What scope would you recommend for rough 4 season use in all kinds of weather.

What brand or type holds up???

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Non gratum anus rodentum

Probably all depends on how much abuse ya put it thru. Always thought the status quo for rugged weaponry is whatever the military uses. I think current USMC issue is a Schmidt & Bender or Leupold. If ya watch some of the sniper-scout training shows , those scopes show significant rough treatment.

But Leupold has always had a good rep for ruggedness , and great customer service if damaged.

I have always liked Leupold's.
Down here, Bubba says LEEEE- OHHHH- POLLLLED.
Actually, it is Lew-pold.

Anyway, I've never had a problem. None of mine are the latest and newest, so I can't speak for current products.
I always thought that Dollar-for-Dollar, Leu was the BEST scope buy on the planet. Yes, there are better scopes- pick any of the big German/Austrian names. I've used them also, and love them, but you can own 2-5 Leupold's for every German you buy with some judicious shopping on the used market.
Bottom line- Leupold will serve you well for 99.99999% of a lifetime of shots.
If I ever spend(have) 10-50 g's for an African trip, I'll probably go German.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Anyone ever do w article where they destruction tested scopes like they've done with Glock and Xd's...?

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Non gratum anus rodentum

Best is a tough call. I'm cheap, so virtually all of my scopes were purchased used. I have one Zeiss, several Swarovski's and Schmidt & Bender's, a few Unertl’s (rather fragile) and older Redfield’s and some Leupold’s. I try not to beat the snot out of any of them and put more emphasis on brightness, resolution and turret adjustment repeatability. I prefer to buy American made products and have more Leupolds than anything else. VX-II and VX-III scopes are good buys for the money. Their Mark 4 scopes are excellent and I love my M1-16X, which is murder on prairie dogs. Several club members have upgrade to Nightforce products and swear that they’re far superior. I believe the US military is now using some of them.

One of the great things about Leupold is their unconditional warranty. I’ve seen three Leupold scopes that failed. One internally fogged after about 50 years of service. Plastic or rubber seals don’t last forever and that’s generally why they fog. It was replaced with a new one at no charge. Another Leupold I saw that failed had a broken reticle and it too was replaced free. Scopes with an etched glass instead of a wire reticle are tougher and better choices for hard kicking guns. The third damaged Leupold had a bent main tube after my brother fell on it while elk hunting. The scope lost zero and the turret adjustments no longer worked properly. Leupold offered to make it work at no cost, but my brother opted to have the tube and outer lenses replaced for about $100. It came back looking like a new scope and has worked fine ever since. Adhesives used to hold the two-piece objective lenses together can also fail and get cloudy with time. Back in the 70’s, Redfield was considered the best, but the company bellied up and their warranty is now worthless on older products.

When it comes to foreign scopes, Schmidt and Bender is top notch. The prices reflect it, but I’m pretty sure their warranty is limited to 30 years. I believe the US military uses them too. Swarovski and Zeiss scopes are also excellent, but I think the S&B’s are more durable (except the finish, which is soft and marks easily).

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"I also cook."

Tough to go wrong with Leupold.

I have several including three 1.5-5 Var-X III's, a couple of older fixed power 2x and 4x M2's, a 2-7X Compact, a 3-9X Var-X III to a newer 4-12 VX-"Rifleman". They continue to impress with their clarity, consistency in POI between magnification settings and ruggedness. They have served me well since I bought my first 1.5-5 in 1982. They all function exactly as needed while climbing in rough country, shooting at extreme ranges and during wide swings in temperature. They have honestly never given me any trouble even when mounted on heavy rifles like my Model 70s in .375, .300 H&H as well as .458 Magnum.

I see no need to use anything else.

Drew

I had a 3x9x32 Bushnell on my 308 Winchester for 30 years & never had a failure. But it now wears a Leupold 3x9x40. So I agree with all of the above.

Here's another vote for Leupolds.

I won't say they are the very best, because I don't have any real experience with any of the other brands mentioned. But, I've used them without any problems for many years...they are the only make I put on my rifles . They've crawled with me up and down mountains chasing elk and they have waded swamps and river bottoms hunting deer and hogs. They've been banged-up on rocks and submerged under-water and they still held their zero and never fogged on me.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

Leupold 1.5-5 x 40 VxIII . If you want better glass get a S & B . Both are tougher than a Hobo **** .

Another vote for Leupold. Always exceeds expectations for the price point, super warranty and customer service, what's not to like? Can you get better optics in products other than riflescopes? --- sure, but as for scopes, Leupold is hard to beat.

Ziess is THE best in my lowly opinion. I am too cheap to buy it, so I go for the best affordable scope. I have to go with handejector and vote for Leupold. I have a 1.5x5 vari X III (short tube)on my 1949 Winchester model 70 in .30 Gov't 06. A very nice piece of glass for @$500. Again, JMO.

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Go big or stay home

Sprefix,

I wish that there was a "Really Like" button to push...

That's one damn sweet set up and about as effective a rig as a man could use...

Very nice.

Drew

Thanks Sebago, It points and handles so naturally that it is hard to believe it is almost nine pounds. It is all business and I'm partial to it's looks also. You could show pics of your .458 and your .300 H&H(What a caliber), you know.............

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Go big or stay home

The .458 is in the back of the safe.... Waaaaaay back. That way I'm not tempted to shoot those 500 grain Soft-points very often ... It's a Super Grade (as is my .375). I'll dig them out one of these days and take some photos for you.

I actually have two .300 H&H guns. One is a late post '64 Model 70 "Classic" Sporter, which is far too pretty to beat around in the brush. The one that sees the most field time is a Remington 721. Seen here with the afore mentioned Leupold 4-12 VX-R while in West Virginia shooting from hillside to hillside. Note the 26" barrel.







We hunt this spot frequently as it's a good ambush point. I've killed alot of deer here at over 350 yards... This is my son, Drew Jr. with my .300. He took a nice little meat buck on the top of the far hill in the background. His shot was from where he is standing.



We later lazed the distance at slightly over 600 yards. True, conditions were perfect, the load (180 grn Speer Hotcore at 3400 fps) was completely doped and the rifle zeroed for long range, but he would never have made that shot with an average scope.

So. Back on topic... from last season hunting with both my boys, here's my old Browning pre-81 "guppy belly" BLR in .358 still wearing my first Leupold 1.5-5x VX-II in the cheesy Weaver rings and bases which were all I could afford at the time. That scope is so old that I remember paying $91.00 for it new. (Guess I'm getting a little old too...)



Here's another Leupold scoped 721, this one in .30-06 and if belongs to my younger son, Ryan. He took this yote last year at 130 yards. Was a running shot across a log landing.



As I said we really work the hell out of our scopes and all of our "serious" rifles wear them....

Drew

Simply outstanding Sebago.............

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Go big or stay home

Leupold IMO and made in the USA. If you can get past the high price, Swarovski or Schmidt & Bender. They're optical clarity is unbelievable. They easily provide additional hunting time in low light conditions and at sunset.