Re: Mark IV LR/T Illuminated. Are they worth 1K+?
The value of a scope depends on many factors, I have the following scopes, and I suppose I'll list roughly what I paid for them and my impressions.
Leupold MKIV 4.5-14X50 M1 mil dot, I paid 850 dollars
for this scope 4 years or so ago, I have it mounted on my RRA/LAR AR-15. It has been a great little scope, I love the clarity, the simplicity, the repeatable accuracy, large window of adjustment's. I have regularly shot to 1k and back since I purchased the combo, I have to say it is a great setup and I feel very confident with the scope. If I had to say something negative about it, it would be that I could use a little more magnification for those really long shots. But It is not a big deal, my overall opinion of this scope? Its probably #3 on my list of go to optics that I currently shoot. Very happy with the scope and the price I paid for it.
Leupold MKIV 6.5-20X50 M1 ILLUM TMR If I recall I paid just under 1300 for this scope about 6 years ago, I probably could have got it for less but I was in a hurry. This scope has been my load carrier for the last several years, It is mounted on a Savage 10 fcp in .308. I <span style="font-weight: bold">LOVE</span> this scope, it has been used more than all my others combined probably, and in much harsher weather and aggressive fashion. I have drug the rifle through many a blizzard, drippy forest, and dusted out in the hot dry desert. It's been bumped against rocks, trees, dumped off the back of a tailgate but it just keeps on tickin like the day it was installed. I have shot the rifle to 1400yds and back before, the scope is always dialing up and down, never had any issues with tracking (that I know of)
The glass is clear as a bell, and I can look through it all day. I am extremely happy with the purchase of this scope, it has been worth every penny. It would probably be #1 on my list of go to scopes.
Vortex Viper PST 4-16X50 FFP EBR-1 I have had this scope since may of 2010, purchased for around 800$ at Cameraland. It has quickly become one of my favorite scopes, almost to the same level as my MKIV6.5-20 above. The features of this scope are far better than the MKIV scopes I have, the zero stop is very convinient, the FFP is something I'll never live with out again, the 4-16 power range is just right for the custom .223 it rides on, the reticle is very useful and in my opinion the best I've used, my only complaint would be to open the center like the TMR. This is also my first MIL/MIL scope, I much prefer the MIL over MOA. And this scope has been fantastic at teaching me to use it. I have shot the host rifle to 1300ish yds and back regularly, and the Viper doesn't skip a beat. Its always on track, and has made a boringly accurate rifle more so. This scope is almost tied for first place in my book, only things keeping it from pushing my 6.5-20 out of its place is it's on duty time, its still relatively new to the collection. As well as the MKIV's have in my eye, a slight optical advantage, not much, but just enough to notice after shooting one all day and then switch to another. This scope still comes in a very close #2 on my list. And worth every penny, if not more!
SuperSniper 5-20X50HD I got in on the group buy for this scope, I actually got 4 of them, one for me and brothers. The 1000$ group buy price was a very good value in my opinion, as this scope is definitely
Worth more than that. Again the features of this scope are full of win, the FFP is very handy, the reticle is very useful, again MIL/MIL, the 5-20 power range is just right for my eyes, even though I rarely shoot over 16X with any scope, and usually more into the 12X range. The only complaint I have about the SS is the poor illumination of the reticle, myself and several others have been discussing it as it seems to be a widespread problem. I am somewhat troubled with SWFA's silence in the threads discussing it. But being that illumination is not that big of a deal to me, I'm not too worried, I have only used illumination three times, and in those situations, this scope would have worked as is. While My SS still rest's in its box awaiting a host, we have since mounted another on a new rifle of my brother's. I haven't had much experience with this scope so I will not be putting a rating of it on my list of "go to's". I am however, very very confident that once in service this scope will jump to the top as #1. Its optical clarity is beyond the MKIV's and PST, it has all the best features (except ZS) and I simply cannot wait to get this scope mounted and use it.
So there is a little comparison of some scopes, everyone of them good, I would be happy to spend the rest of my life using any one of them.