I have a chance to possibly pick up an older Kahles Helia scope. Anyone out there had any experience or knowledge of their warranty and customer service?

I noticed a couple of the teams on the TV show, Long Range Reality are using them. Don't think you could go wrong...

This doesn't sound promising...

Warranty Issue

QuitShootinYoungBucks Did you read the full thread on that link? A scope that is 47 years old that had a 2 year warranty when new and Kahles wound up fixing it for the original poster, that got the scope in a rifle trade so was not the original owner of the scope. Warranty expectations were a lot different in scopes just a few years ago, let alone in the 60's. Kahles has been around making scopes 114 or more years now

I have a few Kahles scopes and they contain the best glass I own. Bought a couple from fellow THF members. For the right price I will buy more of them. The one "warranty" repair I have checked on with them was going to cost me enough that I decided not to get it done but that was a set of Bino's that were knocked off a shooting bench and the housing bent and they are no longer aligned and abuse is not covered in the warranty of them so no fault of Kahles.

You can't judge a company based on one incident as reported on the Internet. I think Kahles are fantastic and wouldn't hesitate to own one.

Love my Helia C 1.5x6x42, got it sometime in 2006 while stationed in Germany.. Holds zero real well and clicks are spot on. I swap it back and forth between my 444 Marlin and Savage ML-II muzzleloader, and it usually only takes 2-3 shots to get it zeroed and check zero.

In September I went to swap it back to my 444, and noticed a little rattle inside. Called them up.. I guess over the past few years they have contracted their US customer service out, but it's still top notch. Sent my scope to some place in Oregon I think it was, and they sent it back to Austria. Came back in about a month fixed and cleaned. Two shots later I was hitting bullseyes again..

Kahles is good stuff... Life's too short for bad glass...

Thanks for all the info. As my eyes get older, my optics need to get better!

Owned/distributed by Swarovski. They're the real deal.

I found a Kahles in a pawn shop in El Paso in the early 90s. I had never even heard of Kahles and neither had the pawn shop owner. He offered it to me for $150 and I thought about it but passed. Hindsight is 20/20!

Might be good you passed on it, think how much more you would have been spending on scopes over the years after getting accustomed to that one.

Pretty good testament to how they can hold up in the elements,

http://www.opticstalk.com/kahles-scope-found-27-years-later_topic728.html

Good point, Kevin. I don't know how many folks knew about Kahles (or any of the other high-end German scopes, for that matter) in those days, but I bet I would have gotten a lot of strange looks from folks when all the B&L Elites and Leupold Vari-X IIIs wouldn't satisfy me. I was doing well to afford a Vari-X II back then.

They are once again being distributed and serviced by Swarovski so their se vice will be outstanding.

Missed out. Seller was a no-show. Looks like he sold it to another before his business trip to Austin. Bummer. Oh well....

Kahles is the oldest hunting optic company out there. Swarovski purchased them a number of years ago. Kahles makes optic that have/will rival Sawarovski and others. In the past few years they have moved more into the tactical type of scopes.

Khales innovated many features that are in many of the scopes today. There was a line called the AX or AH or something like that. They are good but probably more on the same line as the conquest and were made here in America. Other than that their scopes are high quality optically. With one caveat. When they came out with the multi-zero some of the parts were made of plastic and had a possibility of failure. I had one that experienced this. Covered under exceptional warranty though.