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Rifle Scopes Leupold Mark 4HD

I know what you mean, but did you look at the Athlon's reticle? That center aiming point is .3 mils. The MOA version would work better at longer ranges but... MOA. Ugh.

The center dot is thick, but that (in addition to the crosshair thickness and circle) is what helps it work so well at 2x. If you use holds rather than dial adjustments with the scope then the 0.3mil center dot still works fine.
 
The center dot is thick, but that (in addition to the crosshair thickness and circle) is what helps it work so well at 2x. If you use holds rather than dial adjustments with the scope then the 0.3mil center dot still works fine.
Yes I thought the dot would irritate me more than it does.

I'd really pay quite a bit for this exact optic in higher end form. IDK why no one will do this. This damned Athlon is sold out all the time. Theres a market desperate for this as evidenced by the fact that I now have an Athlon product on multiple guns. (gross)
 
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Yes I thought the dot would irritate me more than it does.

I'd really pay quite a bit for this exact optic in higher end form. IDK why no one will do this. This damned Athlon is sold out all the time. Theres a market desperate for this as evidenced by the fact that I now have an Athlon product on multiple guns. (gross)
Swampfox has a nearly identical model with a much better reticle that gets good reviews
 
The same scope made by Athlon is Chinesium, likely from the very same OEM, the footprint is very similar.

LOL. I can't believe I watched this...I'm also quite honestly shocked at the perceived performance. Reticle is a good design for an MPVO in my opinion.
 
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LOL. I can't believe I watched this...I'm also quite honestly shocked at the perceived performance. Reticle is a good design for an MPVO in my opinion.
He does awesome optics reviews.
 
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No offense but I find having an Athlon distasteful, theres not a chance in hell I put something from... *checks notes* "SWAMP FOX" on any of my rifles lol.

If Athlon was a bridge too far a Marsh Coyote is going to be self flagellation.
It does sound silly as an optic company name and their optic lines also have cheeses names. I don’t foresee ever owning one, but the real “Swamp Fox” was a badass:
 
Hard pass from me on both.
Completely understandable and why I say I would LOVE a higher end version of this scope. This mag range and feature set in a NF would have me steppin and fetchin, no joke lol
 
Any updates on these since SHOT? Anybody get to look at them?
I did. I was impressed by the forgiveness of the eyebox. Very generous, very easy to get behind. I spent the most time with the 6-24x PR2.
My conundrum in this space is Mark 4HD 4.5-18/6-24 or a NX8 2.5-20. A while back I would not have thought about the NX8, but the last 3 recent copies I have seen have optically been very impressive. I would prefer the NX8 to having locking elevation, but its hard to beat the historical ruggedness, tracking and a really good FOV.
While I probably think the .25 mil PR2 reticle is more my speed, the Mil-XT may be one of my favorite .2 reticles. Its very easy to read, even on fairly low magnification. Weight is nearly identical but you save a couple inches of length.
The early adopter in me wants to buy the Leupy but my peace of mind keeps leaning me toward the NX8.
 


At Industry Range Day before SHOT Show, I rang steel at 1000yrds using a precision build rifle with what I thought was a Leupold Mk5 scope. Afterwards, I was asking about the scope and it turns out it was a brand new Mark 4 HD lent to them for the event. I honestly could not visually detect a drop in quality from the Mk5.
 
Any updates on these since SHOT? Anybody get to look at them?
Played with one in Texas. Not a fan after popping the turret off. Super cheap with a big screw driver slot. Zero stop is also absolute. Was planning on buying one but after handling it, no way. Xtr3 is a much much better built optic for similar/less money. Also typical mk5 fov....like looking through a soda straw.
 
Played with one in Texas. Not a fan after popping the turret off. Super cheap with a big screw driver slot. Zero stop is also absolute. Was planning on buying one but after handling it, no way. Xtr3 is a much much better built optic for similar/less money. Also typical mk5 fov....like looking through a soda straw.
Thanks for the info!
 
Just like the Mark 5 turrets, they are one in the same.

Played with one in Texas. Not a fan after popping the turret off. Super cheap with a big screw driver slot. Zero stop is also absolute. Was planning on buying one but after handling it, no way. Xtr3 is a much much better built optic for similar/less money. Also typical mk5 fov....like looking through a soda straw.

Which is it? They’re proven Mk5 turrets or they’re a Toys-R-Us Special?
 
Which is it? They’re proven Mk5 turrets or they’re a Toys-R-Us Special?
First of all the mk5 turret kinda sucks. There is a reason you can buy aftermarket turrets for it from places like DI.

It's a different turret. Not the same. I don't know enough about mk5s since I don't really like them but just about every demo gun has one on it and I know they all look like ass with small fov. The mk4 turret and housing fell and looks very chinesium.
 
Played with one in Texas. Not a fan after popping the turret off. Super cheap with a big screw driver slot. Zero stop is also absolute. Was planning on buying one but after handling it, no way. Xtr3 is a much much better built optic for similar/less money. Also typical mk5 fov....like looking through a soda straw.

LOL this is hilarious. You shit on the MK4/MK5 turret because it has a coin slot inside that serves no other purpose than to be able to zero it with a cap off so that you can bypass the zero stop to dial up, but other than that the cap tightens down with set screws evenly around the shaft just like most optics including NF and several others.

Yet the XTR 3 with the same exact style of tightening the cap down down yet only has two set screws very close and doesn’t apply pressure on the shaft all the way around and is otherwise oddly similar underneath is praised for built quality when they’re sloppy as fuck. The Burris turret is also a far cheaper design in that it raised up the whole time it turns and the Leupold doesn’t.

The MK5 has a much better zero stop system vs the XTR3 which just has two very shallow cheap pins for the stop.

You can’t look at these two pictures and seriously come to the conclusion that the XTR3 has a better turret design.
 

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This is weird… look what also has a coin slot to zero with the caps off and zero stop out of the way 😂

Edit: Another note on the Burris zero stop is that if you set the cap a little higher so that it doesn’t engage the pin for a gas stop at zero for extra travel like several people say you can do you end up with the bottom of the cap dragging along the top of the turret housing to “stop” which not only is janky as fuck and not a true zero stop, but it will also fuck up the anodizing and also put pressure on the turret assembly and also the set screws which can cause them to move and eventually wear on the shaft. So I’m a nut shell the Burris can’t have the ZS set below zero either unless you want to fuck your scope up.
 

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I said its a much better built optic, not soley that the turret blows it away.

Build quality, Feel, rotating the turrets and magnification ring, glass quality, FOV.

Its also half the price of a MK5 / MK4HD so the value argument comes into play.

I'm sure they will sell a ton of these to people who don't know any better/ hardly shoot / spin turrets. Just pointing out my observation after handling it.
 
I said its a much better built optic, not soley that the turret blows it away.

Build quality, Feel, rotating the turrets and magnification ring, glass quality, FOV.

Its also half the price of a MK5 / MK4HD so the value argument comes into play.

I'm sure they will sell a ton of these to people who don't know any better/ hardly shoot / spin turrets. Just pointing out my observation after handling it.

It’s not a much better built optic though, I just got one and no the controls are not smooth on the XTR3 compared to every MK5 I’ve owned. Yes the Burris has it on FOV but that’s it.

They also don’t cost twice as much, that’s total bullshit and you know it. MK4’s MAP at $1000-$1500 and the XTR3’s MAP at $1250-$1450 for the imported versions and more for the US versions. They are within the same price point even using Leupolds VIP programs pricing compared to the Burris’ on EV.
 
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Street price is what matters. XTR3 street price are sub $1K. You can grab one for $7-900. MAP means nothing, The gen 3 razor has a MAP of 3k, no one pays that.

I have already seen the mil discounts for the MK4HD. You can get a MK5 5-25 with PR2 for about 1600 bucks, but its NEVER in stock so that doesn't matter. Its going to cost you 1800-2000. Same shit will happen with MK4HD. Leupold puts so few into the mil program it might as well not even exist. The MK4HD through the program will be about 1100, but street price will be closer to 14-1500.

So Yes, they will cost 50-100% more than an XTR3. You can buy a XTR3 today for like 800 bucks. You cant buy a MK5 in desirable features/reticle for 1500 bucks.

My opinion is the XTR3 is a better value AND a better optic than the MK4HD.

Now feel free to keep arguing, its entertaining.
 
That’s funny you state those street prices on the XTR3 yet I just bought one for just under $800 and people acted like it’s not possible. Stocking dealers aren’t selling them for that though and on EV they’re $900 for the 3.3-18 and $1044 for the 5.5-30.

You can also get deals on MK4’s, you don’t have to pay MAP for them either so compare them fairly why don’t you. You even said “MAP means nothing” but I guess it doesn’t to you when you want to give the illusion of higher pricing. There’s plenty of dealers on gun.deals where you can order Leupolds from for up to 30% below MAP and that includes MK5’s and MK4’s will be the same way once the initial bum rush to get the hit new thing passes and they’re sitting in distributors inventory.

You are truly fucking retarded, but we already knew that.
 
That’s funny you state those street prices on the XTR3 yet I just bought one for just under $800 and people acted like it’s not possible. Stocking dealers aren’t selling them for that though and on EV they’re $900 for the 3.3-18 and $1044 for the 5.5-30.

You can also get deals on MK4’s, you don’t have to pay MAP for them either so compare them fairly why don’t you. You even said “MAP means nothing” but I guess it doesn’t to you when you want to give the illusion of higher pricing. There’s plenty of dealers on gun.deals where you can order Leupolds from for up to 30% below MAP and that includes MK5’s and MK4’s will be the same way once the initial bum rush to get the hit new thing passes and they’re sitting in distributors inventory.

You are truly fucking retarded, but we already knew that.
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Ran the new MK4 6-24 PR2 at the Arizona Ghost Hunter match for teams a couple weeks ago, performance was up there with the MK5. Weight for this scope came in right at 27 ounces so it's another great option for multiple applications including hunting. It's going to be tough for another scope to compete with it at this price point, especially optical performance wise. Scope tracked and functioned well the entire match, was able to pick apart hidden targets pretty well as soon as I transferred from my binos to my rifle.

I also ran the new MDT ACC Premier Gen2 at the match, loving that chassis. It's going to be a killer lighter weight option for a lot of applications as well.

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What are the Mk4 turrets like?
They are similar but not the same, the Elevation Turret on the MK4 is slightly smaller and is a 10 mil turret vs. the 10.5 on the MK5. Feel wise I'd give an edge to the MK5. The windage turret is nice on the mk4 as it's exposed and has a push button lock for zero. Some may prefer a capped windage option for hunting but that's why you have multiple options in different scope lines now.
 
They are similar but not the same, the Elevation Turret on the MK4 is slightly smaller and is a 10 mil turret vs. the 10.5 on the MK5. Feel wise I'd give an edge to the MK5. The windage turret is nice on the mk4 as it's exposed and has a push button lock for zero. Some may prefer a capped windage option for hunting but that's why you have multiple options in different scope lines now.
Oddly enough Leupold markets both the Mark 5 and Mark 4 turrets as M5C3 turrets, but you are right, they fixed some of the issues with the Mark 5 like the 10 vs. 10.5 per rev and the wonky windage angle indicator.
 
Ran the new MK4 6-24 PR2 at the Arizona Ghost Hunter match for teams a couple weeks ago, performance was up there with the MK5. Weight for this scope came in right at 27 ounces so it's another great option for multiple applications including hunting. It's going to be tough for another scope to compete with it at this price point, especially optical performance wise. Scope tracked and functioned well the entire match, was able to pick apart hidden targets pretty well as soon as I transferred from my binos to my rifle.

I also ran the new MDT ACC Premier Gen2 at the match, loving that chassis. It's going to be a killer lighter weight option for a lot of applications as well.

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Which one is you?
 
Oddly enough Leupold markets both the Mark 5 and Mark 4 turrets as M5C3 turrets, but you are right, they fixed some of the issues with the Mark 5 like the 10 vs. 10.5 per rev and the wonky windage angle indicator.

The location that they put the windage zero line is my biggest complain with the MK5’s other than the reticles which just aren’t my preference more than anything. Where they put that line was absolutely stupid and I was very happy to see that fixed on the MK4’s.
 
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I thought you were there, gotta get out and shoot one of these sometime Richard (which is a reminder that so do I) ;)

Eventually, but I have some obligations that keep me from doing so. I'm hoping in the next year or two that I'll start local matches.
Hell, this is the first year I was able to go to Shot Show. Thank C*V!D for my wife having the ability to work from home all week :geek:
-Richard
 
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Ran the new MK4 6-24 PR2 at the Arizona Ghost Hunter match for teams a couple weeks ago, performance was up there with the MK5. Weight for this scope came in right at 27 ounces so it's another great option for multiple applications including hunting. It's going to be tough for another scope to compete with it at this price point, especially optical performance wise. Scope tracked and functioned well the entire match, was able to pick apart hidden targets pretty well as soon as I transferred from my binos to my rifle.

I also ran the new MDT ACC Premier Gen2 at the match, loving that chassis. It's going to be a killer lighter weight option for a lot of applications as well.

View attachment 8339177

View attachment 8339179
Have you been behind the 4.5-18 or 2-10 yet? Curious your thoughts. Possibly eyeing the 8-32 as well for rimfire.
 
Man I wanted to give one of these a shot mainly because of the PR2 reticle and forgiving nature of the 4x erector but I ended up pulling the trigger on the 4-32 NX8. I highly doubt it'll ever see above 22x, so I'm hoping that's it's sweet spot.
I still might be interested in a 2.5 to 10 Mark 4 but they're going to have to bring a different reticle to get my attention.
I do hope this scope proves to be a great option at a good price point for many people. If not for anything else but to force other manufacturers to follow suit.
 
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That’s funny you state those street prices on the XTR3 yet I just bought one for just under $800 and people acted like it’s not possible. Stocking dealers aren’t selling them for that though and on EV they’re $900 for the 3.3-18 and $1044 for the 5.5-30.

You can also get deals on MK4’s, you don’t have to pay MAP for them either so compare them fairly why don’t you. You even said “MAP means nothing” but I guess it doesn’t to you when you want to give the illusion of higher pricing. There’s plenty of dealers on gun.deals where you can order Leupolds from for up to 30% below MAP and that includes MK5’s and MK4’s will be the same way once the initial bum rush to get the hit new thing passes and they’re sitting in distributors inventory.

You are truly fucking retarded, but we already knew that.
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