I recently bought a Leupold vx-2 6-18x40 with LRV reticle.This will primarily be my coyote hunting scope, mounted to my S&W M&P15. I find the scope to be very easy to zero, keeps zero well, and will not fog. The glass compared favorably in my opinion to my Nikon p223 4-12x40, and to the vortex diamondback HP 4-16x44.
I considered the Mark AR 6-18x40, as i really like the mil-dot reticle, and the 223 CDS elevation knob would be kind of fun. It is important to note though, that while these scopes cost the same $550, the Mark AR line uses Multicode 4 glass, which is from the VX-1 line, the Index-matched glass in the VX-2 line is noticibly better. I chose the VX-2 as it seems to put more of my money towards the lenses than the turrets, which is what i wanted to do with it.
I really like the LRV reicle, as it is very fine and unobtrusive. I've had 3 shot groups at 100 that touched eachother, and the reticle did not cover too much for me to be able to see each hole. I have not played with the holdovers, but they are there for fast holdover estimation if needed. Without a range finding or milling reticle, i don't find this to be real exciting.
In summary, this is a $550 scope that is absolutely twice as good as my $200 Nikons and low-end Vortex. I looked through every similarly configured scope under $700, and could not find a better value. The only glass that looked better belonged to a VX-3.
I also call leupold to ask a couple of questions, and they were very friendly and informative, i actually got the impression that the guys that answer the phone also do the work for the custom shop. This experience has made me a fan.
I considered the Mark AR 6-18x40, as i really like the mil-dot reticle, and the 223 CDS elevation knob would be kind of fun. It is important to note though, that while these scopes cost the same $550, the Mark AR line uses Multicode 4 glass, which is from the VX-1 line, the Index-matched glass in the VX-2 line is noticibly better. I chose the VX-2 as it seems to put more of my money towards the lenses than the turrets, which is what i wanted to do with it.
I really like the LRV reicle, as it is very fine and unobtrusive. I've had 3 shot groups at 100 that touched eachother, and the reticle did not cover too much for me to be able to see each hole. I have not played with the holdovers, but they are there for fast holdover estimation if needed. Without a range finding or milling reticle, i don't find this to be real exciting.
In summary, this is a $550 scope that is absolutely twice as good as my $200 Nikons and low-end Vortex. I looked through every similarly configured scope under $700, and could not find a better value. The only glass that looked better belonged to a VX-3.
I also call leupold to ask a couple of questions, and they were very friendly and informative, i actually got the impression that the guys that answer the phone also do the work for the custom shop. This experience has made me a fan.