Leupold's motto is "America's Optics Authority." Founded in 1907 Leupold was a single man repair shop for surveying optical apparatus. He soon was joined by his brother in law Adam Voelpe. In 1914 J C Stevens joins the firm as a partner. His creation, the first water level recorder, increased the company's growth. Fred Leupold always believed that "customers deserved a square deal."

Family legend says Fred Leupold's son Marcus missed a deer shot due to a fogged rifle scope. His vow that he could make a better scope led to the Leupold Company's 1949 entry into the sporting optics business with the plainsman 2.5X rifle scope. Utilising skills learned in the US Army Corps of Engineers, he bled off all the air in the scope and put in pure nitrogen. This kept water from entering the scope and fogging the lens. This development in rifle scopes guaranteed Leupold a leadership role in America's optics business to this day.

Leupold presented the Duplex reticle in 1962. Large dark posts attached to the rifle scope's cross hairs made it easier for shooters to find the center in poor visibility or lighting conditions. This became the standard for all rifle scopes.

These days Leupold makes tactical rifle scopes for law enforcement organizations and for the military. Tactical rifle scopes are built sturdy and meet higher standards than sporting scopes. Tactical scopes require the strength to withstand the problems of combat and law enforcement uses such as SWAT teams. Leupold even makes range finding binoculars and rangefinders that are decent enough for ranging targets even in combat conditions.

To supplement sporting rifle scopes, Leupold makes spotting scopes and binoculars. These optical devices are popular amongst bird watchers and other animal observers and surveyors. The spotting scopes have longer range than binoculars. This improved range comes at the cost of size and weight. The highest powered spotting scopes are too heavy to utilise by hand, so they come with a tripod to help them.

Finally, Leupold makes golf rangefinders, handheld monocular devices that provide range information to a point chosen by the user. This technology could cross over to sporting uses to determine if a target is within the range of a rifle.