Leupold vs Vortex

I have both brands, and haven't had problems with either. I will say this, if you buy used be sure the Leupold you buy was originally sold in the Canadian market, or at least intended to be.

If not, you will be shipping it back to the US if it needs warranty repairs, which is a huge pain in the a**. Korth in Alberta (Canadian service centre for Leupold) will fix it, but on your dime.

Most sellers aren't aware of this, and assume the scoped they bought in the US is still covered in Canada. It isn't.

I talked with Korth before saying "I'll take it" several months ago. The seller told me he'd bought the scope when he lived in the US, so I checked. No warranty in Canada.

According to the gent I spoke with at Vortex Canada a few months ago, that is not the case with Vortex. From what he told me, they don't care where it was originally sold, they will cover it. I haven't tested that statement yet.
 
Leupold by far. The Leupolds have been around for a long time. All of their Golden Ring lines are guaranteed for life. Korth Industries is here in Canada if there is ever a problem but I can only say I know of two scopes within my network that had problems. The clarity of glass is excellent, the internals are solid. Phenomenal track record for hunting, competition, and military optics.

Vortex ... they do a great job attracting the trailer park snipers with the aesthetics of their scopes. See who is drawn to this brand and you can start identifying a trend.
 
I have owned both brands and have had to send both brands back for warranty work, just part of the game when you when you get into a lot of stuff. I still own multiples of both brands and the both are of good quality so don't get swayed by everything you read. There's good and bad in all brands, even the one's that you pay thru the a$$ for. Personally I wouldn't go with the lower end in either but the warranty is there incase something does go wrong. No different than cars and trucks. What's been great to some guys hasn't been to others. People will always find something to b!%&h and complain about.
 
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MisterVRT said:
Elitist much? Vortex's are very competitive for their respective price range, nothing wrong with them.
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Actually, no. There is plenty wrong with them. Except when you start paying to play in the big boy leagues of the Razor price range. Then there are less issues, not zero, but less.
 
I too agree, Vortex has better aesthetics, Leupold has better performance.

At long range, glass quality is important. Good glass can see mirage better (for wind calls), easier to identify targets, easier to see bullet trace (if you shoot a magnum cartridge with sporter rifle, you won't be able to spot bullet trace, doesn't matter what scope you have, the recoil is too big)

Depends on how you shoot, you might need to decide on a reticle, I dial elevation and hold windage, so I only need windplex or TMOA reticle. If you don't want to dial, you might need a Horus style reticle.
If Leupold offer the reticle you need, then I would go with Leupold. Get a BUBBLE LEVEL if you are going to shoot long range, 5 degree cant can cause a miss.

Personally, I think other than Razor line, Vortex glass is inferior than Leupold at same price range.
 
Bad Bob said:
Actually, comparing a Leupold to a Vortex is like comparing a corvette to a taurus.
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In these discussions, there should be Vortex, and Vortex Razor, 2 distinct companies.
As I had a PST gen 1 and PST gen ll and couldn't sell them fast enough.
My razor gen 2 4.5-27x56, doesn't give that much up to my NF ATACR 5-25x56.
Sure it doesn't look as good optic wise, but is pretty damn near and is well worth every penny.
 
To be fair I've never looked through any Vortex optics.
I've read countless threads about them crapping out, that alone is enough for me to never buy one.
Years ago Bushnell had a similar reputation.
Maybe the higher end ones are great?


Like most hunters I started out with lower end optics and eventually gravitated towards Leupold.

I have everything from a 2.5x to a 8.25-25. Never had a problem with them.

Call me sceptical but I have a hard time believing someone has had multiple problems with Leupold but not their favourite brand.
 
MartyK2500 said:
In these discussions, there should be Vortex, and Vortex Razor, 2 distinct companies.
As I had a PST gen 1 and PST gen ll and couldn't sell them fast enough.
My razor gen 2 4.5-27x56, doesn't give that much up to my NF ATACR 5-25x56.
Sure it doesn't look as good optic wise, but is pretty damn near and is well worth every penny.
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Exactly.

You cant go by scope brand to say what's best.

You have to go by scope model.

There are only a few scope factories in the world that produce scopes of different quality. Most scope companies have some scopes made in China. Some in Japan. Some are European made. It depends what factory the specific model was made in.

For example LOW (Light Optics Works) in Japan makes scopes models for several companies. You will even find some of the exact same parts from a Nightforce scope in other brands of scope. The Vortex Razor is also built at LOW. Delta also comes to mind for being built at LOW. Other Vortex models are made in China.
 
Been using Leupold scopes for over 30 years, and have never had a"warranty" issue with one to date. Have sent one of the old Vari X-III's back for service after I slipped in the mountains and the scope came down on the rocks; but not the scope's fault. It went to Korth via regular mail, and was back on my rifle in 11 days. No cost other than original shipping. That scope has served for over 20 years since. I prefer the Vari X-III and VX-3 scopes. Looking at the VX5HD for my next purchase.

When working in the LGS's, had several problems with new Vortex scopes, in several models. There was a reason they came up with their over the counter warranty. Have never bought one myself because of the problems encountered with those scopes.
 
I've sent back plenty of Leupolds for repairs. I've also sent back some Vortex

My feelings are that Leupold used to make great scopes through their whole line up. Not so much anymore. So-

Old Leupold- good
Top of the line New Leupold- good
Top of the line Vortex- Good

I would never buy a low range model of either brand, and mid range models of both brands are suspect.
 
I've never owned a Vortex though I've used and handled some on rifles of my friend. I have a number of Leupolds both older and newer and am well pleased with them. For me, if it was a choice between a higher end Leupold and a higher end Vortex, I'd take the Leupold. My friend indicates he is content with his Vortex.
 
The only brand of optics that I have claimed warranty with is vortex. That multiple claims from their pst line. I will never buy one again. That was 4 claims to many. They are a complete waste of time
 
No matter the brand, what it pretty much comes down to is make sure it says made in Japan on the scope.

Most brands have different models made in both China and Japan.

Only thing I would trust out of China is Athlon.
 
Can't afford a Tikka !

It seems that you are on a budget, time to buy smart then.

Look at the used market, Tikka Varmint are amongst the most accurate rifle out there right now out of the box, used < $1000.

Look for a used 10x SWFA, $ 4-500, new it will run you $800+ as the distributor outside of the USA (will not ship to Canada anymore) is in England , or at least find a scope that will hold zero and adjust accurately.

Good quality used is much better than new and cheap.
 
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