Description
The Leupold Mark 4HD 8-32×56 Illum MOA is item 188485, the illuminated PR2-MOA version of the highest-magnification scope in this line. It is the lit twin of a scope we already carry unlit, and one of five 8-32×56 bodies on the shelf.
Five 8-32×56 scopes, and where this one sits
All five share the 34 mm tube, 56 mm objective, first focal plane glass, side focus to 25 yards, 30 ounces and 15.6 inches. What separates them is the turret, the reticle and whether the reticle lights up.
This one is the M1C3 turret in 1/4 MOA with an illuminated PR2-MOA reticle. Item 183969 is the same thing unlit. Item 188486 is the illuminated M5C3 in 0.1 MIL with a PR2-MIL, item 183970 is that one unlit, and item 183971 carries a PR3-MIL.
Choose the measurement system first. The Leupold Mark 4HD 8-32×56 Illum MOA is graduated in minutes on both the reticle and the dial, so a correction read off the glass is the number you turn to.
The illumination
Eight brightness settings run from a CR2032 through a push button, rated 1600 hours on low, 1000 on medium and 300 on high. The manufacturer rates the illumination daylight bright.
On a first focal plane scope at 8x, a PR2 grid is fine enough that a lit centre makes a real difference at the edges of the day. That is the whole argument for paying more than the unlit version costs.
Night vision compatibility is not published for this item, and neither is a motion sensor row. An absent row is not a stated answer, so ask Leupold before planning around a clip-on device.
Magnification bought at the cost of travel
This scope publishes 70 MOA of total elevation and 45 MOA of windage. The mechanically smaller 6-24×52 in the same family publishes 125 MOA and 65 MOA. Climbing the magnification ladder here costs you dial rather than gaining it.
Both axes move 25 MOA per revolution. The elevation dial travel limit is published as the phrase Total Scope Travel rather than as a figure, on all the 8-32×56 scopes, where every other Mark 4HD gives a number.
Plan on a canted base if you intend to reach a long way, and get the zero centred at the mounting stage, because 45 MOA of windage is not generous at distance.
Turrets, parallax and glass
Elevation is the M1C3: locking, with a revolution indicator and a set screw rezero. Windage is a zero-lock turret. Precision side focus adjusts parallax down to a 25 yard minimum, close enough for rimfire practice.
Field of view is 13.1 feet at 8x and 3.4 feet at 32x, per 100 yards, which is narrow even at the bottom. Eye relief is published at 4.2 inches at low magnification and 3.9 at high, running backwards against most of the range.
Mount the Leupold Mark 4HD 8-32×56 Illum MOA so that 3.9 inches is what you actually have at 32x, with your normal cheek weld, rather than measuring at 8x and hoping.
Honest notes
No BDC dial is included and the scope is not Custom Dial System compatible, though the turret is published as custom BDC dial compatible. Illumination means a battery: the etched reticle stays usable with a dead cell, but the lit centre goes.
At 30 ounces plus 34 mm rings this belongs on a bench, a bipod or an F-class line rather than on a carry rifle. No finish colour, coating list or light transmission figure is published, so we print none of the three.
One thing to watch when cross-shopping: the manufacturer page for the M5C3 version serves gallery images belonging to 6-24×52 scopes. Photographs alone will not tell you which 8-32×56 you are looking at. Use the item number.
Who this scope suits
Benchrest and F-class shooters working in minutes who want a lit reticle for first and last light, and varmint hunters who spend the day at magnification. The Leupold Mark 4HD 8-32×56 Illum MOA is waterproof, fogproof and backed by the lifetime guarantee.
Skip it if you work in mils, if you would rather not carry a battery, or if you need elevation range more than magnification.
Leupold Mark 4HD 8-32×56 Illum MOA full specifications
- Item number: 188485
- Magnification: 8-32x variable
- Objective lens: 56 mm
- Main tube: 34 mm
- Reticle: Illuminated FFP PR2-MOA
- Focal plane: First focal plane
- Illumination: 8 settings, push button, daylight bright; night vision compatibility not published
- Battery: CR2032, 1600 / 1000 / 300 hours low / medium / high
- Eye relief: 4.2 in low, 3.9 in high, as published
- Field of view: 13.1 ft at 8x, 3.4 ft at 32x, per 100 yards
- Click value: 1/4 MOA elevation and windage
- Total elevation travel: 70 MOA (20 MIL), 25 MOA per revolution
- Elevation dial travel limit: published as Total Scope Travel, no figure given
- Total windage travel: 45 MOA (13 MIL), 25 MOA per revolution
- Parallax: precision side focus, 25 yd minimum
- Elevation turret: M1C3, locking, revolution indicator, set screw rezero
- Windage turret: zero-lock
- BDC dial included: no; Custom Dial System: no; custom BDC dial compatible: yes
- Weight: 30 oz
- Total length: 15.6 in
- Total mounting space: 6.8 in (2.5 front, 2.1 rear)
- Warranty: waterproof, fogproof, lifetime guarantee
Manufacturer specifications are published by Leupold. Compare it against the rest of our optics range, and against the four other Mark 4HD 8-32×56 versions.
Ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop with the Leupold lifetime guarantee.
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