Any Leupold Mark AR users.

[Dodahdude]

I want to put a scope on my 18" 9 to 1 twist AR. CMMg upper with Bravo Company insides sitting on a Spike lower. The new Leupold Mark AR is designed around the 55 grain .223 and 5.56. Looks interesting. Is there anyone here that uses it or is familier with it's performance? Or suggest another scope. My AR is not for comp but for plinking and range. Sells for around $265 and up.

http://www.leupold.com/tactical/products/scopes/mark-AR-riflescopes/mark-ar-3-9x40mm-t2/

[GeoffLinder]

It's a very good choice for general plinking and range use from 50-500 yards.

If you are ever looking at tactical rifle competition usage, then the 1.5-4x version would be a better choice.

[Dodahdude]

Thank you. Will consider that one too........

[c good]

I just put a MK AR 1.5-4 X 20 on my tactical build. It's beautiful glass but needed to put the Ultra High Warne rings on it to clear my BUIS set up. As soon as I save up some more cash I'm putting the MK AR, 3-9 X 40 on my Varmint set up. (24 inch RRA Varmint Upper). $269 is a great price. Where did you find it for that? HTH c good

[Dodahdude]

http://trophysoutdoors.com/node/16725

http://trophysoutdoors.com/cart

Evil compeditor:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/leupold-mark-ar.html

Did not stop to think about how high the scope would be. I like them low so not to compensate
down range.

Which BUIS set up do you have on it right now?

[We The People Firearms]

I put one on a STAG 6.8mm that i built and it was awesome. I am a Leupold snob though. Have a mk4 on my rem. 700. Wouldn't consider another optic. I know there are better optics of course, but it's what I'm comfortable with.

[maxicon]

There are 3 things to consider for magnified optics mount height on an AR:

- Does it get the scope centerline around the iron sight centerline, which is 1.4" above the rail? This is important so that you use the same shoulder mount and cheek weld for both optics and iron sights, which makes you faster and more repeatable with either one. Unlike traditional rifles, you don't want the scope as close to the bore as possible, due to the lack of stock drop caused by the buffer tube.

- Is it high enough to clear a folding BUIS if you use one? Some BUIS are way too high to clear with a scope, like the standard ARMS 40. The 40L is better, but still not great. If you don't use a rear BUIS, this doesn't matter. Clearing the front sight isn't important - in fact, it should be right in the center to lower 1/3 of your scope, but you won't see it at all over 3x.

- Do you have enough forward offset for good eye relief and a natural cheek weld? This is important on Leupolds, which tend to have longer eye relief. Generally, rings on the receiver don't give enough forward offset, and many people either use a one-piece mount or an extended rail with rings. With the latter, you still want the rail+ring centerline height to be around 1.4-1.6".

Some people do OK with rings directly on the receiver, but most people need more forward offset than that.

[Dodahdude]

So Burninsome, how tall are your mounting rings? And what brand do you recommend?

Good point Maxicon. So without buying a bunch of hardware to pile in the safe, what would you recommend? Oh, by the way. I am a left hand shooter...

[c good]

http://trophysoutdoors.com/node/16725

http://trophysoutdoors.com/cart

Evil compeditor:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/leupold-mark-ar.html

Did not stop to think about how high the scope would be. I like them low so not to compensate
down range.

Which BUIS set up do you have on it right now?

Matech 600 Meter BUIS. Flip down front, I believe it's a NcStar.

[maxicon]

Matech's pretty high, and few scope/mount combos will fit over it. Here's my standard post on figuring it out. I haven't updated it for some of the newer gear, but the idea's the same.

For mounts, if price isn't important, it's hard to go wrong with the LaRue or ADM, either standard or extended, depending.

If you want to keep the cost down and the quality up, the Burris PEPR or equivalent is hard to beat. It doesn't give as much forward offset as the more expensive mounts, but is solid and fits most scopes pretty well.

For the cheapest option that will give you some ideas of what works for you, the CAA DVSR (a copy of a KAC mount) is a bargain, and there are lots of no-name versions as well. Here's a review of the version they were selling a few years back, which may have changed some:

http://maxicon.com/guns/optics/caa/caa_dvsr.htm

I've got a web page that compares one-piece mounts, as well as rings and extended rails. I haven't updated it for probably 2 years, so it doesn't have all the latest stuff, but it's still a pretty good comparison of what's out there, and gives you an idea of what to look at.

Here's the Big List of AR15 one-piece mounts:

http://maxicon.com/guns/optics/one_piece/ar15_onepiece_mounts.htm

Many of the links are broken due to not being updated for a while, but Google is your friend.

---------------------

Here's how to figure out what BUIS will fit under your scope and mount.

- Measure the scope's eyepiece diameter, with flip caps if you're going to use them. Butler Creek usually adds about 0.1" to the diameter. If the scope's going far enough back so the eyepiece isn't over the BUIS, measure the diameter where it is over the BUIS.
- Divide that by 2.
- Subtract that from the centerline height of your mount or rings.
This gives the maximum height BUIS that will fit under that scope/mount combo. Some BUIS have a higher knob or adjustment on the side, and some scopes will clear at the center, but hit off to the side. It's hard to tell if this will be a problem without trying it out.

For example, my Leupold VX1 4-12x40 eyepiece diameter is 1.7" with flip caps - divided by 2 gives 0.85". Mounting it in a 1" LaRue LT-104, which has a 1.41" centerline, would leave (1.41-0.85) = 0.56 as the tallest BUIS that would fit. As you can see from the list below, that leaves out many. This is one reason the Troy BUIS is so popular.

Here are some popular BUIS heights:

ARMS 40 - 0.95" folded (mine is 1.00" even)
YHM-9680 - 0.84" to the top of the windage knob, 0.74" to the top of the sight body
Matech - 0.75" folded at the elevation adjustment, off to the side, 0.6" closer to center
MI ERS - 0.75" folded
GG&G MAD - 0.625" folded
Magpul MBUS - 0.625" folded
ARMS 40L - 0.61" folded (mine is 0.59")
Troy - 0.460" folded
MI MCTAR-SPLP - 0.438" folded
YHM QDS - 0.435" folded
KAC 300m - 0.315" folded

[Dodahdude]

Wow... OK. I will research it out and let you know how it worked out. Thanks for helping. Have a good day sir.

[Hoop]

If you can deal with a fixed power then get a bushnell 10X mildot, they are on sale right now for 150$ bucks. Weaver grand slam mil mil 3-10 for 300 might be an idea too.

I was never happy with the leupold mark AR I had, it broke once and I think it's broken again as the same rifle shoots 3" groups with it but when I swap it out for another scope the groups are 1".

[Dodahdude]

I was never happy with the leupold mark AR I had, it broke once and I think it's broken again as the same rifle shoots 3" groups with it but when I swap it out for another scope the groups are 1".

Maybe a one in a 100,000 lemon? I haven't seen any bad reports on the Leopold Mark AR's.

[Hoop]

Maybe a one in a 100,000 lemon? I haven't seen any bad reports on the Leopold Mark AR's.

Neither had I, that's why I bought it. The weaver 3-10 is a better choice, you get a couple things over the mark ar (knobs match the reticle, they are exposed) and you get the same functionality. And it's the same price.

On a side note I just got my bushnell 3-12 FFP in the mail from natchez and it is very nice. Glass is equal to my vx3, has a good sturdy feel and you can feel the knob clicks, not mushy. Downsides are green illumination and green lettering on the turrets, will have to figure out how to paint them white so I can see the damn things.

[maxicon]

I was never happy with the leupold mark AR I had, it broke once and I think it's broken again as the same rifle shoots 3" groups with it but when I swap it out for another scope the groups are 1".

What broke on it, and was it the same thing both times?

When you sent it out, did they repair it or send you a new one?

What was the cost and turnaround time on the repair, and was it Leupold who took care of it, or a vendor?

From an engineering and data perspective, failures are always much more interesting and useful than success stories.