A question that all of us shooters and hunters have asked ourselves at one point or another is, are Leupold Optics worth the price? To begin with Leupold optics have top quality glass and a lifetime warranty. If you have ever sat behind one you can immediately tell the quality craftmanship. To determine if Leupold Optics are worth it you need to determine how you will be using it. For example you would probably would not want to buy the Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25x56mm Riflescope which is around $2,400 to put on a squirrel hunting rifle. However a Leupold VX-Freedom 3-9x40 Riflescope Rimfire would be right at home on top of a small game rifle.

Another question to ask yourself is how much does being able to see clearly and sharply down range matter to you? Leupold are in a class of their own for sharp, clear images. This is thanks to the special coating on the objective lenses that Leupold uses on all their zoom optics. Leupold offers a large array of magnifications and styles ranging from extreme long range, standard rifle & shotgun, AR styles, and red dots all which are of extremely high quality, rugged, waterproof, and dependable.

Regarding optics in the extreme long-range category there does appear to be a diminishing return on magnification to dollar expense. Obviously, the more magnification the more expensive. Mostly due to the objective lens needing to collect more light the farther the zoom. With extreme range comes the need for precision measurements, and adjustments to keep you on target. Obviously, the level of precision in machining for this extreme level of accuracy and quality will demand an increase in price compared to standard optics.Despite my opinion there are circumstances where spending the money on a Leupold Long Range scope makes perfect sense.

The next category of optics that I would like to cover is the AR style optic such as the LEUPOLD MARK 3HD 1.5-4X20 30MM  These scopes often have lower magnification ranging from 1-6 times. Even with the lower magnification they are amazingly effective from short range to long ranges. I am personally using an optic of this style. I have been able to shoot accurately using a 5.56 out of a 16-inch barrel from 100-600 Yards consistently. To make ranging easy these optics often use the AR-Ballistic reticle as depicted below.

Leupold’s red dot are also high quality and rugged. They can be attached to a wide variety of platforms from pistols to AR’s. Considering all the information above and my own personal experience I would say that though Leupold products are a bit pricey, they are not overpriced.