Leupold scopes love or hate em?

[Gus Chiggins]

The Truth About Riflescope Light Transmission

Not all optics are made equal, and riflescope light transmission quality is an important consideration for many long-range shooting tasks.

gundigest.com

(More European focus, pun intended) https://www.optics-trade.eu/blog/the-ultimate-low-light-riflescope-buying-guide/

Top 10 High-end Low Light Hunting Rifle Scopes - Riflescope Warehouse

We made a review of the top 10 high end low light hunting rifle scopes. By the term low light hunting, we mean the time in the day where the sun is whether going up or down and there is not much light available. Wild game like red deer, wild boar, and some others start […]

www.riflescopewarehouse.com

 

[Bullbrl]

Recommendations for dialing? Working on my first set up and was planning to go NF NX8

In the price range of the NX8 it seems the Trijicon and the new Maven have been testing well for durability and rtz.

The durability (if rifle is dropped) isn’t as important to me as rtz and tracking. If I drop a rifle I’m testing it regardless of brand to make sure it’s still on. I don’t want to worry if my scope returns to zero after dialing.

If I had to buy a leupold it would be the MK5. I wanted that scope so bad but I just couldn’t get myself to buy it.

 

[Lota lota]

Have you ever tried a Zeiss or a Trijcon or Meopta?

I've got a Zeiss Spotting scope and a set of binoculars but never used their rifle scopes. Would imagine they're on par with the rest of their optics. Meopta I've never messed around with, but have heard good things.

 

[Lota lota]

I wish there was a way to compare how much light transmission difference there is at dusk/dawn between those options.

Just for the love of God...don't get a vortex

 

[Cornbread]

I used to date (20 years ago) an optical engineer in Pittsburgh that worked on Big telescopes (like 8' and bigger) that worked for a major defense company. She made the telescope in the top of a Hawaiian mountain and the airborne laser program. She told me that all the best glass is made in Japan or Germany. Optical glass has not been made in the U.S. for probably 30 years. Ive heard that it is the coatings that the scope companies use that sets each one apart and determines the light gathering capabilities.

 

[Cornbread]

I've got a Zeiss Spotting scope and a set of binoculars but never used their rifle scopes. Would imagine they're on par with the rest of their optics. Meopta I've never messed around with, but have heard good things.

I bought a Zeiss and a Meopta this year. Will let ya know how they do once I get to the range.

 

[schmalts]

Recommendations for dialing? Working on my first set up and was planning to go NF NX8

Get a hold of me if looking for a price.

 

[schmalts]

One is a front focal plane scope with reticles designed around holdovers/wind holds/measuring, with more elevation adjustment range, more tactile turrets, exposed windage turret more aligned with historically tactical or practical competition shooting applications. The other is a more weight conscious second focal plane scope designed like most other hunting scopes have been but with the sales pitch that people who don't understand ballistics can get a free custom turret for it that will do the understanding for them.

Pretty much summed it up. The Mark5 has the bigger tube option that allows for more movement on the dials. If you are not planning on banging steel at long range the Mark5 might be overkill. I have a 44mm Mark5 on my go to gun these days but I also will bang steel in the winter out to 900 yards just for something to do. I also like the FFP better but you have to be careful on some FFP reticles as on the low magnification they can get so thin you can hardly see them, But the one I have is not one of those nor do I spend a lot of time on the lowest magnification. I have seen a couple Meopta and Sightron scopes that the reticle was almost invisible at the lowest mag, that is just poor designed. Meopta had so many reticles at one point it was annoying but at least they had a good web page to see all the dimensions to weed out the bad ones

 

[ThunderNocked]

@elkhuntinfool78 Leupold is the best you can get for the money.
There may be better out there but you are paying a lot more for it.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Recommendations for dialing? Working on my first set up and was planning to go NF NX8

in Nx8 the 4-32 seems to be favored over the 2.5-20 from a usability standpoint so I'd look that way even if you have no real need for magnification over 20. The only mk5 i remember seeing run through a tracking test started having ghost clicks (turret clicks, reticle doesn't move) not too far off zero. I wouldn't trust one as much but that's just from that one experience and online stories. Plenty of people seem to do well with them.

I spent $3k on a march 3-24x52 a long time ago and swore I'd be very cautious about ever buying a high magnification ratio scope again. It was just finicky as hell and i've been better off with $700-1200 scopes ever since. It sounds like the nx8 is a better executed optic than that march was though. The maven rs1.2 has been a really nice scope thus far with one exception - the parallax knob is too damn stiff. I do not long to replace it with a nx8.

 

[schmalts]

in Nx8 the 4-32 seems to be much favored over the 2.5-20 from a usability standpoint so I'd look that way even if you have no real need for magnification over 20.

I spent $3k on a march 3-24x52 a long time ago and swore I'd be very cautious about ever buying a high magnification ratio scope again. It was just finicky as hell and i've been better off with $700-1200 scopes ever since. It sounds like the nx8 is a better executed optic than that march was though. The maven rs1.2 has been a really nice scope thus far with one exception - the parallax knob is too damn stiff. I do not long to replace it with a nx8.

I like the compact size of the 2.5-20 though. No real weight savings though surprisingly.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I like the compact size of the 2.5-20 though. No real weight savings though surprisingly.

Yeah, because the weight difference is negligible i don't see much of a benefit. Throw the desire for super short scopes as another trend i loathe like the high magnification ratios! They seem to come with optical compromises and make mounting for correct eye relief that much less flexible. Scopes being a little longer never seems to get in the way of anything for me, others may be different.

 

[noharleyyet]

Recall seeing my first 50mm Objective & had to have one...purchased & had a 3x9x50 VXII installed on a #1. I knew squat about eye relief, pull back, focus...just took it to the range with a box of factory, creeped up the stock with no cheek weld & bumbled my way to a sorry plus minute cluster...but it killed deer and hog unfailingly. Eventually, after learning to mount a scope, it would get a VXIII 3.5x10x50 and shoot factory sub minute, with better form due to eye relief and cheek weld.

Nowadays the VX5's 44mm objective looks too big to me. I prefer the older VXR (40mm), the VX3HD (40mm), & have a VX6(42mm) on a custom rifle I hardly take out of the safe. Have one straight tubed 1x6 30mm Trijicon...awesome & a 42mm Z3 variable, also awesome.

I've had very few hiccups with Leupold & they were all on me.

 

[Caseknife]

I've got probably 15 Leupolds, have never had an issue, but then I don't dial either. I did get a couple Trijicons recently, a Huron and Credo. When you are weight conscious and always have your rifle in hand, that extra 5-6 oz has an affect.

 

[mxracer317]

Bought a Mark 5HD today. Excited to try out first focal plane.

 

[Bullbrl]

Bought a Mark 5HD today. Excited to try out first focal plane.

Please keep this thread updated, I’m curious on your testing.

 

[mxracer317]

Please keep this thread updated, I’m curious on your testing.

It’s going on a custom 7PRC that I’m having built that is gonna take a few months. I will return and report back.

 

[Savagenut]

seems like dialing is the biggest vulnerability with leupolds. I shoot a lot of bc reticles and don’t dial. I have no problems with them

 

[Doublecluck]

Please keep this thread updated, I’m curious on your testing.

This one has been dialed from zero to
2.5-7 (25-70) about 2500 times and works fine.

 

[WM2]

Had a few and most were good for set-and-forget. None of them were made to twist. All of them were never fun to re-zero....seems you have to be patient and wait till the cross hairs settle down after adjusting. Had a 1.5-6 that crapped out on a light 7-08.

My favorite is an old VX 3.5-10 that's been hunted hard on a couple different 270's for over 30 years and still going strong. Set and forget only and not nearly as bright as newer scopes (or either of my Swaro EL's).