Rifle Scopes Leupold Vari-x III 3.5-10x 40mm Tactical scopes ever used on M24 military rifles?

[jjjxlr8]

Like the title says, were the Leupold Vari-X III 3.5-10x 40mm Tactical scopes ever used on M24 military rifles? I assume these are strictly commercial scopes but I was told by a Special Forces sniper of 19 years that these scopes were supplied by Leupold to replace the fixed 10x scopes sometime around 2004. He told me that this scope was "correct" for the M24 but I have my doubts and can't find any evidence to support that claim. I've never seen any M24 rifles with anything but a fixed 10x scope.

My first USGI "modern" sniper rifle:

 

[longshot2000]

Probably. That scope has been used on a number of military rifles. Solid scope. My military scope expertise starts somewhere around 2000, but for some reason, I have ignored research on the M24, favoring the gas sniper guns and the Mk13, but I need to learn more about the M24. It was in use forever.

 

[Count VonFuhrman]

They used these before their was a Mark 4.

 

[slothlacrosse]

Not sure if they were issued or sent as replacements, but I've seen them used on M24's.

 

[jjjxlr8]

Can anything be determined about the scope via the serial number? Anyone know what the rubbery sticker is/was on the bottom?

 

[Ranchhand]

I think the factory can tell you about the scope from the SN

 

[jjjxlr8]

Thanks for the suggestion. I contacted Leupold to find out what they could tell me.

 

[jjjxlr8]

Just received a reply from Leupold confirming that it was "used in service" but that's all they said.

 

[Ranchhand]

Nice. Pretty quick with an answer.

 

[jjjxlr8]

Yeah I was shocked! Wish I could have got more details but maybe they don't disclose details of government purchases, etc.? I was just happy to learn that the scope wasn't just a commercial scope that the previous owner swapped out.

 

[JS/]

I believe these were tagged as 3.5-10x40 LR scopes with M1 or M3 turrets. The M3 version had some extra elevation dials to match ballistics for .300 mag with a 190 SMK and some others for .308 and I don't recall what else without digging them out of storage. The M3 had one inch per click elevation and .5 for windage. The M1 had all 1/4 inch clicks, I believe. These came without objective threading for a sunshade, apparently because the army spec'd them that way. I recall sending my example in for threading for a sunshade to Premier Reticle, and then they provided a close (not perfect) sunshade diameter match. I guess today's shooters would consider them old school.

 

[Reverie Ranges]

The 3.5-10 scope was introduced to the M24 to select deployed Army units through the Rapid Fielding program after 2006. Was slated to replace the M3A on the M24A2. Snipers needed the variable power scope in urban environments as snap shots less than 200M were unfavorable with a 10 power fixed scope.
Hope you enjoy...

 

[sinister]

The 3.5-10 scope was introduced to the M24 to select deployed Army units through the Rapid Fielding program after 2006. Was slated to replace the M3A on the M24A2. Snipers needed the variable power scope in urban environments as snap shots less than 200M were unfavorable with a 10 power fixed scope.
Hope you enjoy...

What a waste of a precision asset. Soldiers that can't hit targets under 200 Meters away with their own unique- and zeroed-to-them individual weapons.

By spec and contract the fixed 10-power M3 was the issued Army scope.

The M3LR was the scope for the SOCOM 5.56 SPR, the SR-25, and the Mark 11.

Two different and separate organizations. It was also the scope for the Army M110, so maintenance "Floaters" were available for cross-decking.

The US Army Marksmanship Unit overhauled Vietnam-era M40s to "Short action M24s" as loaners for the Army Long Range Championships in 2004. We bought 75 or 80 Leupold M3LRs from Badger Ordnance from a Jordanian contract that was delayed or canceled.

 

[jjjxlr8]

Interesting details, gentlemen! Thank you very much. The turrets on this one are 1 click = 1 min.

They seem a bit coarse for such a precision rifle.

I'm very pleased with this rifle so far. I took it out to the range yesterday and tried some of my reloads against the M118 LR. I want to find something a little less expensive and easier to obtain than the M118 LR ammo. The scope works quite well going back and forth from 200 to 300 yds. My groups were consistently less than 1 MOA with the M118LR and even with my reloads, except for the last 3 rounds I shot. Not sure what I did on those but I did notice that I was having trouble with the reticle moving side to side on the target from my heartbeat. It might have had something to do with hurrying down and back from the 300 yd targets carrying this heavy beast. Need to work on that.

I usually try to do 5 round groups but I only had 3 rounds of the M118 LR and 3 rounds of my reloads left at the end of the day and two fresh targets at 200 yds. I can't see the holes very well on these targets through the scope but was very surprised and happy with the M118 LR when I saw the target up close.
Best group of the day! Wonder what 5 rounds would look like though.

I shot these 3 rounds immediately after the 3 M118 LR above. Yikes! Not sure what happened as these rounds were performing just as well as the M118 LR at the 300 yd distance.

Here's the same ammo at 300 yds. I was using pie plates for the white background because my spotting scope sucks and I can barely see the shots at 300 yds.

It was a fun range day with the M24.

 

[sinister]

Excellent!

The M3LR is a fine scope for its intended purpose -- quickly hitting a man-sized target (the Army E-type silhouette) to the doctrinal 800-Meter range of a 7.62mm sniper rifle. You might improve your grouping if you use a solid fore-and-aft sandbag arrangement to isolate your pulse.

M118LR runs hot-and-cold. USSOCOM would not have specified Mark 316 Mod 0 175-grain (Federal Gold Medal Match) if M118LR quality hadn't declined so badly.

 

[jjjxlr8]

Thanks for the advice. I was shooting from a bench off the bipod. I did try holding a small rear bag with my left hand directly in front of the trigger guard which seemed to help but I was still seeing my pulse. Need to work on my breathing and probably my fitness!!

 

[Reverie Ranges]

What a waste of a precision asset. Soldiers that can't hit targets under 200 Meters away with their own unique- and zeroed-to-them individual weapons.

By spec and contract the fixed 10-power M3 was the issued Army scope.

The M3LR was the scope for the SOCOM 5.56 SPR, the SR-25, and the Mark 11.

Two different and separate organizations. It was also the scope for the Army M110, so maintenance "Floaters" were available for cross-decking.

The US Army Marksmanship Unit overhauled Vietnam-era M40s to "Short action M24s" as loaners for the Army Long Range Championships in 2004. We bought 75 or 80 Leupold M3LRs from Badger Ordnance from a Jordanian contract that was delayed or canceled.

Big Army works slowly sometimes. As for the 10 power fixed scope in combat, It's like looking through a paper towel roll. Sometime a wider FOV is necessary to pick up multiple targets while maintaining accuracy. And as for the M24 itself, it is a wonderful weapon, but limited in nature. Snipers, in combat, sometimes needed the capability to engage more than 5 targets in rapid succession (regardless of range), thus giving way to the M110 etc.
AMU created their own systems given the nature of the range shoot as they had their own procurement system and funding.

 

[jjjxlr8]

The 3.5-10 scope was introduced to the M24 to select deployed Army units through the Rapid Fielding program after 2006. Was slated to replace the M3A on the M24A2. Snipers needed the variable power scope in urban environments as snap shots less than 200M were unfavorable with a 10 power fixed scope.
Hope you enjoy...

Finally found a video of an M24 fitted with the 3.5x10x 40mm optic in service.