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Rifle Scopes Leupold Mark 5 3.6-18x44 or something else?

H

hunter8793

AEKDB
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 18, 2018
261
172
Arkansas
Hey guys I fondled a Mark 5HD (SM) yesterday and I think it would be a great scope for my custom AR10 in 6.5 Creedmoor. Should I be looking at some other scopes to compare it against before I buy it? What scopes does this one compete against?

Inteded uses: Hunting and range time hhhhhnnnnnnnnngggggggg

Budget: $1700 or a few hundred more if something is really worth it.

I don’t think I’d shoot past 400 yards.
I really like the size and weight of the Mark 5.

I don’t really need illumination.

My barrel is a 16 inch Criterion. I wanted to build kind of a battle rifle type gun, that’s why I didn’t go with a longer barrel. I previously thought about getting a LPVO in the 1-6, or 1-8 range. But I fondled that Mark 5 and I can’t stop thinking about it guys...

Please point me in the right direction.
Thank you.
 
The mark 5 always interested me. People seem to really like these. Think I might try this out for my short barreled 308 build.
 
Leupold seems to have gotten their head out of their ass with the VX5 & 6 along with the Mark 5. Great optics
 
For a gas gun, the MK5 your looking at with a H59 is hard to beat. Good balance of weight and features.
 
NX8 and 4-16 ATACR (used) should be in that range. I like the MK5s a lot though. Leupold just needs a modern tree reticle. Hell doesn't even have to be a tree reticle just a center dot with 2/10th subtensions.
 
I’m with the others. Stick with the Mark 5 HD. Great scope. I know everyone’s eyes are different so that matters, but to me, the Mark 5 HD glass was exceptional and the features plus lightweight made it an easy choice.
 
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Genin said:
I’m with the others. Stick with the Mark 5 HD. Great scope. I know everyone’s eyes are different so that matters, but to me, the Mark 5 HD glass was exceptional and the features plus lightweight made it an easy choice.
Click to expand...

I really am leaning that way. And it is made in America.
 
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redneckbmxer24 said:
Stick with the Mark 5 man, it’s a far better scope than anything Burris makes
Click to expand...

Some might agree. Some won't.

I doubt you've had them side by side to offer an educated opinion. This seems more like just a blanket hate statement towards Burris. And that's all good, you're as entitled to your opinion as everyone else.

I hate Dodge trucks.
And the Cowboys. Worst bandwagon fans ever..
Oh... and Starbucks. Black Rifle Coffee is far better coffee than anything Starbucks makes.
 
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Birddog6424 said:
Some might agree. Some won't.

I doubt you've had them side by side to offer an educated opinion. This seems more like just a blanket hate statement towards Burris. And that's all good, you're as entitled to your opinion as everyone else.

I hate Dodge trucks.
And the Cowboys. Worst bandwagon fans ever..
Oh... and Starbucks. Black Rifle Coffee is far better coffee than anything Starbucks makes.
Click to expand...

They’re made in the phillipines, are they not?
 
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redneckbmxer24 said:
They’re made in the phillipines, are they not?
Click to expand...

Yes, some of their scopes are made in the Philippines. Some of their scopes, their spotters and binos are made by LOW in Japan.

The XTR3 was designed and is manufactured in Greeley Colorado. Expect to see more products from Burris move stateside over time.

I like the MK5. It's an excellent scope for Leupold.
 
Birddog6424 said:
Yes, some of their scopes are made in the Philippines. Some of their scopes, their spotters and binos are made by LOW in Japan.

The XTR3 was designed and is manufactured in Greeley Colorado. Expect to see more products from Burris move stateside over time.

I like the MK5. It's an excellent scope for Leupold.
Click to expand...

I got to check one out and the shooter said it was made in the phillipines, guess he was wrong. I do see on the website it says “designed, machined, and assembled” in the US but I guess not enough US made parts to technically be “made in USA”.

I was pretty unimpressed by it. If it cost half of what it does then I could see some merit.

Mark 5 is a better optic. Period.
 
redneckbmxer24 said:
I got to check one out and the shooter said it was made in the phillipines, guess he was wrong. I do see on the website it says “designed, machined, and assembled” in the US but I guess not enough US made parts to technically be “made in USA”.

I was pretty unimpressed by it. If it cost half of what it does then I could see some merit.

Mark 5 is a better optic. Period.
Click to expand...

Yeh, that's called an XTRII. ;)

The "rules" surrounding Made in the USA are convoluted at best. The glass is sourced from Japan.

The rest is designed and manufactured in Greeley.

I'm not sure what you found to be unimpressive. The glass is every bit as good as the MK5 and the Gen2 Razor. It kills every optic out there in FOV. The MK5 looks like its tunneling in comparison with so much of the eyepiece visible. It has a large black ring compared to the XTR3's edge to edge glass. Parallax and diopter are easy to use, DOF is as good as any alpha scope. Great features with a locking diopter and capped windage.

I've compared two 30x and an 18x against two different 25x MK5's, and one 35x, the XTR3 never came up short. And looked much better than the 35x with both optics at 30. So you lost me at unimpressive..

Again, I like the MK5, it's a nice scope. And I'm not going to try to sell anyone on what I've seen. People should drop them side by side for themselves. That picture is worth a thousand words. Not everyone will love it, and again, I respect everyone's opinion.
 
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Obviously I'm a Burris guy, so everyone can take me with a grain of salt. However, wjm308 wrote an incredibly extensive review of his XTR3, and its here in the scope section. Bill is an extremely knowledgable guy in regards to scope quality, and an unbiased source of information.

He mostly compared against the 20x NX8 and his 18x Kahles. But he did drop this paragraph regarding other scopes and where he thought the XTR3 fit in to the <$2k category.

Quoted from Bill's review;

""Other $2k class scopes I have used would be the Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44 which had better turrets and similar DOF/Parallax; however, my copy did not do that great in overall IQ and the sweet spot of the NF NX8 and Burris XTR III was quite a bit better than the Leupold. I've had the Steiner T5Xi's and their CA was so bad they were immediately returned. The Bushnell LRTS 4.5-18x44 and Tract Toric 4-20x50 are lower priced and suffer from heavier CA; however, they do have impressive IQ for the price. It is my personal opinion that the Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 is the best overall scope in its class ($1500 - $2000) and offers a great value for its price. I have used the Bushnell ET 2.5-21x50 DMR II and was quite impressed, but optically it would not stand against the XTR III, Bushnell also has their new DMR II Pro which may compare IQ wise but suffers in FOV and is 5 oz heavier and has no illumination offering.""
 
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Birddog6424 said:
XTR3. I've seen them side by side.

Do yourself a favor and look at the Burris.
Click to expand...

Yeah so just curious here.... are you a regular Joe Bubba consumer, or do you have some affiliation with Burris? I don’t know if it was this post or one of several others in this thread, but something gave me the distinct impression it’s Option B.
 
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Birddog6424 said:
Some might agree. Some won't.

I doubt you've had them side by side to offer an educated opinion. This seems more like just a blanket hate statement towards Burris. And that's all good, you're as entitled to your opinion as everyone else.

I hate Dodge trucks.
And the Cowboys. Worst bandwagon fans ever..
Oh... and Starbucks. Black Rifle Coffee is far better coffee than anything Starbucks makes.
Click to expand...

Why bring the cowboys into this!?!
 
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Crews said:
Yeah so just curious here.... are you a regular Joe Bubba consumer, or do you have some affiliation with Burris? I don’t know if it was this post or one of several others in this thread, but something gave me the distinct impression it’s Option B.
Click to expand...

It's definitely option B.

As I stated above, I expect people to take me with a grain of salt. That's why I re commend looking for yourself. I've seen them side by side, as have other folks here on the Hide as I posted above, so I have confidence in what other people will see as well.

The new Burris is a very nice optic in the sub $2k price point. As more of them get into the marketplace, people are going to see it for themselves.
 
Just set one up for a buddy on a .300WM Tikka hunting rifle, I had looked down the pipe of a 25x but this was my first experience with the 18, really liked it. The capped windage and lock on the elevation knob provide a quick way to dial but not get knocked off your zero carrying it around in the woods. Glass was very good.
 
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