The New Leupold Mark 5

5RWill

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To me this seems to be Leupold's attempt at regaining some market share in the competition sector. The 5-25x56 particularly interest me starting at $2000, $2200 w/ CCH reticle, $2300 w/ H59. Weight is around the lightest in it's class and from what I can gather the glass is good. If the clicks are tactile and it tracks i think it's going to be a great option to go with, and honestly i'll probably be looking to it for my competition rifle.

Thus far a local smith of mine sold his S&B to get a couple because he was very impressed with the value they presented. Frank at Snipershide said he was impressed for a Leupold. Mike at mile high said he had customers compare them to the ATACR and S&B and walked away with the leupy because again it presented such an outstanding value. Another member compared it to his AMG and said that it fairs well against it though at lowlight the AMG was a clear winner. Joe Comfort has one on the way. My local smith has some also on the way and i plan to take a look at them.

I owned a mark 6 once and hated it. It was off tracking, clicks were mushy as hell, glass was subpar for the price, and the eyebox was the worst i've ever been behind. Leupold claims they have very tactile clicks with these optics as that is one of the issues addressed in the video. If they've fixed some of the issues with the MK5 3.5-18 that plagued the MK6 3-18 it's going to be a great SPR/hunting optic. Local smith also said while he was at shot that the Leupold rep told him it would blow the MK6 out of the water that the glass is more comparable to the MK8.

But yeah i'm excited about these and hope they pan out, if so i'm looking to pick up both the 5-25 and 3-18 this summer for the budget i had set aside for a very nice optic.
 
I jumped on a Mark 5 5-25x56 i'll update my findings as it's going up against a Gen II razor first and then a friend's ATACR second. I sent it to a friends house and the video of the clicks he sent me sounds great.
 
Leupold is working to get back some market with weight in mind. Building these scopes lighter is the next trend and Leupold has already proven they can do it, I hope they've perfected it with the Mark 5. The 30+ oz scope standard is getting old.
 
I wish they made this scope in moa. It looks like leupold has stepped up their game.
I think MOA is actually scheduled for down the road IIRC.

Alright. Finally got to my friends to look at the new scope. Good looking optic. Thing is ultralight for it's size, which Leupold has been leading in weight for some time. I was most worried after seeing the video above of the 3.6-18 turret wobble or slack between clicks but am relieved mine is not bad at all. Actually they're quite tight. I assure you if they had wobble as bad as the video i was gearing up to return it and pick up an AMG. Not the nicest turrets i've ever felt but by no means bad. I went between it and my friend's Gen II the Gen II is more distinct between each click and a little harder to turn for each click. Which i actually like. The Leupold is not bad by any means, light years ahead of the M5B2 for sure. Well ahead of the HDMR II i just let go also. Not quite as tactile as my EREK or a Gen II razor but they're by no means mushy. Wobble is a tad more than the Gen II but as my friend showed me he could make the Gen II wobble side to side as well. I mean you really have to purposefully wiggle the knob to actuate any side to side play between clicks. It's not something practically that would every hurt. Windage knob is much tighter, which kind of makes me wish that's what the elevation knob felt like but that's neither here nor there. Completely understand the gripes about the windage hash lol it's bizarre. I see what they were thinking but in reality it's not that practical. Doesn't matter as mentioned most of us don't dial wind. Magnification ring is perfect IMO, not too stiff (gen II razor 1-6) but not too easy. Parallax was extremely easy to turn, little off putting depending on your preference but we shall see if it has any bearing on it working properly (I would think not)

Haven't had the chance to compare glass yet, from the inside it looks phenomenal but i'm looking at a wall. When i get time i will take it out and put it against a Gen II Razor and ATACR.

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Price is not bad really compared to the scopes it's meant to compete with. The 5-25 can be had for $1600 with a TMR. $2000 with illum. The 3.6-18 for around $1450. All of which shipped to your house in two days.

If this scope shows out, Leupold well sell a boat load due to weight savings alone. The money savings is a for sure bonus too.
 
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Price is not bad really compared to the scopes it's meant to compete with. The 5-25 can be had for $1600 with a TMR. $2000 with illum. The 3.6-18 for around $1450. All of which shipped to your house in two days.

If this scope shows out, Leupold well sell a boat load due to weight savings alone. The money savings is a for sure bonus too.

Is that Mil/LEO discount? I thought retail for non-illum TMR was $1999? I got my H59 for a great price though so i'm not complaining just curious.
 
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Will be interested to see what the results are after a year of dialing, twisting turrets, and seeing if return to zero and tracking doesn't go wonky.

I never had that issue with my Mark 4. My mark 6 never tracked properly from the get go. Leupold and the Rep i talked to on the hide said they focused specifically on tracking this time around. I've only seen one test done to 14 mils but it was spot on.
 
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