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Another common question that I was asked about customers who were just being introduced to the Meopta line of rifle scopes was focused on using another popular scope brand compared to Meopta. That approach somewhat makes sense as the answer can help quantify the quality of Meopta. The most common comparison-based question I was asked dealt with a Meopta scopes vs Leupold scopes comparison battle.
Comparing the Meopta line to the Leupold line makes perfect sense as Leupold scopes are certainly considered the “gold standard” for U.S.-based riflescopes and, hands down, the most well-known rifle scope brand in the U.S.
So, let’s look at a Meopta versus Leupold scope comparison using 5 of the more common comparison points for rifle scopes:
Warranty
A no-brainer here with Leupold hands down having a better warranty. The Meopta warranty is a “limited” lifetime warranty, and to be fair, I haven’t personally tested their warranty, but the “limited” part of that warranty is just a bit concerning as the scope must be “registered” to be eligible for the warranty. Compare that to the Leupold warranty, which is basically a no-questions-asked warranty. I’ll give Leupold a ton of credit here as their warranty flat out rocks because:
- It doesn’t require any registration.
- It applies to any scope in their line.
- It doesn’t matter if you are the 1strd owner or the 10th owner.
Several years ago, I bought a Leupold scope (A an older VX-2 in 6-18 power) off eBay at a pretty good price. I got the scope and immediately noticed that something was wrong with the one of the turrets as one wouldn’t move at all. I thought about addressing the issue with the seller, but I got such a good deal, I thought I’d investigate the costs associated with getting the scope repaired before I did that.
I called Leupold customer service and told them the entire story behind the purchase and included the fact that I bought it on eBay, I wasn’t the original owner, and I had no original paperwork for the scope.
Leupold customer support said, “No problem. Here’s the warranty repair address. Ship it there with a warranty claim form outlining the issue, and we’ll take care of it.” Honestly, it sounded a little too good to be true, but I figured, let’s see how it goes. I shipped the scope to them at my expense, and 4 weeks later, I received the scope back with a note saying it has been fixed and tested. Now that’s pretty darn good for a used scope that was at least 7 or 8 years old when I sent it in for repair.
Glass Quality
This one is more difficult to judge as Leupold offers so many different rifle scope series that vary in terms of glass quality and features. To me, the glass on the Meopta stuff is brighter and clearer than most all the lower-end Leupold series until you start getting up into the higher-end models like the VX-6 and up.
From the VX-6 and up in the Leupold models, the Leupold glass quality seems to be very comparable to Meopta. However, the difference in the cost between a Leupold VX-6 scope or up will be close to 2X in street price compared to the street price on a comparable Meopta.
Reticle Choices
Leupold has the edge here as they offer a much broader offering of reticles compared to Meopta. However, I would also say that Meopta has been steadily upping their game in the reticle options year over year. While I don’t think they will ever be equal to Leupold in terms of reticle options, I do they will eventually be very competitive as far as reticle options go.
Power Ranges
Leupold still has the edge here, but that’s mostly because Leupold offers something like 3X the number of rifle scope models that Meopta is currently offering. As such, Leupold has a broader range of magnification powers.
That being said, I am interested to see the power ranges that will be available in the new Meopta Optika6 line that is coming out in the middle of 2019. That series is supposedly going to be offering in several new power ranges that Meopta has not offered before.
Value
Value is a tough comparison to make between these two brands as it’s not really an apples-to-apples comparison. Leupold is much more well-known, has a much larger product offering, and has some power ranges and reticles that Meopta simply does not offer.
However, if I’m just looking at the overall value of the Meopta line as a whole compared to the Leupold series that offer glass quality that equals Meopta, then the Meopta offers a better bang for your dollar.
In my humble opinion, you can’t buy a Leupold rifle scope in a higher-end line with equal glass to the Meopta without paying at least twice (or possibly more) as much.
Here’s a look at my favorite Meopta scope models
I’m sure that opinion won’t make me any friends or admirers with Leupold fans, but that’s how I see it. I like Leupold as a brand (and own several myself) but have always felt that you paid a premium for the Leupold name and haven’t been super impressed with the glass quality, especially with the more modern Leupold optics.
I have an older VX-2 that is at least 13 or 14 years old that has much better glass (and I don’t just mean a little better) than a buddy’s Leupold VX-3i, and even he will admit that. In theory, shouldn’t a “higher” and newer VX model be brighter and clearer than an older and lower-class series?
I’ve been working in the firearms and sporting optics industry for over 20 years, with a personal and professional interest in all things related to rifle scopes, Through a combination of work experience, formal training, and personal experiences, I have extensive experience mounting, testing, and evaluating different rifle scope models across most major optical brands.