Description
The Leupold Mark 5HD 2-10×30 Dark Earth is item 179709. We also stock the same scope in black, item 179707, and the colour is genuinely the only difference between them. Everything else Leupold publishes is identical.
The Leupold Mark 5HD 2-10×30 Dark Earth is a colour variant, and that is fine
There is no performance argument here and we are not going to invent one. If you are building a rifle in earth tones and want the optic to match, this is the item number. If the colour does not matter, buy whichever is in stock.
Worth noting: Leupold publishes the finish only inside the model name, as Dark Earth. There is no finish specification row on the page, and its own product photograph is filed under a name ending in fde. Same colour, two different words for it.
What this scope actually is
It is the most unusual optic in our Leupold rack: a low-power variable built on the Mark 5HD chassis, with a 35 mm main tube, first focal plane glass and 48 mils of elevation travel.
Most 2-10x scopes are light hunting optics on a 1 inch tube. The Leupold Mark 5HD 2-10×30 Dark Earth weighs 24 ounces and gives 165 MOA, or 48 MIL, of elevation. That is more dial than most 25x precision scopes carry.
It is built for a rifle that has to work close and far on the same string: a designated marksman or patrol rifle where 2x is the useful bottom end and the turret has to reach when the distance opens up. Field of view is 52.9 feet at 2x and 10.5 feet at 10x, per 100 yards.
The illumination is the standout feature
Seven brightness settings run from a CR2032 through a rotary dial rather than a push button. Leupold rates the illumination both daylight bright AND night vision compatible, which almost nothing else in our range is.
That night vision rating is the reason to choose this scope over a brighter day-use optic: it is designed to sit in front of a clip-on device without washing out. Battery life is published as 1800 hours on low and 96 hours on high, with no medium figure given.
The reticle is the CMR-Mil, though the page never says so in a specification row; the name appears only in the model title and on the reticle graphic. First focal plane is stated the same way, so the subtensions are true at every power.
Turrets, travel and parallax
Elevation is the M5C3: locking, with a revolution indicator and a set screw rezero. Windage is capped, so it stays put on a rifle that gets handled. Clicks are 0.1 MIL on both axes.
Total elevation travel is 48 MIL, or 165 MOA, at 10.5 MIL per revolution with a 30 MIL dial travel limit. Windage gives 23 MIL, or 80 MOA, at 10 MIL per turn. Parallax adjusts by side focus down to a 40 yard minimum.
No BDC dial is included and the scope is not Custom Dial System compatible. Leupold publishes no custom dial compatibility row for it either.
Honest notes on the Leupold Mark 5HD 2-10×30 Dark Earth
The 35 mm main tube is the first thing to budget for. It is not 30 mm and not 34. Rings and one-piece mounts exist in 35 mm but the market is narrower and the prices higher. Price the mount alongside the scope.
Twenty-four ounces on a 2-10x is heavy by hunting standards. You are carrying the weight of the tube and the adjustment range, not of the glass. On a fighting rifle that is the right trade; on a mountain rifle it is not.
A 30 mm objective is small, and at 10x that limits the light reaching your eye. This is not a dusk glassing scope. The illumination gives you an aiming point and the night vision rating lets a device do the light gathering.
Who this scope suits
Designated marksman and patrol rifle builds in earth tones, anyone running a clip-on night vision device, and shooters who need a genuine 2x bottom end with a dial that reaches. It is designed, machined and assembled in the USA and guaranteed to perform for life.
Skip it if you want a light scope, if you think in MOA, or if a 30 mm objective is too small for the light you shoot in.
Leupold Mark 5HD 2-10×30 Dark Earth full specifications
- Item number: 179709
- Finish: Dark Earth, per the model name; no finish spec row is published
- Magnification: 2-10x variable
- Objective lens: 30 mm
- Main tube: 35 mm
- Reticle: Illuminated CMR-Mil, named in the model rather than in a spec row
- Focal plane: first focal plane per the model name; no focal plane spec row is published
- Illumination: 7 settings, rotary dial switch, daylight bright, NIGHT VISION COMPATIBLE
- Battery: CR2032, 1800 hours low and 96 hours high; no medium figure published
- Eye relief: 3.6 in low, 3.7 in high
- Field of view: 52.9 ft at 2x, 10.5 ft at 10x, per 100 yards
- Click value: 0.1 MIL elevation and windage
- Total elevation travel: 48 MIL (165 MOA), 10.5 MIL per revolution
- Elevation dial travel limit: 30 MIL
- Total windage travel: 23 MIL (80 MOA), 10 MIL per revolution
- Parallax: side focus, 40 yd minimum
- Elevation turret: M5C3, locking, revolution indicator, set screw rezero
- Windage turret: capped
- BDC dial included: no; Custom Dial System: no
- Weight: 24 oz
- Total length: 11.2 in
- Total mounting space: 5.9 in (1.7 front, 2 rear)
- Warranty: guaranteed to perform for life
Manufacturer specifications are published by Leupold. Compare it against the rest of our optics range, and against the black version of the same scope.
Ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop with the Leupold lifetime guarantee.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.