It’s not often a writer is given the opportunity to introduce a new product before the company announces it. In this case it happened. When a Leupold representative asked if I wanted to review a new scope they would be revealing at SHOT in January. Of course I jumped on it.

In this case our readers get to hear about this new Leupold AR scope first.This scope is called the Mark AR Mod 1 1.5-4 x 20mm. This scope has a matte black finish with a Fire Dot-G SPR reticle.

These are some of the revisions:

– Tactical, knurled elevation dials

– Green illuminated FireDot reticles

– 0.1 Mil dials for true Mil-Mil adjustments.

This is a tactical scope made for civilian use as well as police and others who have a need for this scope configuration. The Mark AR uses a standard Leupold picatinny mount. The mount is very sturdy and mounts tightly to the rail as well as the scope itself. Unlike so many mount and scope combinations I’ve used there is no play which means it held zero through four hundred rounds fired.

The scope comes with a very in depth manual which not only covers scope use but goes into a great amount of detail in using the SPR reticle. Topics cover reading the mil-dot type reticle as well as turret reading and adjustments.

The center of the reticle is also lighted with an adjustable green dot if desired. This dot goes from extremely small to fairly large. The dot intensity increases with the larger dot size. The dot size is adjusted using the turret on the left side of the scope. When the user unscrews the turret the battery compartment is revealed. The battery is a larger flat battery. With a new battery is installed the dot can be left off or adjusted upwards in size. In the photo I’ve included you see a Leupold “L” in the center of the left turret. It’s surrounded by a heavy duty rubber piece. Each time the “L” is depressed the dot grows larger/brighter. Half way through the adjustment cycle there is one setting allowing the dot to flash and continue to flash until the next setting is chosen. This gives the user a wide variety of choices in dot sizes as well as the flash setting.One very positive point is with the smallest dot setting it doesn’t cover the target at longer ranges which is something common with many scopes with reticle dots.

The Mark AR can be used with one eye or both eyes open. It’s really the shooters choice. One thing I can always be certain of and that’s the clarity and quality of the glass used in Leupold scopes. This scope is no exception. The edges of the reticle are very clear and sharp as is the overall view with no distortion around the edge of the sight picture.

After using this scope for a few weeks I’ve been very pleased with it. In variable lower power type of scopes I’ve used it’s the best without a doubt.

The photo below shows a five shot 100 yard group using the Mark AR with the lowest green dot setting while mounted on my AR.

MSRP is $400 for the scope itself. The mount is sold separately and sells for roughly $140.Even if you already own a scope with a one inch tube this mount is in itself worth changing over from what you currently use. It’s just very rugged in construction. It never gets loose as many I’ve tried have.