Rifle Scopes Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

[Matt3357]

Gentlemen,

I just ordered my first AR on Saturday. I ordered a Rock River Varmint A4 with an 18" barrel. I have anywhere from 60 to 90 days until I get it and so I am starting the research project of finding the scope I want to put on it. I plan on using it for targets, p-dogs, and coyotes so I need variable magnification from not much to as much as possible. The catch is I don't really want to spend more than $300 on a scope as I already just dropped $1100 for the gun, 6 mags, and shipping. I did some quick looking and came across the Leupold Mark AR series of rifle scopes. The 3-9x40 really caught my eye at $350 bundled with the Burris PEPR mount from SWFA. Do you guys have any experience with this scope or have any other recommendations?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[med17]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

I've got one, and for the money it is great. It doesn't have some of the features the MRK-4's have ( side focus, illuminated reticle, etc.) but I got it for coyote hunting on an AR, and had Leupold put a BDC reticle in it(about $60) and it works great. And, just like the more expensive MRK-4's... Lifetime Warranty. For the money...Great scope!

 

[MrSwede]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40


I've had the Mark AR 3-9x40 for 4 years now and I am very happy with it. For the price it's a real bargain, imo.

I've used it on an LR308, Tikka T3, Sako Vixen and Mini-14 and it has performed without a hitch. Glass is good/great and tracking has been 100%.

Buy with confidence!

 

[Matt3357]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

No one else out there with this scope???

Matt

 

[Dynamic Response]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

I have the Leupold Mark AR 3-9 with Duplex reticle. Its a great scope for the money and the BDC turrets work great. The Glass is very clean especially for a scope in this price range. I have mine mounted on a Rock River with the Leupold mount and its a great setup for coyote hunting.

Im actually selling my Scope and mount. If your interested in buying it let me know. My scope is Like new. There isnt a single scratch on it or any blemishes what so ever. The only reason Im selling it is because I want to buy a red dot and I recently bought a NightForce F1 so Im low on funds.

 

[Dynamic Response]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

Almost forgot, Congrats on the Rock River purchase. They are great rifles. I had mine for 8 years now and it hasnt let me down yet.

 

[mluning]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

I looked at a couple of these at a local gun store today. Very impressed with the glass at this price point. Only thing I don't care for are the miss matched turrets to reticle, and 1" tube. But if all you intend to do is punch paper and/or hunt without needing the adjustments, then this would be a great scope to have.

 

[MitchInOR]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

When I built my spr ar I was looking at the Leupold. Fortunately The Weaver 3-10x40 that is a Midway exclusive was brought to my attention by Lowlight. Do a search there is a video on here about it.

The Weaver has nice glass, exposed mil based turrets and a mil-dot reticle. What I didn't like about the Luepold was the capped elevation turret and the windage that you cannot set to zero. Plus the 1/2 moa elevation does not match the mil dot.

I have mine set up on a 22 moa Badger base with medium Warne rings. Last time I shot it long I was able to dial to 800 yards and hold over to 1000.

Midway has these on sale often for $300. link

 

[Matt3357]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

Fortunately for me, I would rather have a the standard duplex reticle for this scope since it isn't mil/mil and 30mm. I am going to try and find one locally tomorrow to do some comparisons. Thanks for all of the reviews guys. Keep them coming.

Matt

 

[Early Cuyler]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

I had a 3-9x40 duplex on my RRA 16" for about 18 months. It worked very well tracking wise out to 500yds and back. Glass was also exceptionally clear for the price.

I ultimately traded it out for a PST 2.5-10x as I wanted a fancier reticle for holdovers, finer adjustments (1/4 vs 1/2moa), illumination, and more elevation.

Another thing I didn't like was the bdc turret "calibrated" to the round. I never got/get 3100fps so those numbers were useless. It didn't take away from adjustments as they had regular numbers. It just makes me wonder how long a barrel and with what ammo does someone get a 55gr bullet going 3100fps.

 

[Matt3357]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

Halcyon,

I know what you are saying about the turret. I have pondered the same things over the passed couple of days. Since my ammo will all be handloaded I hopefully can find something that is accurate at that speed. I'll definitely need a chronograph for sure.

Matt

 

[Early Cuyler]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

The turrets I had still had the 2, 4, 6, etc. markings on them. So they can be used like traditional turrets like I did. It just frustrates me that they market them as calibrated when Leupold has no idea what the MV is out of each persons rifle. I guess caveat emptor is alive and well.

It should be noted my groups were about .7-.8 moa out of my 16" RRA with handloads.

 

[Matt3357]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

Nice groups. What was your recipe?

Matt

 

[Prebanpaul]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

I have one of these on my LWRC....... Its bdc turret works great..... It is based of the most widely shot round in the ar market....... I have it paired with a arms quick detach rings..... You want to get it to 3100 fps use 28.5 grns h380 I shoot this round in every 223 gun that i have with a 55grn sgk..... Its compressed, it shows no sign of over pressure from any gun that I have ever put it in.....(probably 20 diffrent ones I love 788's and AR's).

Going back to the scope, the ar-15 was not designed to shoot groups 1/2 minute out to 600 yards..... so lets get all the bs out of the way..... Yes I know now they can do it. Back to reality...... the scope in question is not designed to shoot half moa out to 600 yards. it is designed to hit a human target at that distance. So the BDC does exactly what the Leupold team wants it to do. It is a great,great inexpensive scope to put on an Ar-15.......

 

[Dynamic Response]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

Prebanpaul is right. The BDC is to just get you on target as fast as possible. You can always fine tune it later. For the money its hard to beat. Its a great package for coyote hunting and if you happen to drop your gun it wont kill you since it only cost $300 or so.

 

[Matt3357]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

The feedback is great so far. I have a few bullets picked out and have Benchmark and Varget to run in it. The barrel on this thing is only 18" so I'm gonna need a powder that'll get it moving that fast in an 18" barrel. I figure the soonest I'll get this thing is mid July so I have a bit of time to research loads and buy a scope. Any thoughts on the Duplex Reticle vs the Mil dot?

Matt

 

[Prebanpaul]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

I like the ballistic plex because of the bdc..... I wish I would have gotten the 6x18x40

 

[Matt3357]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Prebanpaul</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I like the ballistic plex because of the bdc..... I wish I would have gotten the 6x18x40 </div></div>

If money was no object, I would go for either the SS 5-20 or a Nightforce/Viper Razor....

but alas, money still makes the world go round. This scope is my way of buying something that will get the job done well at a decent price but still be of value if I ever decide to sell/move it to a different rifle.

Matt

 

[Bob L Swagger]

Re: Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40

I have one on my .450 bushmaster and it seems to be a decent scope for the money. I shot a few hornady 250 gr. factory rounds through the chrono and sent the data to Leupold for a custom turret to replace the .223 turret that comes with it. Seems to track well and the turret is spot on with the distances that I have attempted.