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Rifle Scopes Mark 6 Leupold 3-18x44 overview

dieselgeek

Do you even Shoot Bro?
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 1, 2010
1,423
5
Dallas, Texas
Really looking forward to spending some more time behind this scope. I'll be using it at OTS this weekend, and running it though it's paces on the range. Be sure to subscribe to see the updates as we will be doing a part 2 on this scope. So far I'm very impressed with how Leupold has stepped up to the plate!
 
VERY good review! I'm ordering one of these for an SPR and the Mk 8 next week for my new 6.5 Creed. If you have been behind the Mk 6 and 8, can you tell a difference in glass quality? I've heard they use the same glass but I'm not able to confirm it.
 
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VERY good review! I'm ordering one of these for an SPR and the Mk 8 next week for my new 6.5 Creed. If you have been behind the Mk 6 and 8, can you tell a difference in glass quality? I've heard they use the same glass but I'm not ably to confirm it.

A leupold rep confirmed that it is indeed the same glass.
 
Cool! That's impressive because I hear the glass is on par with the high end stuff like Steiner,Khales, and S&B.
 
I've been eyeing the mark 6 now for the last couple months... I got a .260 rem build going on with Jon Beanland and this may fit the bill. Can you provide a P/N for the sphur rings? I may pull the trigger on your exact optical set up (it's between this or a USO 5x25).

Thanks for the review bud!
 
Nice review as always. How does the glass compare to the bushnell ers you were previously running?
 
Well done on the video. I got myself one of the Mark 6 3-18x44mm with the TMR.


SPECIFICATIONS:
Lens Coating Xtended Twilight Lens System w/ Diamond Coat 2
Elevation Adjustment style M5B2 Autolocking Pinch & Turn
Adjustment Value 0.1 Mil Per Click
Elevation Zero Stop Yes
Revolution Indicator Yes
Adjustment Per Revolution 10 Mils
Factory/custom quick change BDC rings available Yes
Maintube Diamater 34mm
Waterproof Yes
Fogproof Yes
Eyepiece Design Locking Fast Focus
Actual Magnification 3-18
Linear Field of View (ft @100yd) 36.8-6.3
Exit Pupil (mm) 10.3-2.4
Weight (oz) 23.6
Length (in) 11.9
Mounting Space (in) 5.3
Objective Aperature (mm) 44
Eye Relief (in) 3.8-3.9
Elevation Adjustment Range (MOA) 100
Windage Adjustment Range (MOA) 50

Mike @ CSTACTICAL
 
ive been looking at this also, do you feel that the 44mm gives you less light gathering than the 50mm. do you have more or less field of view with this verses the bushnell...

I like this because of the compact size and weight, but after checkingout diesels review, there are many things on this scope that really fits the bill
 
ive been looking at this also, do you feel that the 44mm gives you less light gathering than the 50mm. do you have more or less field of view with this verses the bushnell...

I like this because of the compact size and weight, but after checkingout diesels review, there are many things on this scope that really fits the bill


Generally speaking - anywhere near this price point, light is less a function of objective size and more a function of coatings on the lenes.
 
Why did you go from a .260 to a 6.5 Creedmoor? Just a point of curiosity for me.

And to confirm, you put this Leupold above the Bushnell ERS that you had been using?
 
Why did you go from a .260 to a 6.5 Creedmoor? Just a point of curiosity for me.

And to confirm, you put this Leupold above the Bushnell ERS that you had been using?

Seems more forgiving to load for, and I bought a lot of creedmoor brass on sale. That and shorter COAL with the hybrids which I ran out of mag length room in my last barrel.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm curious how that Leupold locking turret will work under the stress of competition. When I handled one in a store a few weeks ago, it seemed pretty evident that I would have problems turning the turret under stress if my fingers didn't land on the locks... That's one reason I was looking at the ERS/XRS over the Leupold. But if the Leupold is that much better of a scope (or at the very least if the glass really is that much better) then I'll chalk the new turret design up to "I just need training on it" and that will put the Leupold back in the running for me.
 
What made you jump over to the Leupy, that much better than the ERS? It would be hard to let go of the G2 reticle and what is the cost comparison?
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm curious how that Leupold locking turret will work under the stress of competition. When I handled one in a store a few weeks ago, it seemed pretty evident that I would have problems turning the turret under stress if my fingers didn't land on the locks... That's one reason I was looking at the ERS/XRS over the Leupold. But if the Leupold is that much better of a scope (or at the very least if the glass really is that much better) then I'll chalk the new turret design up to "I just need training on it" and that will put the Leupold back in the running for me.

I'll key you know after this weekend. I'm shooting a match and will test it out.
 
I have no issues getting behind it. Seems just as easy to get behind at 18x. I think I could move it back one notch on the rail though.
 
Since you used the ERS for so long, is there anything about the ERS that you like better? I'm curious as to how much better the Leupold glass is, as most (limited) reviews I've seen match them up pretty evenly.
 
I will add my two cents about the MK6, picked one up a couple months ago on a whim, figured I would like a compact lightweight ffp scope to go on my MK12, a scope with a little more magnification than my 2.5-10x24 NXS. When I looked at the scope first, I was impressed with all bits features, sturdy robust lightweight, glass was a pleasant surprise, turrets seemed nice, a nice compact package. A couple days before one of our monthly matches, threw it on the rifle with a set of badgers u had lying around. Rings weren't tgecideal height but I figured they would do. Zeroed the rifle, fired about 25rds and put her away. Went to the match a few days later, again the scope impressed, easy to get behind, no eye box issues, don't think I even thought about pinching the elevation turret when I turned it, and there was a time limit on every stage. All in all, I really think Leopold put together a solid piece, I would recommend it, I do like the TMR reticle as well.
 
I'll be making another video soon, but the scope worked great at this weekends PRS match. (OTS BATTEL) We shot out to 1100 yards with out any issue, and all the way up to 10 yards. Shot real tiny bugs, and quite a bit of paper on day 2. The empty center is great.

Here is my 100 yard Cold Bore from day 2.

rrxPg3v.jpg
 
have you seen this model?
 

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the tmr has a dot in the middle, that's the best i can take (first time trying), this is the DMR scope for the kiwi army on the LMT rifles
 
Does this scope lack a diopter adjustment?

Not sure how important that is for me, I always end up in the middle of the range with an adjustable diopter.

Seriously considering this scope for one of my rifles, so thanks for the review.

Joe
 
Just a heads up... Mike at CS tactical had a couple MK6's/TMR on hand last night. I asked if he would price match Scott at liberty optics and he said "sure". So needless to say, I picked one up last night for my badger m2008 .308 and decided to go with a USO 5-25 for my .260 rem. I really like a lot of the features this glass offers for what I feel is a great price.
 
I'm having a hard time trying to decide between the Mark 6 3-18x44 and the new Nightforce 2.5-10x42...I really with the illuminated option with the Mark 6's was more reasonable.
 
bp7178, the two scopes really are very different, sfp versus ffp, magnification 10x versus 18x, tube diameter 30 versus 34, not taking anything away from the new Night force but its not a scope i would compare to the Mk6. Unless you really need the illumination option for lowlight hunting, I for one haven't had the need for it in competition for awhile.
 
Thanks for the review. I had been debating getting one for awhile, finally did.
I got the Horus reticle version, put it on a 10/22 to play with this weekend and love it. Glass is far better than I expected - to my eyes slightly better than Nightforce. Still not sure if I'm an FFP guy, but like the fact that at any power can use the reticle to range.
Not sure which rifle it will end up on but love the weight, size and features of this scope!
 
bp7178, the two scopes really are very different, sfp versus ffp, magnification 10x versus 18x, tube diameter 30 versus 34, not taking anything away from the new Night force but its not a scope i would compare to the Mk6. Unless you really need the illumination option for lowlight hunting, I for one haven't had the need for it in competition for awhile.

They are the two products on the market right now that intrest me the most. The tube diameter isn't much of an issue, the SFP vs FFP is much greater though. I find that scopes with a large magnification range in the FFP flavor really do make a tradeoff between usability at the low end, and how fine the reticle is at the upper end. The scope would be going on a 18" SPRish rifle. I do more flat range shooting than I would like to admit to, I'd much rather be out somewhere in the wild. That being said, I'm quite sure the 18x on the upper end will help in making nice holes. I had been using a 2.5-8x Leupold with a lot of sucess, but always which I had a tick more magnification, and better turrets. But I did love the TMR reticle. My old S&B spoiled me on turrets. Leupold feels like jelly in comparison, and I read mixed views on the Mk6's clicks. The NF scopes I've handled at work were very good in this regard.

I really want to get into/start hog hunting & maybe some multi-gun. I am planning on using a T-1 on a offset no matter which main optic I go with. So that may mitigate some of the short range issues with the high erector ratio of the Mk6. I do like SFP scopes in that regard, I've always found the reticles are VERY quick and user friendly at low magnification, and very fine at high.

My biggest problem is I'm too poor to buy both...
 
bp7178, several years ago I had the opportunity to look at the Mk6's in their development phase, I was suitably impressed, I had already ordered the TMR reticle before the illuminated option was available, I figured it was going to be a good scope anyways. This past summer I found myself in need of a little more optic that had been sitting on my bastardized MK12 Mod0. Since I had little or no time to reload, I ended up shooting the Mk12 and some left over Black Hills ammo in our monthly matches. Now my little NXS is awesome and will never be sold, but with my tired eyes, 10x at 5-600 yards wasnt cutting it, neither was the mil-moa combination. So I dumped the Mk6 on it with some rings I had lying around, its not a bad scope on a SPR, great combination of useful features including low weight.
 
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That's one thing which keeps me going back to the Mark 6. The overall size and low weight compared to the magnification range is a very big plus. Illumination isn't necessarily a deal breaker, but would be nice to have. I've found myself wanting more magnification WAY more often than needing illumination.
 
I took my mark 6 out the other day and found that when on 18x I need to set the parallax between 200 and 500 for it to properly be adjusted at 100 yards. Have other people found this to be the case?


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