Rifle Scopes Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

[lavaspit]

Ok, Im just going to come right out and say that Im in over my head. I want to learn distance shooting, and Ive been investing bit by bit in that endeavor. I bought a Tikka T3 and I think I made a good choice there. I know there arent as many options out there as there are for Remmingtons and what not. But the rifle has a lot of great features right out of the box and I figured for the money it was a great place to start.

Fast forward months later - the rifle still unfired because...no optics. And no knowledge of optics. Last week a friend of mine offered me a Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 3.5-10x40mm (30mm) M1 Illum off of a demo rifle for $700. I looked it up and it seemed I was getting almost 50% off, and I know that Luepold is a trusted name.

After scouring You Tube, I still cant really tell what this scope can achieve, or what the hell I'm dealing with. Is it tactical? Is it precision? Is it really good to 1000 yards firing .308? Did I really get a steal? Did I get the right mounts (Burris Tactical 30mm)? Can I grow into this scope? Will I be wanting more power right away? Is this too complicated for a beginner?

As an aside, I have a Sig 556 and I am really interested in the Vortex Razor HD. To me, if I didn't get the great deal that I thought I did on this Luepold, Id rather have my money back and get something for mid-range shooting, such as the Vortex, or maybe an Eotech simply because I live in the inner city and the ranges around here wont let me shoot a .308.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. The more thorough the better, and the more basic the language the better. I have SOME concept of milling, but not much. ok, none.

 

[0481]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

You did good. You will be good to 1k. Some like more power but that's up to you.

 

[Bedlam]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

LR/T stands for "Long Range/Tactical". You got a great price on a decent scope.

 

[SGT TickleFight]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

That is an amazing deal! Unfortunately it is a bit underpowered for a target scope if you want to shoot greater than 300 yards unless you have jedi mastry of concentration. I don't push my scope past 12x when shooting at those distances to minimize mirage.

This scope is excellent tactically because down at 3x you have a huge field of view and 10x is perfectly adequate at engaging man-sized targets out to 800 yards. If you are trying to hold a 5" group at 600 yards on paper you will probably be replacing it eventually with something at least with 16x capability. Hey, if it isn't enough power for you it could easily resell for 1k. I would just buy it for the deal and sell my mark AR.

 

[northern shooter]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

Had the exact same scope used it for F class out to 1000 yards, Put 10 shots into a pie size target at 1000 meters with it and hit pop cans out that far too, Good scope.

 

[jpspeeddemon]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

learn to quarter the targets and you'll do fine at long range with that scope. The only draw back to 10x is that it is a little more difficult to see impacts at 1000y, other than that its fine.

 

[SGT TickleFight]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jpspeeddemon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">learn to quarter the targets and you'll do fine at long range with that scope. The only draw back to 10x is that it is a little more difficult to see impacts at 1000y, other than that its fine. </div></div>

I guess what I meant to say is higher powers make things easier - but you can become good with it as you skills develop.

One thing to add is higher power scopes let you see mirage better which can be used to gauge wind.

 

[lavaspit]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

Thanks guys.

Yeah Ive seen some 30x equivalent scopes and I can see the difference. In any case, buyers remorse is fading now.

Medium Burris Rings came. I can get a pinky in between the bell and the barrel. I would say its acceptable, but I could go lower. Also, 12 screws sucks.

 

[lavaspit]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

I like what Im hearing. Sounds like I can learn on this thing, which is all i want. Its better than my Osprey 3x12x40. Im thinking of either selling it (who'd buy it?) or painting it black and occasionally putting it on my .22LR or even my 556. Its bright silver.

As far as my rings and the spacing...is 8-10 mm distance from bell to barrel acceptable? It looks bad ass mounted, but somehow higher than it really is. Probably because the 30mm tube. Again the Bell is pretty close. Will attach a pic when I can and you guys can tell me if Im setup ok. Im also concerned about the shells ejecting and hitting the scope.

 

[coach482]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

To help learn mils and moa, go read and play with shooterready.com there is alot to learn from just playing with the free demos.

 

[med17]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

+1 what they'er all saying. 10 X is a little light for 1000 yrds, but on the good side mirage wont eat you as bad with a 10X as it will with a 20X. I've had one of these scopes for a long time and have beat the hell out of it and it still works fine. No complaints here.

 

[HPW]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

I may be misunderstanding you, but when you talk about getting a Razor for your Sig 556 to do more mid range stuff I think you are a bit confused. If anything the Mark 4 would be great on your Sig for 300-600 range work and a Razor would be great on your 308 to work out to longer distance. Either way I think you will be alright with the glass you have for what you are wanting to do.

 

[lavaspit]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

I didn't think of that. I would think the drop on a 5.56 round would be vastly different from a .308 out past 300-500 yards or something. Also I really do want to keep my Sig 556 as a fast acquisition, close to mid range combat tool. So Ill probably go with a holo sight, like the eotech setup with 3x flip over.

I understood the Razor to be a 4x scope and not much else (besides looking amazing). But I take your point.

Too many impulsive decisions on my part. If anyone out there has a line on eotech or even the Opmod setup let me know.

 

[fenwick253]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

Lavaspit, I think HPW was referring to the Vortex Razor 5-20x50 option. It is their longrange addition to their 1-4 CQB scope.

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vort...reticle/reticle

 

[Driftwood]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

It's a good solid scope and you got a good deal on it. I used one just like it on my favorite rifle, before switching out to one of Leupolds ERT/FFP models with a little more power. Although I love the new scope, I have often wondered if I made the right choice. The older LRT performed very well for me. I found myself using it almost exclusively on 10X though. I believe Leupold will convert the M1 .25 MOA turrets to M5 .1 MIL turrets on that model. I don't know what the cost is though. The M5 turrets are a big improvement, as there is no need to covert back and forth from MIL to MOA when using your reticle in conjunction with your turrets.

 

[SGT TickleFight]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

There is no such thing as proper scope height. What is important is proper cheek weld and there are many ways to accomplish this.

Your cheek bone should rest on the top of the stock. If it doesn't blackhawk makes some risers that strap-on and karsten makes an adjustable piece that requires you drill through your stock there are many others but these seem to be the most popular.

Proper cheek weld promotes accurate shooting by relieving strain on your neck and will reduce perceived recoil while allowing you to get back on target faster to spot your shots.

 

[lavaspit]

Re: Leupold Mark 4: What the hell do I have here???

Re: cheeck weld: The T3 has a riser, however Im having a custom stock made that has a fixed cheek weld, so Id have to get some kind of a neoprene bag / bullet holder if I needed more height. Overall the current setup feels fine, but I haven't fired yet. I live in San Francisco. The city isn't even 1000 yards long.