Leupold Mark 3HD line

[Tokarev]

These have been rumored for awhile as the "serious use" replacement for the VX-R Patrol and similar scopes in the Leupold family.

The scopes themselves appear to be somewhat throwback in features. 30mm tube, basic reticles (no Horus, CCH, CMR2) but some models do have illumination.

Price is good for an American optic and features seem pretty good for the money. I note with particular interest that the 1.5-4x20mm has a listed weight of 9.6 ounces. Unless that's a misprint that seems pretty impressive in a market where many 1-4 or 1-6 options are a pound or more.

https://www.leupold.com/mark-3hd-1.5...m.-firedot-tmr

Of equal interest is the new 4-12x40mm with a weight of just over a pound and a length of 12.6 inches.

https://www.leupold.com/mark-3hd-4-1...um-firedot-tmr

Here's the current Mark 3HD lineup:

https://www.leupold.com/shop/riflesc...hd-rifle-scope

One concern I have in the current market is the choice of 1.5x at the low end. Will the market accept a bit of magnification? The old Leupold Mark 4 1.5-5 MRT was a good scope but that was a generation ago.

Anyway, has anyone had a chance to see any of the new scopes yet?

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[just a scout]

Meh. Prices are ok. I used to love Leupold but now...? I wish they’d make an illuminated scout scope, either a 2-7 IER with BDC or TMR, or a 1-5 IER with the same. Either with Firedot would be cool too.


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[Tokarev]

Meh. Prices are ok. I used to love Leupold but now...? I wish they’d make an illuminated scout scope, either a 2-7 IER with BDC or TMR, or a 1-5 IER with the same. Either with Firedot would be cool too.


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Leupold did some pretty amazing stuff back in the day. The CQT pretty much started the LPVO back about 20 years ago. The whole Mark 4 line was pretty much the standard for quite awhile. But I guess like BlackBerry they decided their success was enough to carry them indefinitely. Plus some of their recent attempts at innovation didn't go over too well. The LCO was a decent red dot but too expensive and too late in a very crowded market. The DEVO sure seemed like a good idea but never really caught on.



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[dpb1776]

I have the VX-R patrol in both 1.5-4 and 3-9. The 1.5-4 I have used in 2 and 3 gun matches. It’s a good scope their are better choices but the 1.5 never had an issue shooting both eyes open or really noticed a difference in speed between it and a red dot. Glass is super clear


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[Tokarev]

I have the VX-R patrol...1.5 never had an issue shooting both eyes open...

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Ever try shooting off your support side shoulder/non-dominant eye with the slight magnificent?

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[dpb1776]

Yes no issues but I shoot DMR and PRS matches also. You do have to practice, it’s strange at first but once your brain are whatever gets some time in no problem. Scope has decent eye relief also, the new one having a zero stop is a plus. There decent optics mine have been banged around repeatedly. Cross hair is thick for true precision work but the plus side very fast on target. For is daylight bright


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[jsbhike]

The turrets look less likely to move than the meat tenderizer checkering on the VXR Patrol I had (my only gripe) and sold to get a VXR Hog.

Recently picked up a used 3-9×40 VXR with circle plex holdover reticle I am liking.

That being said, unless it is fairly improved, I don't know I would l would like it for $700 though.

[lowprone]

Interesting, been looking for optic for my Ruger Gunsite 5.56.

[SomeOtherGuy]

Hadn't seen these yet. Looks like incremental improvement on existing VX-3 and VX-R series. Not really competitive any more - not only at MSRP but even at real selling prices.

The single biggest issue with these is that while magnification is advertised (for the series overall) as being a 3:1 zoom range, when you look at the stated field of view, or at actual magnification (they used to list that on the prior series, which are optically similar if not the same), you'll see that the real zoom range is around 2.5:1, sometimes even a bit less. For example, the 1.5-4x is only claiming a 2.66:1 zoom range, and its field of view covers only a 2.47:1 range. That's primitive, when a true 4:1 is common with all other brands, cheap, and has no real drawbacks even at a low price point.

(For optics nerds - field of view doesn't always track the magnification range perfectly, but when it doesn't that's usually because of tunneling at the low end. FOV is still a good proxy for actual range of magnification.)

[Tokarev]

Hadn't seen these yet. Looks like incremental improvement on existing VX-3 and VX-R series. Not really competitive any more - not only at MSRP but even at real selling prices.

Scopelist.com had a couple illuminated models in stock but they sold out right away. At least I think it was scopelist. It may have been Kenzies.

Anyway, price for illuminated appears to be just under $600 and $500 for non-illuminated. Price and name recognition should help these sell.

I think the 1.5-4 will do okay if it is daylight bright and durable.

With all that said, I think Leupold is somewhat stuck in the 1990s with the magnification choice. I guess they think most shooters want a 4x scope that they can dial down to occasionally use like a red dot vs a red dot that can occasionally be used with some magnification. Too bad....

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