Leupold Mark 4 10x40

[Charlts]

Ok some of you have asked for it! Here’s my initial impressions on the Leupold MK4 10x40 TMR. I’ve had it since late October and it’s been faultless, if it’s good enough for the US military it’ll do for me! It is my first high end scope and it screams quality straight from the box.

In The Box
Included in the box (which is recyclable), is a sunshade, Butler Creeks, a Leupold cleaning cloth, allen key for the turrets and an instruction booklet - although ranging out to 800 yards and aim points for .308 cal isn’t much good for HFT!

Build Quality
Well up to the usual standard as it carries a full lifetime guarantee, for the life of the scope no matter who the owner is. The turrets are very positive to use and have ¼ moa clicks, once the turrets are set to zero they always return to where they were set. The scope body is thicker than other Leup’s which should mean it won’t alter zero in hot or cold, so far it’s fine in the cold and unless anyone wants to pay for me to test it in Australia you’ll have to wait until summer for the answer to that!

Optics
Now my eyes are pretty dodgey and my experience with scopes is pretty lacking so I’ll let others fill in the technical bits. The TMR ret is quite fine and to be honest I wondered if I’d lose it against dark targets. Once adjusted the ret stays in focus at all ranges although against black backgrounds it does sometimes blend in and get lost.

The clarity of the lenses is awesome with Leupolds multi coat 4 coating on. The depth of field is better than anything else I’ve looked through, I was at Redfearns earlier today and without altering my settings from normal I was able to track the pellet all the way to 55 yard knockovers!

According to the Leupold website the minimum focus distance is 50 yards, mine hasn’t been re parralaxed and can focus right down to around 6/7. The rumour is Leupold are reducing the minimum focus distance as more customers are using them on air/rim fire rifles as opposed to their usual application!

There seems to be very little px error, which according to others using them is a design feature Leupold have built in. I’ve never suffered with px error on my Walther Dominator as the cheek piece is in such a position that if my head isn’t in the correct position I can’t see through the scope anyway! I’m certainly missing less with it and being able to see where I miss helps!

The Ret

The TMR ret can be see here http://aycu06.webshots.com/image/410...2579597_rs.jpg. Having used an MTC Viper for most of the year I’m a fan of tactical style rets. The best or worst feature depending on who you are is the hole in the middle of the cross hair, although it definitely makes zeroing easier. There are plenty of aim points and if you’re so inclined you can bracket very precisely using the 0.2 mil marking as the mil spacings are true.
All in all I’m very impressed with it and so have everybody else who’s looked through it. It’s a lot of scope and the price reflects that as it ain’t cheap, luckily Andrea is very understanding and asked Santa to bring it as an early Christmas present! More details can be found on the Leupold website here http://www.leupold.com/tactical/prod...0x40mm-lrt-m1/ and anyone is welcome to have a look through it if I’m at a shoot.

Definitely recommended as an out and out HFT scope, the fact Sparky and 5 others from Quarry are using the mil dot version this season speaks volumes. Even if I’m not the greatest shot I can see where I’m missing!

I'm pretty sure Pete will add his thoughts and findings soon as he's far more clued up on optics than I am.

I've found out since writing the review that the TMR rets are getting very rare due to them not being popular in the states??!!!
Ryan

[bigwalk]

very good review am useing a viper at the moment on a gc2 and would like to try on off these where did you get yours from,of are they available from the states as a personal import. Can you check the age off one of these so you can tell if its been in stock for a while and wont close focus ?

[RobF]

pretty much agree with everything said here.

the ret is fine, and i thought upon initial tests that i was going to struggle with it a little...but then i had to remind myself i was shooting at night...although floodlighting does help somewhat, the gloom takes over on a black target with a grey kill.

Swapping directly back to an MTC and Falcon though i could see a difference immediately under these conditions. For a start, the Leup is significantly brighter (by a noticable margin)...and the clarity is better, you can pick out details that just are lost on other scopes (like a splashed mini kill zone in shadow...or fine splits on the inside edge of the kill)


And although I was losing the ret on some dark targets at night, i lost them just as much with the other scope, and at more ranges. The Leup does seem to have a shade more depth of field, but then it could just be it's clearer over more of a range...hard to tell without testing against a chart. What is for certain is that I dont struggle to get any HFT ranges in clear view, and thats with paralax set around 30-35 yds.

Giving it a test in a couple of HFT shoots, i perhaps lost the ret 2-3 in the pooring rain in dark woodland in winter...but in good weather in woods i never did, no matter what colour the target was or where it was.

I really like the hollow centre to the ret...

Its a big stretch money-wise over the other scope's i've mentioned...and that's something to be considered. You probably are into the law of diminishing returns here in comparison, but that's like every other piece of high-end gear.

Optics, build, performance, even under challenging conditions is something this scope excels at...but i'd like to see another reticule to see if the offering can be bettered to remove what could be the only blemish for some.

The more and more i shoot with the scope, the less the reticule bothers me...some things perhaps just need a little time (its the first tatical ret for me, and i've been used to mildot or 30/30 before).

[derek austin]

Nice review Ryan, been thinking of getting one of these.

Can you tell me (a) where you got it from, and (b) how much?


PM me if you prefer..

Thanks

Derek

[DAR]

Many thanks for your good reviews. I'll have to look through one though before buying, especially with regards to focus and parallaxing below Leupolds stated 50 yards. May be a while though for I don't know anyone up here who owns one.

[Charlts]

Many thanks for your good reviews. I'll have to look through one though before buying, especially with regards to focus and parallaxing below Leupolds stated 50 yards. May be a while though for I don't know anyone up here who owns one.

I'll be at all of the UKA's this year, once I've shot you're more than welcome adjust it and have a few shots if you can make it along. There will be quite a few about I suspect!

Ryan

[rogb]

Good review, Ryan, and a very tempting investment, as my eyes are not too great and I find the most important factor is the resolution so I can see what is a kill zone and what is just pellet marks. I am also red-green colour blind so every little helps! I hope to have a peek through the Leup sometime soon, if that's alright with you. I spoke to Pete about obtaining one but at the Leup price, I need to look through one first and be sure that I can get on with the ret! Hopefully, I will come up to Kibworth on the 26th but I cant confirm yet. I had a Falcon Menace with a 0.5 mildot ret for a few days, but couldnt get on with the ret or the slightly soft resolution, compared to the EB Sniper res (best) or MTC(very close 2nd). The SCB ret is still my favourite by far!!!! Plenty of aim points, easy to see against dark backgrounds, (you can even light it up!)but not too cluttered. Don't like the EB mildots, but like the DOF and optical resolution. Would really love a Premium Super Viper in 10x42 or 40 with AAA++ (Leup level) grade lens for greater res and more DOF as you cant beat MTC for customer service and sensible prices!
Cheers
Rog

[Charlts]

Good review, Ryan, and a very tempting investment, as my eyes are not too great and I find the most important factor is the resolution so I can see what is a kill zone and what is just pellet marks. I am also red-green colour blind so every little helps! I hope to have a peek through the Leup sometime soon, if that's alright with you. I spoke to Pete about obtaining one but at the Leup price, I need to look through one first and be sure that I can get on with the ret! Hopefully, I will come up to Kibworth on the 26th but I cant confirm yet. I had a Falcon Menace with a 0.5 mildot ret for a few days, but couldnt get on with the ret or the slightly soft resolution, compared to the EB Sniper res (best) or MTC(very close 2nd). The SCB ret is still my favourite by far!!!! Plenty of aim points, easy to see against dark backgrounds, (you can even light it up!)but not too cluttered. Don't like the EB mildots, but like the DOF and optical resolution. Would really love a Premium Super Viper in 10x42 or 40 with AAA++ (Leup level) grade lens for greater res and more DOF as you cant beat MTC for customer service and sensible prices!
Cheers
Rog

You're more than welcome to mate, I've got a 3.5-10 mil dot MK4 on my Elan which'll give you a good idea on the difference in ret. It's always best to try a few before you buy especially when you're spending so much cash!

A premium super Viper would be something I'd be very interested in as well for the same reasons as you.

I'll be at the Diabolical too if you can make it?

Ryan

[DAR]

Thank you for the offer Ryan. Probably be May before I make a national. What we need is for one to send one up to our club on approval. Now there's an old fashion notion that gives my age away. It will need to be much better than my SS which I've used now for four years. Tried others for a single comp but always ditched them.

[Charlts]

As my eyes are bigger than my belly, I have one for sale here - http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/show...52#post2600352

Ryan

[rogb]

As my eyes are bigger than my belly, I have one for sale here - http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/show...52#post2600352

Ryan

Lads and lassies, I would grab this while you can, I have just got mine and it is awesome, I have just sold my beloved EB Sniper and I thought I would never get rid of that! The Leup is brilliant, and the TMR ret is topo-notch (see Ryan's pics). If you want a cliche, then this is the Rolex of HFT scopes. THe TMR ret is also very hard to source.

Rog

[Paul K]

Rog,im glad you got one.Cant wait to get the EB off ya.

[Charlts]

Lads and lassies, I would grab this while you can, I have just got mine and it is awesome, I have just sold my beloved EB Sniper and I thought I would never get rid of that! The Leup is brilliant, and the TMR ret is topo-notch (see Ryan's pics). If you want a cliche, then this is the Rolex of HFT scopes. THe TMR ret is also very hard to source.

Rog

Thanks Rog, hopefully my spare is now sold. They are without a shadow of a doubt the perfect scope for me. Although I reckon 2 10x40's is a bit greedy!!!

Ryan

[RobF]

Just to add a little...

Had a peek through a 10x40 with mildot...now considering i've got one with a TMR, for me i have to say I prefered the mildot version....less fuss.

That said, i can see strengths in both rets...the mildot is fast to aquire and nice and clear dots with thin lines, but the tmr, although can be lost under very harsh conditions (probably the same would lose the crosshair on the mildot to be far) it has sub mildot markings.

[Scooby]

Just to add a little...

Had a peek through a 10x40 with mildot...now considering i've got one with a TMR, for me i have to say I prefered the mildot version....less fuss.

That said, i can see strengths in both rets...the mildot is fast to aquire and nice and clear dots with thin lines, but the tmr, although can be lost under very harsh conditions (probably the same would lose the crosshair on the mildot to be far) it has sub mildot markings.

I agree Rob, the TMR can be lost in dark conditions, I now have an illuminated TMR which is perfect but the mildot is nice too.