I had previously posted of my disgust with Leupold for refusing to service my Premier modified Mark 4 rifle scope. I stated that I would smash this scope, upon its return from Leupold to display my contempt with Leupold.
Men whom I respect, with cooler heads and more inside industry knowledge than I, have informed me that at no time did Leupold ever warranty the power boost that was done to my scope by Dick Thomas of Premier Reticle. The reticle change, yes, but not the power boost. I was not made aware of this by Premier Reticle.
Sadly, Mr. Thomas is no longer with us to confirm or deny this, so I accept responsibility for my uninformed decision to have the power boost done. Leupold is not responsible for support of the conversion, therefore <span style="font-weight: bold">I humbly apologize to Leupold and my fellow shooters for my anger, disgust, and ill-will directed at them on this issue.
</span>
Leupold's refusal to provide service parts to Premier Reticles for continued support of prior conversions <span style="font-weight: bold">is</span> despicable and bears my continued disgust. This action has left a lot of customers hanging.
If Leupold will not supply the parts to Premier Reticle to service the converted scopes then Premier cannot repair or service these scopes and honor their lifetime warranty. I will not sully the good name and memory of Dick Thomas, but had he informed me that the power boost would be glued in, thereby voiding any future Leupold warranty or service, I would not have taken that route. Too late for that. My bad.
Leupold service had advised me that the return to original factory condition was cost-prohibitive---about half the cost of a new scope. In frustration, I had intentions of smashing this scope upon its return from Leupold. In light of the new findings, this would serve no useful purpose. Therefore, I will re-return the scope to Leupold for the following:
Since <span style="font-weight: bold">JasonK</span> has recently met the manager of the new Leupold Tactical Division, I will seek the contact information of this man from Jasonk. I will send this scope directly to him with a blank check for a total factory rebuild with his personal inspection/approval/guarantee that the Mildot Reticle position will be within <span style="font-weight: bold">±1°</span> of dimensioned specification. If <span style="font-weight: bold">Lowlight</span> is willing to participate, I will have the scope shipped to him for a week's evaluation at <span style="font-weight: bold">Rifles Only.</span> After this evaluation, Lowlight will then either ship the scope to me with his blessings or return it to Leupold for any needed corrections.
I will probably end up with a $2300 Leupold Mark 4 M1 16X Mildot scope, but if it has the best efforts of the new Leupold Tactical Manager behind it, it will be worth it.
I'm a firm believer in education and this is my tuition. <span style="font-weight: bold">Leupold, here is your chance to shine!</span>
BAT_Boy
********* Original Post, for Reference Only ***********
I just reviewed my records and found that I had purchased 26 Leupold optics between 1987 and 2008. Three of those were Mark 4 M1 16X scopes that were sent to Premier Reticle for their power boost to 35x and installation of a fine crosshair and 1/8 minute target dot. All three conversions were performed by Dick Thomas, just months before his untimely death, and were covered by Premier and Leupold lifetime warranties.
After Dick's passing, Premier and Leupold soon parted ways, with both companies stating, on their websites, that they would continue to warranty/service conversions performed prior to their separation date. Soon after, Leupold refused to provide parts to Premier to continue their support.
Fast forward to 2010. I have sold two of the three Premier conversions to 1,000 yard BR shooters. I kept the third scope for my remaining BR rifle. Since I've moved from BR to tactical and AR-15 rifles, I called Leupold to see if they would return the Mark 4 to original condition as a 16X with Mildot reticle. They instructed me to return the scope for evaluation and would provide a labor quote at that time. After hearing nothing for one week after delivery, I called today to follow up and was informed that the scope could be "restored" to factory new condition and returned to me for $329 total. That would cover the installation of the Mildot reticle, a new erector tube system, and shipping/insurance. I agreed to this fee as it was service work and not warranty repair.
Ten minutes later, the Leupold service rep called and stated that they could do no work on this scope since Dick had glued the power boost in place, thereby preventing any further service to this scope. They did offer to replace the main tube and internals for more than half the cost of a new scope. I just can't see having over $2,000 invested in a Mark 4 16X. I then asked if this was the case, how and why was the scope ever covered by warranty by either Leupold or Premier after the conversion. He had no answer, of course. The scope is being returned to me.
I am trying to decide if attempting to contact the President of Leupold Stevens would be worthwhile. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of orphaned Premier Reticle conversions with absolutely no support remaining. I am seriously considering filming the application of sledge hammer to scope to show my utter disgust and contempt that I hold for Leupold at this moment.
I have been slowly selling off my Leupolds and upgrading to Nightforce as funds allowed. I did splurge on one S&B 5-25 PMII for my KMW Surgeon. I still had a soft spot for Leupold because it is an American company in hopes that they would regain their senses. No more. Their products, and their word, mean nothing to me now.
BAT_Boy
Men whom I respect, with cooler heads and more inside industry knowledge than I, have informed me that at no time did Leupold ever warranty the power boost that was done to my scope by Dick Thomas of Premier Reticle. The reticle change, yes, but not the power boost. I was not made aware of this by Premier Reticle.
Sadly, Mr. Thomas is no longer with us to confirm or deny this, so I accept responsibility for my uninformed decision to have the power boost done. Leupold is not responsible for support of the conversion, therefore <span style="font-weight: bold">I humbly apologize to Leupold and my fellow shooters for my anger, disgust, and ill-will directed at them on this issue.
</span>
Leupold's refusal to provide service parts to Premier Reticles for continued support of prior conversions <span style="font-weight: bold">is</span> despicable and bears my continued disgust. This action has left a lot of customers hanging.
If Leupold will not supply the parts to Premier Reticle to service the converted scopes then Premier cannot repair or service these scopes and honor their lifetime warranty. I will not sully the good name and memory of Dick Thomas, but had he informed me that the power boost would be glued in, thereby voiding any future Leupold warranty or service, I would not have taken that route. Too late for that. My bad.
Leupold service had advised me that the return to original factory condition was cost-prohibitive---about half the cost of a new scope. In frustration, I had intentions of smashing this scope upon its return from Leupold. In light of the new findings, this would serve no useful purpose. Therefore, I will re-return the scope to Leupold for the following:
Since <span style="font-weight: bold">JasonK</span> has recently met the manager of the new Leupold Tactical Division, I will seek the contact information of this man from Jasonk. I will send this scope directly to him with a blank check for a total factory rebuild with his personal inspection/approval/guarantee that the Mildot Reticle position will be within <span style="font-weight: bold">±1°</span> of dimensioned specification. If <span style="font-weight: bold">Lowlight</span> is willing to participate, I will have the scope shipped to him for a week's evaluation at <span style="font-weight: bold">Rifles Only.</span> After this evaluation, Lowlight will then either ship the scope to me with his blessings or return it to Leupold for any needed corrections.
I will probably end up with a $2300 Leupold Mark 4 M1 16X Mildot scope, but if it has the best efforts of the new Leupold Tactical Manager behind it, it will be worth it.
I'm a firm believer in education and this is my tuition. <span style="font-weight: bold">Leupold, here is your chance to shine!</span>
BAT_Boy
********* Original Post, for Reference Only ***********
I just reviewed my records and found that I had purchased 26 Leupold optics between 1987 and 2008. Three of those were Mark 4 M1 16X scopes that were sent to Premier Reticle for their power boost to 35x and installation of a fine crosshair and 1/8 minute target dot. All three conversions were performed by Dick Thomas, just months before his untimely death, and were covered by Premier and Leupold lifetime warranties.
After Dick's passing, Premier and Leupold soon parted ways, with both companies stating, on their websites, that they would continue to warranty/service conversions performed prior to their separation date. Soon after, Leupold refused to provide parts to Premier to continue their support.
Fast forward to 2010. I have sold two of the three Premier conversions to 1,000 yard BR shooters. I kept the third scope for my remaining BR rifle. Since I've moved from BR to tactical and AR-15 rifles, I called Leupold to see if they would return the Mark 4 to original condition as a 16X with Mildot reticle. They instructed me to return the scope for evaluation and would provide a labor quote at that time. After hearing nothing for one week after delivery, I called today to follow up and was informed that the scope could be "restored" to factory new condition and returned to me for $329 total. That would cover the installation of the Mildot reticle, a new erector tube system, and shipping/insurance. I agreed to this fee as it was service work and not warranty repair.
Ten minutes later, the Leupold service rep called and stated that they could do no work on this scope since Dick had glued the power boost in place, thereby preventing any further service to this scope. They did offer to replace the main tube and internals for more than half the cost of a new scope. I just can't see having over $2,000 invested in a Mark 4 16X. I then asked if this was the case, how and why was the scope ever covered by warranty by either Leupold or Premier after the conversion. He had no answer, of course. The scope is being returned to me.
I am trying to decide if attempting to contact the President of Leupold Stevens would be worthwhile. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of orphaned Premier Reticle conversions with absolutely no support remaining. I am seriously considering filming the application of sledge hammer to scope to show my utter disgust and contempt that I hold for Leupold at this moment.
I have been slowly selling off my Leupolds and upgrading to Nightforce as funds allowed. I did splurge on one S&B 5-25 PMII for my KMW Surgeon. I still had a soft spot for Leupold because it is an American company in hopes that they would regain their senses. No more. Their products, and their word, mean nothing to me now.
BAT_Boy
