Leupold has been a leader in the rifle scope market for decades, but as the Oregon company brings new models to its catalog, it can be hard to know which scope is right for your particular rifle, shooting plans, and budget.
This piece details the main differences between Leupold’s two most popular families of scopes: VX and Mark. And I’ll further help describe specific differences between the VX-5HD and the Mark 5HD lines.
The two families have more in common than their parent company. Both are defined by high-definition optical systems, both offer a number of different reticle choices and illumination styles, and most are available with brand-specific turret/reticle arrangements in either MOA or MRAD versions.
But, to make a useful generalization, Leupold’s VX family of scopes are configured more for hunters than for competitive shooters.
The Mark 5HD family is configured more for tactical applications, including target shooting and dynamic shooting situations.
There are, of course, crossover uses between the families. I do a lot of hunting with my Mark 4HD scope, just as I’ve competed in steel-target matches with my VX-5.
LEUPOLD’S VX SCOPES ATTRIBUTES
Generally these scopes have reticles in the second focal plane. Their turrets are generally capped. Their main tubes are 30mm, though a few super-sized scopes have 34mm tubes.
These scopes are built to be light, bright, and compact, at home on whitetail rifles or the lightweight mountain rifles of Western hunters of sheep and backcountry elk.
Importantly, they have liberal mounting dimensions, meaning they can fit just about any rifle receiver.
This line of scopes was first to sport Leupold’s patented Custom Dial System (CDS). It’s an exposed and locking elevation turret that users can customize to their particular bullet and load.
And, starting just this year, Leupold introduced a Gen2 version of the VX-5HD that has an updated erector system (the combined turrets, reticle, and the internal tube that guides the reticle) and an innovative “Speedset” elevation dial that can be removed without tools and can be customized to shooters’ specific loads.
The VX line has configurations that are generally optimized for hunting. Here’s each VX iteration and some of the configurations in each tier.
Leupold’s price-point VX, these range from 3-times magnification models, including 3-9x40 to 4-12x50, and 6-18x40, among others. Prices range from $300 to about $500.
Another 3-times magnification scope, this was once Leupold’s top hunting line, and still represents abundant performance and value. The main differentiation in this line is its one-revolution elevation dial that is compatible with Leupold’s custom CDS dials. Configurations — and there are a ton — range from a wee 1.5-5x20 LPVO, 3.5-10x40 versatile hunter, up to a big 6.5-20x50 model. Main tubes range from 1 inch to 30mm.
I’d argue that the VX-5HD line is today’s version of the original VX-3 line, Leupold’s best expression of a hunting scope. The second-plane scopes feature Leupold’s high-end Professional-Grade Optical System and are built mainly on 30mm tubes. Configurations of this 5-times magnification product line include a hunt-oriented 1-5x24 LPVO, an extremely versatile 3-15x44, and a big 4-12x52, among other iterations.
Note the differentiation between the original VX-5HD line and the new Gen2 versions. The new second-plane scopes have overbuilt erector systems and those snazzy tool-less turrets. Prices range from around $1,200 to about $1,800.
This is Leupold’s premium line of hunting scopes, and these 6-times magnification rigs can compete both optically and mechanically, with any brand’s top-end products. They feature excellent glass and coatings, precise controls, and wonderful handling. Prices are commensurate with performance, ranging from $2,000 to about $2,700.
The elevation turret features two revolutions of adjustment and these scopes are built mainly on 30mm tubes, though a few iterations have 34mm tubes.
Configurations are suited to high-performance hunting, with a handy 1-6x24 LPVO up to a 2-12x42, 3-18x44, and 4-24x52 model with a number of hunting-oriented second-plane reticles that range from the simple duplex to Wind-Plex that has useful windage hashes to the FireDot Duplex that adds a fine aiming point to the standard crosshairs. Leupold’s TMOA reticle, a hash-style reticle with MOA-based wind and elevation references, is a favorite with Western hunters.
Generally speaking, VX-series scopes weigh significantly less than their equivalents in the Mark family, and have more streamlined tube designs. The downside is that they also have less internal adjustment. A 3-18x44 VX-6HD scope has 85 MOA (25 MIL) of elevation adjustment. The Mark 5HD equivalent, a 3.5-18x44 scope, has 100 MOA (29 MIL) of elevation adjustment, in large part thanks to its blown-out tube.
LEUPOLD’S MARK SCOPES ATTRIBUTES
Now let’s pivot to Leupold’s competition-grade scopes, those in the Mark family.
The three tiers of Mark HD scopes generally share first-plane reticles, precise and repeatable turrets, and abundant internal adjustment.
Each Mark scope has significantly more internal reticle adjustment than its equivalent in the VX line. That’s largely because Leupold has harnessed the power of CNC machining to blow out the middle of the Mark-series scopes.
If you notice, each has an angular swell in its middle. That’s to accommodate the additional internal adjustment of these scopes, up to 30 percent more than the equivalent VX scope. Here’s a look at each of the tiers of the Mark family of rifle scopes.
This 3-times scope family is the price-point Mark, with second-plane reticles but, unlike the VX-3, exposed elevation turrets that power relatively pedestrian reticles that are just as well-suited to hunting as target shooting.
Prices are right around $700, and configurations range from a 20mm LPVO, a handy 4-12x40 scope, and a big 8-24x50 version.
Mark 4HD
Like the VX-5HD, this 4-times-magnification family represents the solid middle-of-mass configurations that many shooters and hunters will find familiar. Note that the vast majority of these scopes are in the first focal plane, but a couple iterations are available in either first or second plane. Most are built on 34mm tubes to accommodate their prodigious 3-revolution turret adjustment.
Configurations range from a svelte 1.4-5x24 LPVO through the useful 2.5-10x42 carbine scope up to big 6-24x52 precision scopes. Prices are in the meaty middle of the Mark family, ranging from $1,000 to about $1,600.
Like the VX-5HD and the VX-6HD, this is the highest expression of the family. Built on 35mm tubes with 5-times magnification ranges and three revolutions of turret movement, these are built to be dialed, and the M5C3 and M1C3 turrets provide precise adjustments made even more repeatable with Leupold’s ZeroLock and ZeroStop features.
But the extremely detailed first-plane (a couple are in the second plane) reticles also have plenty of references for shooters who want to hold their aiming solution for wind and distance. Reticles range from the PR competition series to designs developed by Gunwerks, Horus, and Leupold’s own TMOA reticle.
The Mark 5HD also has motion-sensing technology in its sophisticated and intuitive reticle illumination. The line has nearly 50 iterations, based around the demands of various shooting competitions or tactical scenarios such as close-range combat to long-range sniping.
The product lines ranges from an exceptionally versatile and durable 2-10x30 Designated Marksman-style scope to a 3.5-18x44 workhorse to 7-35x56 precision-target marvels. Prices match the performance, with models starting at $2,000 and going up to $2,800.
Leupold has been fond of saying that its Mark scopes are overbuilt, and there’s some merit to that.
The line has robust erector systems, with match-grade springs and lubricants that don’t seize up in cold or deteriorate in heat and well-engineered tracking to ensure that reticle adjustments are precise whether in the middle of the optical path or somewhere on its margins. In other words, they’re designed to work when the heat of competition or combat is on.
CONCLUSION
Leupold has cemented its reputation as a premium optics brand largely on the merits of its rifle scopes.
Both the VX and Mark series of scopes offer abundant utility, versatility, and value. But with so many variations in each tier of each family, choosing the right Leupold is a challenge.
Hopefully this overview helps narrow your search for your next favorite rifle scope.