Advice on leupold

[1911man]

I have a choice of 2 scopes to put on a 16" 6.8 upper. I am going to use this setup for hunting and paper punching.

Scope #1 leupold mark 4 1.5x 5 PR (SPR) reticle

Scope #2 leupold mark 4 3x9 with tactical reticle and big turrents.


In your opinion which one would suit the application better?

[ubet]

Neither, stay away from leupold, they are **** anymore. I had a mark4 5.5-20 and it would not hold zero, wouldnt track, worst scope I ever owned. Save yourself some hassle and buy a vortex pst, they are well made scopes and reliable.

[b76]

I have had leupold scopes growing up and currently have one on my tikka. And love them clear and accurate. Definitley don't have as strong of feelings as this guy^ but if u can't afford it there are plenty other good companys. But people hate on trijicon to but u get what u pay for. Customer service is excellent to but to each it's own! Good luck

[a1c]

Neither, stay away from leupold, they are **** anymore. I had a mark4 5.5-20 and it would not hold zero, wouldnt track, worst scope I ever owned. Save yourself some hassle and buy a vortex pst, they are well made scopes and reliable.

I think you are waaaaaay overgeneralizing here.

And don't get me wrong - in addition to Nikon and Leupold scopes, I also own a Vortex red dot.

[b76]

I think you are waaaaaay overgeneralizing here.

And don't get me wrong - in addition to Nikon and Leupold scopes, I also own a Vortex red dot.

X2

and his name is 1911man I'm sure the man wants to do it right. Or he would be asking about some bsa crap

[ubet]

I think you are waaaaaay overgeneralizing here.

And don't get me wrong - in addition to Nikon and Leupold scopes, I also own a Vortex red dot.

No, I am not, I have owned several leupolds and looked through a lot more, they are $h!t! Honestly nikon isnt to great either, so Ill take what you say with a grain of salt.

Op, if you are looking at staying insdie 300yds and not shooting ground squirrels or the like, a set of irons might do you better. If you are looking to go further, good glass costs. You can start to get into decent glass around $750 or so. The most expensive thing on a good rifle should be the glass. Its what you aim with, if its not reliable, you might as well be chucking softballs blindly. Buy once cry once. I went the cheap route a lot before I learned this lesson. Save yourself money and headache, get a good scope.

[b76]

So will we! Lol. experienced leupold owners.

[ubet]

ETA: for a good budget scope, I have heard great reviews on Super Sniper scopes, they are a little cheaper, but I THINK they are fixed variable. And if you are going to be shooting any distance make sure that your moa/moa or mil/mil not moa/mil.

[ubet]

So will we! Lol. experienced leupold owners.

If all I had ever owned is brand x, I would think its the best too.

[Merc1138]

Wait, so it's one bad leupold scope you had, then it's several leupolds... and you didn't mention your interaction with leupold's customer service when you had to use the warranty to take care of the mark 4, or tell us how the replacement mark 4 was just as bad?

[ubet]

Merc, I said I had a (1) mk4, the other I had were not mk4s, that is what my first post was referring too. The problems I had with it, glass was like looking through a frosted glass shower door, wouldnt track at 600yds dialing from 100, it would be off as much as 2moa, leupold said that was withing their specs or margin of error. To me for what the scope cost, 2moa off is NOT acceptable. Ran a box test with it at 300yds and it wouldnt pass it. They wouldnt replace said scope or even take it to look at it. The features on it I didnt like either, it was moa/mil (I knew that going into it but thought I could make it work, that is my own fault). When every other scope manufacturer was/is going moa/moa or mil/mil leupold wasnt (I think in the last year or so they have finally caught up in that regards).

FIL owns a vx7, I have looked through it, same problem with the glass not crisp and clear it to had the frosted glass look.

I had a vx2 or 3 for a few months, and it wouldnt always return to zero either after I cranked it up to shoot 5-600yds on top of a 300wsm, the glass in it wasnt as bad as the mk4 or vx7. It would never sufficiently pass a box test at 300yds.

FIL bought a vx3 over thanksgiving, when I sighted it in for him, the glass was blurry as heck too. I dont know how it tracks, being after its zeroed he will never dial it again.

A lot of the ones I have looked through at gun stores or the like, I never have liked the glass in them they werent bright clear and crisp like a scope in that price point should be. That is my opinion and what I have seen with them.

[Garand1911]

i was considering vortex PST over leupold mk4, until i saw that vortex was made in phillipines. those scopes are too pricey for a made in the PI. leupolds might be a couple hundred more, but have japanese glass. i looked at both, and think the Lpld had clearer glass, but the PST had better features.

for the price of the mark4, you can get a lot of good scopes

that new Leupold mk8 is awesome

[NytWolf]

I was at my local Vortex authorized dealer. Had a guy drop off his Leupy Mk4. He's replacing all his Leupy's with the Vortex Viper's. The dealer showed me the Mk4. To be honest, the Viper costs less than half the Mk4 and it was way better than the Mk4. To my eyes, the Viper had better contrast. As far as clarity, they were on par, but I just can't get over the fact that the Mk4 costed so much more.

And just because it was made in the Phillipines doesn't mean it's bad. The Viper's glass is made in Japan, but it was assembled in the Phillipines. There are lots of good scopes that were made in the Phillipines. By no means are the Japanese glass as good as the true European glass, but then again, it doesn't cost like it either.

[Fjold]

The 6.8 can use the higher power scope. If you are talking about a combo for hunting and paper punching the 5X of the lower powered scope will limit you on range.

I own Leupold, Weaver, Redfield, Burris, Vortex, Nightforce, Bushnell and a few others. The only ones that I use for Dangerous Game are Leupolds.

[Dave A]

I don't have the time or money to buy several different scopes to try on each rifle, so make a decision and go with it. Have a Nikon 2.5x14 on a .17hmr and it is nice and clear for shooting at ground squirrels. For longer range shooting at the same critters, have a Leupold 6.5x20 w/varmint reticule on a .223 and I love it. This scope was a little pricey, but it is well worth it so far. Have an older 3x9 Leupold on a .270 and when it was used for deer hunting it was also perfectly good enough.

Thinking about building a 6.5 Grendel and might mount a Vortex on it based on lots of comments.