Older Leupold Vari-X II reliability?

souwest_ghillie

souwest_ghillie

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I recently sent an e-mail to a company that makes custom dials for scopes and inquired about dials for one of my older Vari-X II Leupolds. The response I received surprised me. The response went like this, "We do not recommend Leupold Vari-X II's as they are not a dependable optic"....and that's as far as they went...one sentence! I asked this company whether or not they manufactured dials that would fit the scope.....not a review of the scope itself. Needless to say, I won't bother to send them another e-mail. But now I'm curious. How many CGNer's out there own older Leupold Vari-X II scopes and how many of you have actually had problems with them? Personally, I own two and have never had a problem in 20 years of service on numerous rifles.
 
Maybe they are talking that the Vari-X II isn't dependable, if you are trying to turn it into at target scope ie changing elevation and dialing on wind all day long. For a hunting rifle I think they work just fine.

I have had the same Vari-X II for about 20 years. It has been on 2 rifles. The rifle it sits on now has been on there for 15 years. Once it was sighted in I have never had to touch the dials once in those 15 years. I think it was the best $229 US I ever spent:cool:
 
Maynard, you may be correct. I might be asking too much of the scope and that's what the company was referring to. I may be better off just to purchase a new one with the features I want.
 
I have had my VAri-X III 3.5-10x40 scope new since 1997 mounted on my Sako m75ss....no issues what so ever. Buddy has exact same rifle and scope setup....same for him. If you do have issues, send it to Korth and they will go thru it.

I also have a 6.5-20x40AO Vari-X III, no issues either.
 
re: Vari-x

http://leupold.com/resources/faqs/

•Though the Rifleman line of scopes uses a different maintube (for aesthetic reasons), it is optically the same as the Vari-X II (discontinued for 2001). The adjustments are exactly the same as the Vari-X II (?-MOA friction) as are the lenses and coatings. All lenses, internal and external, are coated with magnesium fluoride. Basically, the Rifleman is a newer-looking matte finish version of the Vari-X II that helped build the Leupold reputation. It is important to note that Custom Shop options (reticle changes, target adjustment installation, etc.) are not available for the Rifleman line of scopes.
 
After contacting Korth.....target and Mk4 turrets CAN be installed on an older Vari-X II scope although I no longer see the point in my particular situation. Thinking a nice VX-R Patrol 3-9 would look very nice.
 
Only one of a dozen or so Vari-x II scopes that I have owned or my family owns has ever "broke". That one failed on a Horseback Yukon hunt when the tube was cracked. I think a saddle horse and a tree were the culprits, not the scope.
 
souwest_ghillie said:
After contacting Korth.....target and Mk4 turrets CAN be installed on an older Vari-X II scope although I no longer see the point in my particular situation. Thinking a nice VX-R Patrol 3-9 would look very nice.
Click to expand...

I recently picked up a VXR from P&D's demo sale, love the firedot...
 
I've had a Vari X II for 18 years, was on a few different rifles but spent most of its time on a M70 Featherweight 30-06, thousands of rounds fired and its as good as it ever was. That being said, before B&L got bought out I got an elite 4200 that is a much better piece of glass IMO.
 
I wonder if the issue with the Vari-X II scopes is not that they are prone to failure but rather that they do not have a click adjustment (friction). I can see dialing in dope without a click adjustment might not be as dependable as with and the turret maker wanting to avoid the situation. I have/had a couple of Vari-X II's in the past on hunting rifles (without issue) they now ride .22lr's and prolly see more abuse and continue to hold zero.
 
Cinch said:
I wonder if the issue with the Vari-X II scopes is not that they are prone to failure but rather that they do not have a click adjustment (friction). I can see dialing in dope without a click adjustment might not be as dependable as with and the turret maker wanting to avoid the situation. I have/had a couple of Vari-X II's in the past on hunting rifles (without issue) they now ride .22lr's and prolly see more abuse and continue to hold zero.
Click to expand...


Interesting about the friction vs click adjustments. I think I'll ask Tony at Korth Group whether or not the M1 turrets will have click adjustments if installed on a VariX II....if so, it would be a good upgrade.....M1 turrets without click adjustments would just seem to defeat the purpose.
 
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