Leupold MK6 vs. Vortex Razor HD 2 1-6

[Braniac]

ADM mount.

Looks like the recon SL mount can drop you a further .3 inches or so. That may be enough.

[trinydex]

That is just strange. I'd like to see that in person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9yhgABY97c

is this an accurate depiction of the flicker?

[Zane1844]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9yhgABY97c

is this an accurate depiction of the flicker?

Interesting, thanks for sharing that video.

[ptmccain]

Have the folks considering these two optics, considered the VCOG? Grant is offering a great price on them, FWIW.

[TehLlama]

LOL, yeah, it is 25 oz which makes it 1oz heavier than my IOR 1-8 and 50% heavier than the leupold. I guess the positive to that is that the weight is in the center so it does not affect the balance of the rifle.

I'd say the Vortex might still be the better option on a 7.62 rifle - that weight difference is masked, and the more solid feeling Razor might be worth that tradeoff. On my 5.56 stuff, the MK6 weight alone made that the choice - I'll accept the very limited eyebox with zoom above 3x for how well that reticle runs for me at lower power.
The VCOG into this equation adds a lot more - it seems to me that Trijicon really has the best .mil contract optic of the lot, but that's still a bulky optic; and the CMR reticles on the Leupy are an okay preemptive answer to the horseshoe reticles on the VCOG.

[Zane1844]

I'd say the Vortex might still be the better option on a 7.62 rifle - that weight difference is masked, and the more solid feeling Razor might be worth that tradeoff. On my 5.56 stuff, the MK6 weight alone made that the choice - I'll accept the very limited eyebox with zoom above 3x for how well that reticle runs for me at lower power.

What reticle do you have?

How does the limited eyebox of MK6 affect your shooting?

I have the Vortex, and like it. But, I am looking to get the MK6 as well if funds permit. So I am trying to get as much info as possible.

[MadAngler1]

What reticle do you have?

How does the limited eyebox of MK6 affect your shooting?

I have the Vortex, and like it. But, I am looking to get the MK6 as well if funds permit. So I am trying to get as much info as possible.

I would take a VCOG over the Mark 6, but I'm not sure if you'll gain much over the Vortex Razor HD II. If you want something clearer, look at a Kahles.

[Zane1844]

I would take a VCOG over the Mark 6, but I'm not sure if you'll gain much over the Vortex Razor HD II. If you want something clearer, look at a Kahles.

Why the VCOG?

I thought about that too, since Techeyes has the VCOG cheaper with a Bobro than the MK6. What is leading me toward the MK6 is the weight, and that the CMR-W reticle *seems* better. I must admit I LOVED my ACOG.

From what I could gather the VCOG has a little less FOV, the MK6 a little less than the Vortex. The MK6 is the lightest. I will go out on a limb and say the VCOG should be the most robust.

If the VCOG had some kind of mil scale it would be close to be perfect.

[MadAngler1]

Why the VCOG?

I thought about that too, since Techeyes has the VCOG cheaper with a Bobro than the MK6. What is leading me toward the MK6 is the weight, and that the CMR-W reticle *seems* better. I must admit I LOVED my ACOG.

From what I could gather the VCOG has a little less FOV, the MK6 a little less than the Vortex. The MK6 is the lightest. I will go out on a limb and say the VCOG should be the most robust.

If the VCOG had some kind of mil scale it would be close to be perfect.

The illumination on the Mark 6 is not that good for a nearly $2k scope. Likewise, it is not really forgiving, in the sense that you have to line up precisely behind the reticule to see the illumination on. I also find that the illumination at times appears to scatter inside of the tube. I think the CMR-W reticule is great for distance shooting (depending on your load and barrel length), but when I look through a Swarovski or Kahles, the Mark 6's glass fails to impress me for the price point.

The VCOG does have a smaller FOV, but I subjectively felt that the eyebox was a little bit more forgiving than the Mark 6's I've looked through. The biggest plus side to the VCOG IMHO is the way it mounts to the rifle. No need to worry about rings. Likewise, the horseshoe reticule is fairly crisp, and I did not witness any scatter in the models I've looked through (although I felt the segmented circle model did scatter: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...options/page48 ). Of course, like the ACOG, the VCOG is preset to certain ranges and a certain load. This sucks for anyone running a 14.5" or 20" gun in 7.62 or some different combo in a 5.56 model. Mil-based would be better, but it points to the fact that the VCOG was made to fulfill a military contract for a certain gun and round.

You mention weight as a factor, but remember, you need to include the weight of the mount/rings with the Mark 6 when comparing it to the VCOG, which already includes the mount. My Kahles is very light, but when combined with the ADM Delta mount, it is heavy. Hence, all of these scopes will weigh over 20 oz with the mount. The Vortex Razor HD II is the heaviest of all, but none of these scopes will feel like you're running an Aimpoint T1.

So in summary, I would take the Vortex Razor HD II over both the Mark 6 and VCOG. With the Razor, you get a nice daylight bright red dot and mil-based reticule. You have to spend $2700 to get something similar to that, and it's called the S&B Short Dot. I went with the Kahles because I got $300 off at the NRA Convention and I did not need NVD capability at the moment. Likewise, the glass was better than any of the other 1-6x scopes I've looked through at the show or on the range. The only thing better was the S&B 1.5-8x26 scope I looked at, but that doesn't count since it was over $3k

[Zane1844]

The illumination on the Mark 6 is not that good for a nearly $2k scope. Likewise, it is not really forgiving, in the sense that you have to line up precisely behind the reticule to see the illumination on. I also find that the illumination at times appears to scatter inside of the tube. I think the CMR-W reticule is great for distance shooting (depending on your load and barrel length), but when I look through a Swarovski or Kahles, the Mark 6's glass fails to impress me for the price point.

The VCOG does have a smaller FOV, but I subjectively felt that the eyebox was a little bit more forgiving than the Mark 6's I've looked through. The biggest plus side to the VCOG IMHO is the way it mounts to the rifle. No need to worry about rings. Likewise, the horseshoe reticule is fairly crisp, and I did not witness any scatter in the models I've looked through (although I felt the segmented circle model did scatter: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...options/page48 ). Of course, like the ACOG, the VCOG is preset to certain ranges and a certain load. This sucks for anyone running a 14.5" or 20" gun in 7.62 or some different combo in a 5.56 model. Mil-based would be better, but it points to the fact that the VCOG was made to fulfill a military contract for a certain gun and round.

You mention weight as a factor, but remember, you need to include the weight of the mount/rings with the Mark 6 when comparing it to the VCOG, which already includes the mount. My Kahles is very light, but when combined with the ADM Delta mount, it is heavy. Hence, all of these scopes will weigh over 20 oz with the mount. The Vortex Razor HD II is the heaviest of all, but none of these scopes will feel like you're running an Aimpoint T1.

So in summary, I would take the Vortex Razor HD II over both the Mark 6 and VCOG. With the Razor, you get a nice daylight bright red dot and mil-based reticule. You have to spend $2700 to get something similar to that, and it's called the S&B Short Dot. I went with the Kahles because I got $300 off at the NRA Convention and I did not need NVD capability at the moment. Likewise, the glass was better than any of the other 1-6x scopes I've looked through at the show or on the range. The only thing better was the S&B 1.5-8x26 scope I looked at, but that doesn't count since it was over $3k

Thanks for that, a link to your reviews.

I think I will just stick with my Vortex until I find that I need something else, instead of just wanting to try something else.

Though, Midway does have a pretty good deal on Kahles right now...