Ok, I guess I'll jump in here. I currently own 5 Leupold scopes, and several rings & bases. I've always been extremely impressed with their products. I did have one of their rings break under the recoil of a T/C contender, once. A call to CS resulted in a new set of rings delivered to my door within the week. As I recall, that's the only failure I've ever had with one of their products.
As far as their scopes are concerned, I've had a long relationship with this first one. It is a well used 4.5-14X40 Tactical (as I sit here, I can't say for certain whether its a Mark 4 or a Vari X III). This scope replaced the one that was attached to my issued rifle back when I first became a Sniper (1996). The original scope was a Redfield Ultimate Illuminator that I hated! That particular scope had some sort of problem that caused the reticle to blur when I looked through it for any amount of time (yes I tried to adjust the eye-piece, no it didn't help). It also did not have finger-adjustable turrets, nor did it have anything other than a standard duplex reticle. This was the scope that went with me to Sniper school, and it was a pain in the ass.
The first thing I did after completing Sniper school was requisition a new scope. Astonishingly, my request was approved. Still, the department was not going to spring for a top of the line optic, so I ended up with the Leupy tactical. After a year or so of using the Redfield, it was like someone had mounted the Hubble to my rifle. By today's standards, it's not too impressive. Standard Mil-Dot reticle (USMC style), no illumination, adjustable objective not side focus, SFP with .25 MOA clicks. I can hear you all yawning now. But here's what this scope does-1) it provides a bright, clear image, 2) it holds its zero, 3) it tracks reliably every, single time, 4) it allows me to range accurately using the reticle, And to engage reliably using holds, and 4) it allows me consistently maintain an average group size of about .6 MOA out to 300 yards. In short, it does exactly what it was designed to do, and it has done it over, and over, and over, for the past 15 years. How many of us can say the same thing about any other product we purchased a decade and a half ago? This scope has survived bumps, drops, scrapes, rain water, swamp water, freezing temps, hot temps, dust, brush, and probably a few more things that I've forgotten. There may be more modern scopes out there today with features that far exceed those of my Leupy, but its hard to imagine one that would have served me better.
In addition to that scope, I now have two Mark 4's that appear to be just as rock solid as my original scope. A Leupold handgun scope that is likewise a reliable performer, and a spotting scope that is impressive in its own right.
I suspect there are many more happy Leupold owners/users than the negative comments would lead you to believe. I also suspect that many of the negative comments have more to do with popular features that were late comers to the Leupold line than actual poor performance of the products they did offer. But, that's my opinion. I'd still like to know yours.
HRF