Mark 5 hd 5-25 vs 3.6-18??? Which one ??

[Jaredfeaster]

I am possibly going to trade my 5-25 mark 5 hd for a 3.6-18 for my 300 NM hunting / shooting steel rifle. Has anyone looked through both to give me some opinions??? Most shots where we hunt are 500 and under so the 3.6 and compact size would be nice but am i losing a lot of glass quality??? Thanks

 

[Idaho Trecker]

Glass is the exact same on both models. I recently emailed leupold and asked about their glass between vx5hd, vx6hd, and mark5. The glass used and coatings are the same on all models.

I have the 5-25 and am looking to get the 3.6-18 for another rifle. If you get that scope soon I'd be interested to see how you like it.

 

[Tangent]

I use my 3.6-18 to shoot 1,000+ yards. I shot mine quite a bit 30 min before sunrise (non-illuminated), and feel it's just fine for a lowlight optic. Of course everyone's eyes are different.

The 5-25 has a larger objective, which should have better light transmission. The downsides to me is the 5-25 has less available FoV and it's heavier.