What is the difference between leupold m1 and m5

I have seen some of these with the M1 turrets for sale that are illuminated. Didn't see it in the description but I am surprised that they aren't. I shouldn't be surprised. It seems Leupold just doesn't want to make something that everyone wants. Leupold's primary market is hunters. They've had to be dragged, kicking and screaming every step of the way, and denying that there was a market, into the tactical world. For example, Premier Reticles for a decade or more made their primary business putting FFP reticles in Leupold scopes, because Leupold wouldn't.

As a result, they are way behind the curve and trying to catch up to the competition. Competition is good. It corrects the direction of the slower players - or kills them off. So Lindy, are you not a fan of Leupold overall? Is there anything positive to be said about the Mark 4 line? Actually, I own 3 Leupold scopes. Two are 6. But I own them because of the Premier reticles. And before someone asks, none are for sale. Unless Leupold improves their quality, catches up to some of the competition, and lowers their prices, it's questionable if I'll ever own another Leupold, though.

Leupold makes no scope which competes in features, reliability, or ruggedness with the Nightforce F1 X50 with a FFP illuminated reticle, zero stop, and 0.

If Leupold wants my money, they're going to have to work hard to catch up. Maybe they will. Are zero-stops really worth it? A zero stop allows you to return to zero in the dark. That's very useful to people who operate in the dark. Doesn't matter to square-range competitors or hunters. However, L. SWAT often doesn't have that kind of gear and needs the illuminated reticle. Conditions for testing were 37 degrees with moderate rain, mixed occasionally with heavy rain, and light wind. These were actually good conditions for testing a scope as it will test the antifog capability as well as test the optics of a scope in tough conditions.

With this Leupold scope missing a fast focus eyepiece, it is worthwhile to take the additional time to adjust the eyepiece so that the reticle is clear and sharp, and this pays dividends in the field with a nice clear picture and crisp reticle. As normal for scope zeroing, we turn the knob down 20 MOA and fire one shot at a target at 25 yards. The scope easily focused at the close range and the shot was recorded.

Making the scope corrections needed we shifted to yards where it again easily focused and we zeroed the scope to the rifle at that distance, slipped the knobs to zero and began the testing phase. Repeatability and accuracy of the adjustments was tested shooting through the box, making adjustments to shoot rounds at all corners of a 6 MOA box in this case.

The 5th set of rounds ending back at the starting point of the test, and as they should, the rounds where right on top of the first. The next test we like to do is adjust 20 MOA in any one direction, left in this case, and then measure the distance between the groups to test accuracy of the clicks.

The measured distance between the two groups was When we brought the adjustments back to zero and fired another group, it was exactly on top of the first group showing again excellent repeatability. The long range capability of the scope is excellent with very good optics. Leupold uses index matched lenses on these scopes as well as their high quality coatings and the optics were very clear and sharp from edge to edge with good contrast.

The simple mildot reticle is still one of our favorites as it is simple, non-cluttered, and still accurate enough to provide good range estimations with practice. We did find that the long eye relief actually caused us to move the scope forward one notch on the Picatinny rail and this will be a nice attribute on high recoiling rifles.

The high amount of elevation adjustments also lends itself well to high powered rifles. That 62 MOA of up is enough to take a. Though careful tracking of how many rotations one has adjusted will be necessary! When it comes to a prototypical mid to high end tactical scope, this Leupold is probably the defacto standard. Yes, we would like to see a zerostop feature, perhaps a fast focus eyepiece and maybe even higher quality glass, but those are available in the new Mk6 and Mk8 scopes, but for a lot more money.

Your email address will not be published. I have a question. Knobs can also be removed via the set screw to set back to zero. New Posts. Members Profile. Post Reply. So I know that this topic has been beaten to death, but I am still having a hard time deciding on what format is best for me.

Generally speaking I think I prefer the tactical advantages of the M3 over the M1, but could use some help in making my decision, especially because I haven't seen a lot of information regarding the m5. I am not familiar with the M5 knobs, but it is a really good idea to have the adjustment knobs match the reticle. It is doable but much more complex to have them different.

User Panel. Login Register? Precision Rifles » Optics, Mounts, and Sights. Leupold, M2, M3, M5 etc. TX, USA. Can someone explain what the difference in the M2, M3, and M whatever turrets? Looking at buying a 3.