened only two rings didn't have the holes drilled through and about a half dozen were not up to the quality we normally see. Phil.
 
For a few years now, I have been using Talley rings pretty much exclusively, and if they were available for my Sako, I would have purchased them. The one thing that I don't like about Sako is the fact that there are fewer scope mounting options, than for rifles with receivers that are drilled and tapped. Once I found suitable rings, I actually prefer the Burris base/Leupold ring combination to the other options for mounting scopes on Sako rifles. The Optilock base/rings are heavy, and the screws are very soft, the Sako ringmounts have the same soft screws, and the Leupold Ringmounts are better, but still bulky . The steel Burris bases appear to be very solid, as do the Leupold steel rings, and neither is overly bulky. As tight as the bases are on the dovetail, after being tapped into place with a small hammer and brass punch, I am thinking that they won't likely move, even without the set screws, but I did install the set screws anyways. As for Leupold , I already avoid their scopes, so unless I plan on mounting another scope on a Sako, I will likely not be using any more Leupold products.
 
got a set of Leupold Mk4 34mm rings. WOW, I am impressed. Built like a tank and machining was top drawer. I usually don't use Leupold rings but would not be shy to recommend these. For set of steel rings, well priced too.

When you makes thousands of product, stuff can go wrong. It's a pain, yes but if the manf stands behind and backs up the product to the customer, that is good.

At least they aren't recalling a few million "parts" :)

Jerry
 
At least its just a $30 set of rings, that you can get replaced in a couple days or a week. You've probably have socks that cost more than those rings.:p and they cost $100 less than the Sako rings that you don't like either. I had a set of Weaver Grand Slam rings break last week after I put them on my son's friend's rifle. Oops, junk, throw away and keep moving. Wait until you get an over $4000 rifle (rhymes with pooper) with a problem that would have required a round trip back to the States if I hadn't fixed it myself. There is absolutely no way it was test fired, test target be damned or that problem would have been spotted. Or a scope priced at well over two grand with the reticle put in crooked. That's especially ironic when they go on at great lengths describing how good they are in that regard. (rhymes with light horse).

Then there's the scope the rhymes with "mice" and starts with the last letter in the alphabet. It is marked 1/4 MOA on one dial and 1cm per 100m (.1 Mil) on the other.

Sometimes #### gets through on everyone, that's to be expected. It comes down to how often it happens and what they do about it.
 
Last edited:
Should of went with Sako Optilocks Ringmounts or the r/b setup for your m85 Sako. Rock solid. Will remember your post now on the Lepold rings as a buddy is buying a Sako A7 Protech and needs to decide on a set of rings. Maybe need to consider the Burris XTR Signature rings or Talleys
 
Should of went with Sako Optilocks Ringmounts or the r/b setup for your m85 Sako. Rock solid. Will remember your post now on the Lepold rings as a buddy is buying a Sako A7 Protech and needs to decide on a set of rings. Maybe need to consider the Burris XTR Signature rings or Talleys

I don't like the soft screw heads on the Sako mounts, and I believe the mounting system that I chose to be at least as strong as the Sako mounting systems. For an A-7 ,I would go with Talley Lightweights.
 
I never have had a problem with any of my Sako m75 rifles with Optilocks. Had my first new back in 1997 (300WM) and have never lost a zero setting. Only changed when I started reloading for it back in 2005.

Might look at the Talleys for the A7 Protech. Thanks.
 
OMG, OMG, the end is near.
Send it back for a refund or replacement.
PIA yes, but for the sake of a couple of dollars one could buy say some Sun Optics and be good 2 go?
Anyone ever drive a Pinto, now there where some qa and design flaws there.
Best Regards,
FLHTCUI
 
Hey Stubblejumper, (never used Talleys (Lightweights) myself) - do you know if they attach directly to the Sako A7 with the Weaver type rail that comes on the A7 ?

Thanks for the help

The Talleys attach directly to the receiver of the A7.

P1000831.jpg
 
The thought of QC in North America has been shown not to be what it was.

Love the Sako, Remington, owners bashing Savage QC...........

Far as Leupold goes, ever do any research to how much of the product is moving more and more to China, but still carrying a Stars and Stripes logo?

I think it is time for shooters to realize paying more will not always give you higher QC...... People just have lost their sense of job pride for the most part.......
 
The thought of QC in North America has been shown not to be what it was.

Love the Sako, Remington, owners bashing Savage QC...........

Far as Leupold goes, ever do any research to how much of the product is moving more and more to China, but still carrying a Stars and Stripes logo?

I think it is time for shooters to realize paying more will not always give you higher QC...... People just have lost their sense of job pride for the most part.......
You seem to know something about Leupold production that I don't know. I have not heard of any Leupold steel rings being made off shore. I was on the Leupold Dealer council for almost three years and they must have held this info back from us. Phil.
 
You seem to know something about Leupold production that I don't know. I have not heard of any Leupold steel rings being made off shore. I was on the Leupold Dealer council for almost three years and they must have held this info back from us. Phil.

I seem to remember him from a thread on fake Leupolds earlier in the year. I don't think he owned a single item that wasn't counterfeit. Of course we all know that fake items are usually much better than the real thing and soon the Chinese will take over the world, providing they can keep stealing other's ideas. :)
 
Wasn't speaking about rings solely, just Leupold off shoring in general, but I have asked Leupold about this as I do need some new rings for my Anshultz. :) I will do some digging, as the cost for CNC work is sky rocketing in North America now, seems Leupold has had to push more and more off shore to stay in the game.

Always happy to provide quotes from reputable sources.

From Leupold Website:

Leupold uses foreign sourced components for some parts of Golden Ring products, primarily lenses. This is because at this time, there is no American manufacturer that can supply the quantity of high quality lenses that Leupold needs for its annual Golden Ring Optics production. Leupold’s lens systems are designed at Leupold, by American optical engineers, in its state-of -the-art optics lab and then procured from outside vendors who must meet stringent quality standards.

Some of these sources are located domestically, some are European, and some are Asian.

From Amazon:

I emailed LEUPOLD about the spotting scope being made in China. The Rep. verified that it was true. Also, I was informed that the serial number is printed on the front lense barrel. I looked carefully and it was printed in black ink with a dot-matrix printer. You have to look carefully under a bright light and the 1/8 inch numbers will show. "CHINA" is printed before the numbers.

It's not that important that this scope is made in China as long as the company has a strict QC, it's fine by me. (my iPhone is made in China and I'm happy with it). The only complain I have is the same as some others. WTH is the serial number?

Cabela:

All Leupold rangefinders are designed in Beaverton, Oregon by our in-house optical and electrical engineers and manufactured by trusted business partners in China. Unfortunately, just like all other electronics today (your TV, phone, computer) the industry moved off-shore in search of more favorable conditions. As a result, electronic products have become extremely expensive to manufacture domestically. While people favor goods made in the US, our research shows they are not willing to pay the premium required to manufacture this category of product domestically.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom