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Old 05-21-2012, 9:32 PM
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FMJBT FMJBT is offline
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Originally Posted by ptroxx View Post
Has anyone tried this scope ? ?

Leapers 3-12x44AO SWAT Accushot Rifle Scope, EZ-TAP, Illuminated Mil-Dot Reticle, 1/4 MOA, 30mm Tube, See-Thru Weaver Rings
I have one of the older models of this scope mounted on an AR-10. It's held up for about 1500 rounds so far over the last 4 or 5 years. It tracks well and has held zero without issue. For the price, the glass on Leapers scopes is also exceptionally clear. I shoot this rifle exclusively at longer ranges, 450 yards is about the shortest distance I ever shoot with it unless I am verifying zero at 100. I don't really trust the turrets on it to hold up for repeated dialing for various ranges, so I've set it up to use the mil dots as holdover points out to 1000 yards. The Leapers mil dot reticle has 5 dots on each leg, rather than the 4 dots most mil dot scopes have, so from top to bottom you have 12 mils of holdover points when using the upper most dot as a 100 yard zero. The only thing I dial to compensate for various ranges is the side parallax adjustment.

My biggest complaint with the Leapers 3-12X scopes is that the mil dot reticle is calibrated for use at 10X rather than the max magnification of 12X. If you forget to set it at 10X, the ranging and holdovers will all be wrong. I set mine, verified it at 100 yards using a target I made up with lines drawn exactly one mil apart, and then marked the scope at that setting to make sure I could return to that setting exactly.

Using the mil dot this way is a pretty fast setup that allows rapid transitioning between various ranges without having to dial elevation. The Magpul Dynamics video describes this setup with a mil dot as a "Poor Man's Horus Reticle", which is pretty much dead on. It works in a similar fashion, just not as well as a real Horus reticle scope.

So in summary, the Leapers scope isn't bad, but it does have a few issues such as the reticle being calibrated at a magnification other than it's max setting, and the turrets just not giving that warm fuzzy feeling with repeated dialing. I haven't had issues with tracking or zero on mine, but I just am not crazy about how the turrets feel. A lot of the airgun guys have great luck dialing these repeatedly during competition. With a scope in this price range though I tend to play it safe though and just shoot using holdovers.

In keeping with the American Made theme though, the Redfield scope would also be a good pick (It is actually made in the US, right?)
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