Leupold Mk5 chosen for military

[Bravo 4]

2 of my guys went to testing for the Army twice last year, and I have been testing one with a different reticle since about this time last year. I am one who has not had good luck with their scopes but really like this one. I think they have stepped up. Had a fella from Army Futures Command visit us recently and we had a conversation as to why we got another Leupold (and Barrett rifle), he explained the results of their testing and why it was chosen. He is legit and I take him at his word. We also have a rep from Leupold coming in a couple weeks to give us a briefing on the two models we are getting.
Jerry, we still run the 4.5-14 MK4 on the Barrett's...moa turrets with old midots and all!

 

[Will Gray]

Leupold and Trigicon meet my needs..

 

[tylerw02]

I have heard the Mark 5s are much better than the previous Mark 6. I had terrible luck with the Mark 6 and the customer service from Leupold. I wasn't the only one. Countless scopes were a problem from threads on the Hide and other forums. The way I was treated by a Leupold rep was downright terrible.

Many of the later production Mark 4s had some QC issues as well.

In many circles, Leupold has become a laughing stock. There were contracts for Mark 6 scopes and they literally pitched them for their older Mark 4s and in some cases other brands.

I have made serious investments in Leupold products and I sure hope they get turned around and the Mark 5 serves our boys well. It would take a lot for Leupold to earn my money again. I wish they would trade my more expensive Mark 6s for new Mark 5s. My Mark 6s are terrible and I can't sell them without taking a hit.

 

[19elkhunter51]

Once again I will weigh in on Leupold. I don't have anything to say about them except all of them work.
I think that there is an ego problem with the high end scopes. When you pay two to three times as much for something you don't stand up a tell everyone that you just spent a lot of money on something that doesn't work.
Years ago I had a friend that didn't like Ford Mustangs. He thought that the plastic pig, AKA Corvette, was the best thing since sliced bread. He scrimped and saved to buy a brand new Corvette in 1999. When he sold it in 2001, I ask him why and he said it drove like a truck, was in the shop for something, never the same thing twice, on a monthly basis and never saw a gas station it didn't like. But he still thought it was a great car.
I can't afford two pay more than I do for Leupold and I don't know why I would.
As usual, YMMV.
I have never had a Leupold to the factory. The only experience with the factory has been second hand from one fellow shooter. He wanted a small red dot on the reticle of fine cross hair scope. He used it for running target competitions. He was stunned at the turn around and at the really low price that he was charged for the service.

 

[Rich Coyle]

Would you say $1,675 is a lot or a little for a scope. That's what I paid for a Swarovski z5 5-25X52. It was not as good as my Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50. I returned it and purchased another thinking it was a dud. The second was not as good as the first. Sold it without mounting it. Bought another. It was the same as the second one. Sold it to the same guy. Purchased another. It was about the same as the first so I kept it because I wanted its lightness. I twisted a lot. Twice in two years it had to go back for service. Both times the note told me they replaced the erector. I sold it with full disclosure and never heard from the buyer again. Some guys swear by them.

I had the same kind of experience with Burris. Some guys swear by them.

I am convinced one does not get what he pays for in optics. For me there is no such thing as loyalty to the mark.

 

[Pro2A]

I have upper end scopes in Leupold, NF (except Beast), Vortex, Zeiss, Swaros, and have had S&, as personal references.. MK5 has the same coatings as the Mk 6 and Mk 8. My eyes discern no difference in any lighting between the three models. (Note my eyes are well used first gen, but with store bought lenses installed.....no glasses for anything anymore.) MK5 only basic features needed to put rounds on target at long range. Not as beefy, heavy as Mk8. Bought two Mk5 7-35x56 to go on a couple of my Barrett MRADs in 300PRC and 338LM. (The Kestrel with Hornady 4DOF ballistic solver rebate made them an even better buy.) Tall target tests firing and non-firing both were dead on for both scopes. Zero tracking correction factors. Have numerous Mk4 in FFP and SFP in 4.5-14 and 8.5-25. The 8.5x25s are on all my Barrett .50BMG M107A1s. Never a single performance issue with any of them. Design issues as they don't have factory zero stops and have mixed reticle/turret MOA/MIL systems, but that WAS Leupold. These issues aren't found on MK5 design. Bottom line, pick the design features you actually need for your application. Then, glass choice is to a large extent like truck choice....in the eye of the beholder.

 

[PREDATORMAN]

I for one think it is great. Why buy foreign crap and pay two prices when we can return to making things our selves. and keep the money at home. And as far as quality, I have never had a Leupold fail me. They have always served there purpose and been reasonably priced for the features I wanted.

I have tried other high end scopes and found them lacking in some areas and went back to the Leupold's, also I have never had to send a leupold back the the factory for repairs/adjustments.
My M 82 A1 came with a mark 4 and it is still alive and kicking. As many know the M82 A1 will beat up everything including the scope and the shooter. I have never had a mark 5, so I cant say how they are but all the rest have been great for me.

And as a Vet, I always appreciated Leupold selling there top line scopes to the active service people at 40% off the retail price

J E CUSTOM

You took the words right out of my mouth. Ditto! And I've got 2 of the mk5hd 5x25s and they have and continue to impress the crap out of me. Both with Horus reticle. Been running them on 6.5CM / 7RM / 300RUM and they track perfectly. Looking to get the 7x35 soon also. My son, who usually runs US Optics scopes, has got one too now after seeing mine in action.

 

[LaHunter]

Once again I will weigh in on Leupold. I don't have anything to say about them except all of them work.
I think that there is an ego problem with the high end scopes. When you pay two to three times as much for something you don't stand up a tell everyone that you just spent a lot of money on something that doesn't work.
Years ago I had a friend that didn't like Ford Mustangs. He thought that the plastic pig, AKA Corvette, was the best thing since sliced bread. He scrimped and saved to buy a brand new Corvette in 1999. When he sold it in 2001, I ask him why and he said it drove like a truck, was in the shop for something, never the same thing twice, on a monthly basis and never saw a gas station it didn't like. But he still thought it was a great car.
I can't afford two pay more than I do for Leupold and I don't know why I would.
As usual, YMMV.
I have never had a Leupold to the factory. The only experience with the factory has been second hand from one fellow shooter. He wanted a small red dot on the reticle of fine cross hair scope. He used it for running target competitions. He was stunned at the turn around and at the really low price that he was charged for the service.

There's a lot more to it than ego. Just because you have had satisfactory experiences with your Leupold scopes, that doesn't discount the volumes of failures others have had with their Leupold scopes. No doubt, all scope brands can have failures, but there are certain brands that have much better track records for reliability. I used to be a Leupold loyalist, but no more. I think over time, brands earn their reputations. Hopefully the new Mark 5 continues to get positive reviews.

 

[nicholasjohn]

Once again I will weigh in on Leupold. I don't have anything to say about them except all of them work.
I think that there is an ego problem with the high end scopes. When you pay two to three times as much for something you don't stand up a tell everyone that you just spent a lot of money on something that doesn't work.
Years ago I had a friend that didn't like Ford Mustangs. He thought that the plastic pig, AKA Corvette, was the best thing since sliced bread. He scrimped and saved to buy a brand new Corvette in 1999. When he sold it in 2001, I ask him why and he said it drove like a truck, was in the shop for something, never the same thing twice, on a monthly basis and never saw a gas station it didn't like. But he still thought it was a great car.
I can't afford two pay more than I do for Leupold and I don't know why I would.
As usual, YMMV.
I have never had a Leupold to the factory. The only experience with the factory has been second hand from one fellow shooter. He wanted a small red dot on the reticle of fine cross hair scope. He used it for running target competitions. He was stunned at the turn around and at the really low price that he was charged for the service.

Over the years, I have sent several scopes back to Leupold. One was because I fell on it, and broke it. They fixed it, and it worked fine for many more years. A couple more were sent in for reticle changes, and they both came back as quickly as the repaired one did - and in perfect operating order. I still have them all, and use them with full confidence that they will continue to work. When I heard a couple of years ago that their products and customer service had gone to the dogs, I was skeptical, because they have always treated me well. I'm not going to comment on someone else's experiences with the company - only my own. Mine have all been perfect.

 

[milo-2]

Has anyone viewed this contract? Is the military buying the same Mark 5 available to us? Or are the scopes being purchased for military use going to be made to more stringent standards, with higher quality parts.
Good for Leupold, hope it works out, for all.

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

I wonder how many scopes Leupold has sold over the years vs. all the other scopes lauded and berated on this site.

 

[Bravo 4]

Has anyone viewed this contract? Is the military buying the same Mark 5 available to us? Or are the scopes being purchased for military use going to be made to more stringent standards, with higher quality parts.
Good for Leupold, hope it works out, for all.

It's the same scope, except a different reticle. The only scope I'm aware of that was built to different specs were the MilSpec NightForce NXS. There may have been more, I'm just not aware of any.

 

[Bravo 4]

I wonder how many scopes Leupold has sold over the years vs. all the other scopes lauded and berated on this site.

I'll just say this; my comments in the past have been for the failure rates on just my personal scopes, not the hundreds I either have in my vault at work or that I've handled/been in close proximity to in my career. And so far it has not been a good track record. I'm thinking the MK5 is a step in the right direction and definitely a big step up from what we have been using.

 

[milo-2]

I'm thinking the MK5 is a step in the right direction and definitely a big step up from what we have been using.

I think so too!
I had bought one, could not find rings in my time frame and dumped it, really wanted to try it. I have 2 friends that shoot them and like them for intended uses.
I hope this works for Leupold, I have used Leupolds to some extent for going on 40 yrs, and I want to see them stick around.