Ever Had a Scope Failure?

First failure was a 3x9 Weaver, back in the 1970's. A big buck was silently gliding under my tree stand. Heart was pounding. Scope fogged up. Dang. Next failure was a Redfield. I switched to Leupold and had no issues for decades. Decided to try a Nikon Monarch 4-16. It failed. Replaced it with a Leupold VX2 6-18, which failed after a few years. All good for the last 3 or 4 years.

I suppose any of them can fail, but I like Leupold customer service. I've had a few reticles switched out, and Leupold is easy to work with, and fairly fast. When I had the reticles changed, they refurbed each scope. I didn't ask them to. They just did it, and sent along a work order list of all that they did.
 
I've seen Leupolds fail due to negligence.
I can't recall an incident involving one that failed due to quality or design - though I believe it happens.

Most of the rifles that absolutely must not fail me are wearing Leupold products.

This past spring my Marlin 444 killed the Weaver K4 that had been on it for several years. Normally it was very accurate, but it started scattering shots into much larger groups. Attempts to re-zero produced erratic results, so back in the truck and home it went. I replaced it with a Weaver Super Slam Euro 1.5x6 and order is restored. The K4 is back in its box; I need to call Weaver and see how much they would charge to fix it. I'm not the original owner and don't have a receipt so the warranty doesn't apply, but if it's cheap enough I may get it fixed. I've always liked K4s and found them useful.
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Weaver won't help you.

If you want to save the scope, it'll need to go to Iron Sight Inc.

They're the best option now, for pre-Vista Weavers. (Weaver was bought out several years ago ... again ... [paired with Bushnell, I believe] and the older models are not repaired by the new owners.)
 
I've had one scope failure. A Leupold VXIII mounted on a 300 Wby. The turret blew OFF! IT BLEW OFF! You could look down into the scope. I sent it back to Leupold and they fixed it for free. I was hoping they would replace it but it was the same scope. I don't know how they fixed it but it still works fine 10 years later.
 
I once dropped my 45-70 while hunting and a rock hit the glass closest to my eye perfectly and broke the glass. That hunting trip would have been ruined had it not been for back up Iron sights. Leupold replaced it for free but that would not of helped on that hunt.

All of my hunting guns now carry iron sights (even if they have a scope as well) just encase.
 
I have had failures with Simmon's ( low end and high end), low end Bushnells, and Tascos. None of the failures seemed to be related to recoil. Leupold, Weaver, high end Bushnell, Zeiss, Redfield, and Burriss have never failed me. This is over a period of 55 years. Your results may vary. Now that I only use my preferred scopes, I only have back up irons on my .450/400, and .416 Ruger.
 
I won't use any mounts that aren't quick detachable Weavers or (better). Cheap rings are made of inferior metal and crappy screws/nuts.

If I were to go away on a hunt and only wanted to take one rifle, I'd take a second scope, already sighted-in for that rifle. It just takes a minute or two to swap scopes. The second scope could be a low-powered fixed power, just to reduce weight/bulk in a backpack. Sighting error isn't much different between, say a 4X and 8X, but seeing antlers in the woods isn't as good.

I've seen several failed scopes, mostly from water leaks or falls, but won't put iron sights on a bolt-action hunting rifle. The first deer I ever shot at was during a heavy snow storm and the snow kept getting on my front or rear sights while trying to hit the biggest buck I ever saw at 100 yards. We never found that one.
 
I've got an old Simmons made in the Philippines that lost it's nitrogen after about 30 years. A friend had an original Redfield that lost zero and wouldn't adjust. That's all I can think of except for an I dunno how old Bushnell that lost the rubber eyepiece.
 
The only problem I had with Simmons was maybe 20 years ago. I put one on a .300 magnum and the scope moved in the rings from recoil. I tried all kinds of fixes and nothing worked. The scope tube was too thin for the rings to get a grip on it. The customer called a factory dealer and was told to put epoxy on the RINGS. Sounded kind of nuts to me and the rifle owner. He bought a different scope.
 
drawer full

I've got a drawer full of failed budget scopes, Tasco's, Bushnell's, a Simmons or two. Bought those early on, say twenty years or so ago, as at the time, it was all I could afford. Some of those went back to manufacturer, only to fail again in short order.

Slowly but surely, I've put moderatley priced Leupolds on nearly all my scoped rifles.

A Bushnell Elite fixed 10x, bought in the past 5 yrs or so, seems to be holding up well, despite a lot of clicking up and down. Its been on a .22, so no recoil involved in its backround. It may see some use on a .308 in the near future, it will be interesting to see how it holds up. My opinion is the 10x Elite might be a decent scope, but at $200 bucks, it should be better than those old junkers.

A big Millet, with all sorts of bells and whistles, came to me in a trade recently, used. They sell for near $300 bucks. It's on the aforemetioned .22. Its "clicks" are a bit shaky, I suspect it will develop some problems in the near future. Optically its been OK, but I think the adjustments are on their last legs.

Three USA Burris's are holding up OK. The big XTR is a safe queen these days, but saw a lot of .308 for a year or two. The Fullfield has been as reliable as the day I bought it about a decade ago. A newer "Scout" is on the Garand, how it holds up to the slam-bang of the M1 will be interesting to see.

Finally, two grizzled warriors. A Weaver K12, which was on 22-250 for thirty years or so, then went on a .308 match rifle for 500 rds or so, and is now back on the 22-250, still adjusts consistently and is a viable sighting device....as long as one can accept its 1970ish clarity, or lack of it. The other is a USA Redfield 2-7x Lo-Pro, bought recently, and likely one of the last USA (denver) Redfields. It looks rough, and had to be touched up with a felt tip, but is clear (1980 glass) and adjusts consistently. Its tidy flat profile fits nicely on a cherished rimfire, when nothing else fits or looks quite as right.
 
The only scope I ever had go "bad" was a 1990 Bushnell Banner 3-somethingX40 AO. The power ring froze, and I could barely budge it even with a pair of pliers.

Over the last 10 years or so, most of my stuff has swapped for Nikon. Still have a Simmons floating around somewhere on a 20 ga slug gun, and a random Bushnell somewhere else. I appreciate the BDC reticle combined with the Spot On app and it works good enough for me.

I'm sure, as has been mentioned thoroughly, every manufacturer is going to make some lemons or freak things will happen. Based on averages, some guys are going to see more failures on a given scope brand that another never sees a single failure and swears by.

Scopes are an area where I do believe, to a point, that you get what you pay for. Don't expect that $100 budget optic to be as clear as a US Optics $1,000 scope. However, you don't need to drop $2K on a scope headed for the swamp where the longest shot is 75 yards...
 
I have seen scopes from Swarovski to Tasco fail and almost every brand in between. I have also seen scopes go down 100 yards of rocky cliff and need an overhaul...which the manufacturer could not do since it was so old and they just replaced it with an upgrade.

But, there is a different between failure due to normal use, and failure due to abuse. I won't have an optic that does not have a lifetime warranty as I feel the added strength and cost is worth it.
 
Yes. I had a Redfield(old model) fog up and 3-4 cheaper scopes simply stop adjusting or reacting to attempted adjustments. A couple of bargain basement scopes seized at the x-change ring.
 
I don't hunt so haven't had any field failures. However, I did have an NCStar 2-7 LER on a scout setup Mosin-Nagant. The second time out, after about 25-30 rounds total, the entire front lens popped out when I fired the rifle. I used the lifetime warranty to get another one that didn't fail in the time I had it, but later sold the scope as the scout setup didn't suit that rifle.
 
My father once had a scope failure, as he said, he had a redfield. When we went in for sight in, he did very, very poorly, and believed that his scope had gone out. He replaced it with a leupold and was pleased with the results.

When he went elk hunting the next time, he carried my .243 as backup. He never removed his irons, for that very reason. IMO, why take irons off of a rifle that is intended for hunting, especially boonies hunting? leave them on and sighted properly.

I also have never understood the guys who go out into the backwoods on a $5,000 hunt, and never fire test shots before getting onto that horse.

IMO. Carry a fully tested reliable rifle with irons sighted to about 200, tape the ballistics chart to your stock, keep your thing adjusted to the lowest power until you need it, and never walk into a huntiing situation without taking every precaution, including a test at the hunting site and maybe another test shot every day or so. And for the love of god, carry an entire ten pack of ammo with you on the hike and at least a second full box in camp. There are so many small things that can make or break a hunt, why risk it?
 
I forgot, my father had one too.

I *think* it was a Redfield but I can't remember for sure. It was one that had the shape of a TV screen when you looked through it.

He had it on his Remington 1100 deer gun for at least 20 years.

He has always been one of the best instinctive shooters I've ever know. Hitting deer that busted out of brush on a dead run before I could even get my gun shouldered.

One year, he missed a couple. That was very odd for him but I honestly just thought he was getting on in years and wasn't going to shoot so well any more. Opening day of the second season, he missed 3 times, at standing deer, probably 35 yards away. I still just thought it was him. I don't know why the scope never occurred to me. I guess just because it had been there so long and never had the slightest issue.

The next day he went to Bass Pro and came back with a new scope. Hasn't missed since.

I'll be damned. The old man CAN still shoot.:p:)
 
I know that a scope can, and should be, pretty durable. The mechanics are really pretty simple and there have been hundreds of years to refine them and strengthen the designs. An ordinary hunting rifle should never break down, IMO, they are built strongly enough and designed to stand up to the forces of recoil. It's simple enough to plan for.

But, if a radio can stop working because a wire pulls loose, so can any other device.

Like the other brian, I wondered when my father said that his scope was bunged. He got lousy groups, and it wouldn't adjust when he tried moving point of aim. He wound up putting a box of ammo all over a target. That wasn't the way things worked with us. We shot a group, measured, homed in with another three, and usually on the third set we put the group on target. I had my rifle on with the second set and in the box, and I imagine that it made him pretty unhappy seeing me sitting on my butt, watching the clouds, waiting for him to get his act together.
 
I had a really cheap one that literally fell apart after about 50 shots on a 450 Marlin. I am not certain about the brand, but I think it was an NcStar.
 
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