I have the Leupold Mark AR Mod 1 in 1.5-4x20 with the SPR Firedot reticle on my Matrix 380, and I'm very satisfied with my purchase.
My logic- I wanted something, rugged, lightweight, with a lifetime warranty, (just like all Excalibur bows). I have a Crossbones on my M330 and it is a great scope for that bow. But at the 360fps my M380 spits out arrows, I find the magnification of the Crossbones to be overkill, (somewhere in the 5-6 power). It also doesn't have illumination, something I prefer. I also do some 3D shooting and looooonnnng range shooting intrigues me, so I wanted a scope with a lot of vertical adjustment and a reticle with different holdover points. I basically wanted a scope that I could tinker with for long ranges but still 'set it and forget it' for hunting season.
My first searches brought me to the VXR patrol and VXR Zombie scopes, but at $600+ they were out of the question! I looked for something with those features in a lower price point, ($350 TYD), and found it in the Mark AR Mod 1 series, (which is basically the VXR Patrol in a 1" tube).
Features:
It has a 1" tube, (20mm objective), and the standard eyepiece dimensions. It has 60 mils of vertical adjustment, (roughly 70 MOA I believe), which is a lot. This allows me to use the tactical vertical adjustment knobs to raise my POI considerably...it's like having a built-in HHA without the added weight and cheek weld issues. In fact, this scope weighs only 9.6oz which makes you wonder how they packed all these features into such a tidy, lightweight device.
I have the magnification set a 2.5 power: what I consider to be perfect for hunting ranges. I have the resettable elevation turret set for a 30y zero. For hunting purposes, this gives me 'Minute of Deer' accuracy. I'm about 2" high at 20y, and about 3" low at 40y. For 3D situations, I have learned how many mils up or down I have to turn the turret to get precise groups, all the way out to 70y. This took some practice but it's second nature now.
I added a Leupold Alumina objective scope cap and a Butler Creek eyepiece flip cap to protect my lenses at a cost of $20, (gotta love eBay).
The reticle:
The SPR reticle has holdover points that are exactly 2.5mils apart. These can be used just like the ballistic reticles you're familiar with. Note that there are many different holdover points. These would regrettably be difficult to see at zero dark 30, but are prominent in decent light. The centre circle is exactly 10 mils in diameter is very visible in low light.
The scope also comes equipped with Firedot illumination which is amazing. It shuts off after 5 minutes of inactivity and the slightest movement reactivates the dot to save battery life. It is daylight visible at the higher settings, but turned down to low and it doesn't flood out the target in your sight picture with light like most crossbow scopes do. This is a huge advantage in low light. Only the centre dot is illuminated and it's a small dot, making precise aiming possible.
Advantages:
-optical clarity and image sharpness
-lower price point compared to VXR scopes
-Firedot illumination
-large amount of vertical adjustment
-lightweight, rugged, lifetime warranty
-allows those of us with faster bows to shoot at lower magnification
Disadvantages:
-reticle is busy for some
-ballistic holdover dots are hard to see in darkness
-some people don't like exposed elevation turrets
-cost is hard to substantiate for some
-1" tube vs 30mm
I recommend this scope for shooters that are looking for a scope to fill the needs I have outlined, but it's definitely NOT for everyone. The bottom line is that it would be hard to mount a Leupold scope on your bow that you wouldn't like.
Thanks for reading
