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Rifle Scopes Leupold at Shot Show 2013 MK6 1-6, 3-18 BigJimFish

BigJimFish

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Minuteman
Jul 24, 2011
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This year Leupold and Leupold Tactical decided to patch things up and leave the redheaded mistress out on her own. That is to say, that the Leupold and Leupold tactical booths were together and Redfield was all alone. I thought this made a bit more since and I'm not sure why they did it the other way last year but they did. The new arrangement combined with the lack of a posse of radical new Leupold tactical optics gave me a great deal more time to handle the optics this year. While it still wasn't perfect, it was certainly headway. I got some real quality time with the 1-6x20 Mk 6 and even a little with the 3-18x.

Leupold Mark 6 1-6x20mm next to the reference GRSC 1-6x:
leupold16profile.jpg


First of all, as I suspected, the MK 6 1-6x20mm that Leupold showed this year was not exactly the same optic I saw last year. I suspected this because the one I saw last year had some odd and easy to fix optical problems. These problems combined with the NDA and the long lead time before planned delivery made me think prototype, and so it apparently was. This year's MK 6 did not have issues; it looked excellent. The field of view is larger than the reference GRSC at both 6x and 1x. The Leupold does tunnel just a little near 1x, but I think that this is on purpose in order to flatten the field, or more precisely, cut off the curvy edges. Last year's prototype had part of the field of view blocked out by blacking out the edge of the reticle, but they hadn't gone quite wide enough and left a sliver of view outside of the intended limitation. That was the odd easy to fix optical problem. This year, no such issue. In my speed testing last year I found that the flatness of the field, or lack of barrel distortion, was one of the most vital elements when it comes to the speed of the optic. This Leupold at 1x may have the flattest field of view I have encountered in a scope. This is interesting because barrel distortion was the big problem that the Leupold VX-6 1-6x suffered from. In addition to having low barrel distortion, the glass in the MK 6 is very good. It is, and should be, better than the $1k reference GRSC.

I think that the features on the 1-6x will also be pleasing to many folks. It is ffp and utilizes a reticle with both stadia and scale (mil) ranging options as well as stadia drop and windage features. It also has knobs that are well suited for use in dialing dope. The elevation is low profile and exposed, but locks (only at zero) and is a single turn 10 mil knob with .2 mil increments. The windage also locks at zero and turns 5 mils each way with a stop. In short, the features of this optic allow it to be used fully in stadia mode with ranging based on shoulder widths and drop and windage held on cartridge specific lines or in scale mode with range calculated using the mil scale and drop dialed. You could also mix and match. The diopter on the MK6 is a locking euro style which is small and kind of hard to get a hold of, but certainly won't get bumped off its setting. The mag ring, as with Leopold's other close quarters scopes, is the whole eyepiece and can be easily gripped and turned.

Leupold Mark 6 1-6x20mm at 1x with maximum illumination:
leupold161xmaxillum.jpg


Leupold Mark 6 1-6x20mm at 6x with maximum illumination:
leupold166xmaxillum.jpg


This brings us to the illumination, which, I am a little dim on. Or, at least not certain that I will be happy with. The illumination system lights the small horseshoe and dot in the center of the reticle. It does this brighter than I would have expected, given that it appears to use reflected illumination technology. As you can see in the photo, the appearance of this configuration at 1x is very similar to that of an actual beam splitter type flash dot. The uncertainty that I have is: will that be how it will appear outside on a sunny day and against a light background? Perhaps, or perhaps not. I would also like to know how long this scope will run on a battery. Beam splitter illumination and fiber illumination based optics can often run several days and reflected illumination scopes often do not make the first day. Lastly, while I'm piling on the illumination system, for some unknown reason Leupold decided that instead of using the simple threaded battery cap that everybody has always used, they would make the battery accessible by door. You can see that buggered up door in the profile picture of the scope. It is located in the normal place, on the side of the analogue illumination control knob, but, being a door, has a little button in the side for releasing it. On the demo I held, someone had jabbed at the button with a knife or screwdriver and pried and scraped at the door. The button appeared to be broken. This makes me wonder how well the system works. It would not be an easy design to use a door and still have the thing both seal water tight and also open easily. I think that Leupold may have been going for a system where nobody could lose the battery cap, but ended up with one where people have trouble getting at the battery at all.

I think that before we leave the MK 6 1-6x, it is worth mentioning that these are already in service overseas. Leupold participated in a fairly large Soldier Enhancement Program of troops currently in theater. I am sure that the troops appreciate their new MK 6 1-6x scopes as they far more capable than either red dot sights or fixed 4x ACOGs.

Leupold Mark 6 3-18x44mm:
leupold318profile.jpg


Also at last year's Shot Show but not written about by me because of my myopic 1-(n)x focus last year as well as the NDA, was the MK 6 3-18x44. This year it is available not only with the primarily stadia type CMR-W reticle, as seen on the 1-6x, but also with an H-58, Tremor 2, and soon a TMR. While it is not illuminated yet, removing it from many folks' list of possibilities for a long range tactical scope, it will be offered in an illuminated version soon.

My simple impression of this scope at this point is that I like it. It has a smaller than normal objective at 44mm, is lighter than most at 23.6 oz, shorter than most at 11.9", and has a good 6x erector ratio. I also like the features. The windage knob is capped and goes 5 mils each way with a stop. The elevation knob is exposed, but utilizes Leupold's pinch and lock system to avoid problems being bumped. The elevation is .1 mil, 2 turn, 10 mils per turn with a zero stop and turn indicator knob. The clicks feel good and are well spaced. Lastly, Leupold has the simplest quick change removable BDC scale system I have ever seen. The rings just snap on to the outside of the turret and are held in place with two little spring loaded pins. The glass also looked good, or as good as can be ascertained on the floor at Shot Show. Lastly, the street price on the 3-18x44 MK 6, without the Horus craziness, is currently $2,200. Even with a little bump for illumination, this puts it somewhere around Nightforce F1 or ATACR prices but with substantially more features. If I was Leupold, that is not somewhere I would mind being.

Leupold Mark AR 2-12x40mm SFP rife scope:
leupold412profile.jpg


The last scope that I want to discuss before leaving Leupold is their 4-12x40mm MK AR. As I mentioned in my earlier Bushnell article, I was on the lookout at Shot this year for passable .22lr training scopes. Close focus, manageable cost, and matched reticles to clicks are the guiding features for this optic. The 4-12x Mark AR is Leupold's contribution to this search. It can be had with a simple mil dot reticle and has .1 mil clicks with 6 mils per rev. The focus is on the objective and gets a bit closer than 25 yards. It also comes with engraved bdc turrets for a 55gr .223 and 168gr .308. I'm sure someone will appreciate that, but I am equally sure that that someone is not on SnipersHide. While the glass looked a bit sketchy (I am told it is VX-1 glass) and certainly wasn't edge to edge clear, at $500 it is not a very costly optic and being a Leupold, will probably hold up well. I think this scope offers a lot for the .22lr trainer. It may also be the ticket for a great many of the po-boys out there. Matching turrets and clicks in a $500 scope that will probably hold up well: that is actually something quite unusual.