Chris, There are a couple reasons that the Mark 5 HD cost more. (1) It's a FFP reticle scope. (2) Leupold charges a lot for an Illuminated reticle. (3) Leupold has to pay extra to use the trademarked Tremor 3 reticle.

I've never cared for Leupold scopes. Not that they don't make some quality scopes in a few series, but they have always been hit or miss in the tracking dept., and you are paying up front for their warranty.
You also won't see many serious F-Class shooter's using them.

This link is a few years old, but most of these scopes are what's being used in the real world. The only one that I don't think belongs on the list is the Vortex Golden Eagle.

Top 10 rifle scopes for precision long-range shooting and F-Class - Riflescope Warehouse

We've made a list of top 10 rifle scopes for precision long-range and F-Class shooting, which are available in the year 2019.

www.riflescopewarehouse.com

You can find a lot of these top scopes for great deal on the used market, and I have no problem buying high end optics used. Look on Accurate Shooter's forum, Snipers Hide forum, and Long Range Hunting forum. You can find some really good deals if you look around.

 

The thing about optics and their prices is mainly all about the quality of the lenses used.
What makes scopes from Zeiss, Leica or Svarovski so expensecive? It`s mainly the lenses, the quality of the mechanics and therfor also for what calibers the scope can be used (recoil force on the optics). Many of well known brand scopes can be damaged by higher caliber rifles. POI shifting during shooting, due to lower quality mechanics installed.

In modern days, there are several scope brands on the market, that are very good in quality, but cost very much less then one yould think.
I am just starting myself in PRS. Got myself a Sabatti Tactical Evo in .308Win and put a Meopta Optika6 5-30x56 scope on the rifle, using the MRAD RD reticle.

Meopta

Looking for precision European sport optics? You are on right spot. We offer great gear for your hunt or adventure outdoors!

meopta.store

Mercury Sport Evo (Sabatti Tactical Evo Black)

So, I picked up my new baby last monday. It`s a Mercury Sport Evo aka Sabatti Tactical Evo. Mercury is the name it is sold at Frankonia here in Germany. Frankonia might be a name some of you recall from the CZ75 Pre B´s. It is chambred in .308 Winchester, has a 71cm bullbarrel with Multi Radial...

www.firearmstalk.com

Sabatti Tactical Evo SightIn

Hey there, so, as requested, here my range report from my first date with my Sabatti Tactical Evo in .308 Win. Initial Sight-In was at 50m. Reason for that later on. Looked through the barrel, aligned the barrel with the target and adjusted the scope. No problems her. First shot was a tad left...

www.firearmstalk.com

The cost for the Meopta was € 1.034,-. US Price is $ 1.099,-

Until now, I was only at a 100m shooting range to sight it in, but my impression of this scope is very nice.

In adition to that, I am in the process of pimping my Ruger Mini 14 more for precision (yeah In know). Having the slight advantage (the above mentioned rifle and scope was bought officially), I have a cooperation for my German youtube Channel with Vector Optics. Being a fact, that most scopes on the market today are built in China, Vector has one slight advantage. The lenses used in many of their scopes are produced by the German company Schott (High-quality optics and technology for sport | SCHOTT). So here we have fairly good quality optics, in a lower priced product.

Verctor Optics Germany supplied me for the pimping project of my Mini 14 with a Vector Optics Taurus 5-30x56

https://www.vectoroptics.com/products/view/id/SCFF-14.html

and this lower priced scope comes with a Life Time Warranty.

Tauron 5-30x56 | 30MM Rifle Scope

Vector Optics Taurus 5-30x56 FFP Hunting Riflescope Tactical Optical Scope SCFF-14, First Focal Plane Etched Reticle, Dead-on Accurate MIL Tactical Low Turrets w/ Lock Function.

vector2007.com

The price is at $ 399,-

So, what I am trying to say is, optics is all about the quality lenses used it them. Good brand names are not always what the seems to be, unless you go to a Schmidt-Bender, Zeiss, Leica, Svarovski, Steiner.
Sometimes it is worth going to a shop and looking through the different scopes and to identify the differences.

For myself, I am not looking at the 1000yds shooting. 300m, maybe up to 600m, that`s it. In Germany we don`t have any ranges above 300m, that are authorised for civilians. So I would have to travel to Poland, CZ, etc. to be able to shoot longer distances.
Therfor a higher priced or a higher magnified scope is more or less a waste of money for me.

Vector Optics in example also has a higher priced model, the Continental, that in the 5-30x56 is still sub $ 1.000,-

Long Range Shooting | Continental x6 5-30x56 FFP Rifle Scope

ON SALE!! best long-range rifle scope for 1,000 yards+, two reticle options for you, German Schott HT Glass, 26 mil elevation w/ precise 1/ 10 mil clicks, LRZ

vector2007.com

and according to my supllier, his customers state, that these don fall behind the much higher priced scopes from other brands. And German gun enthusiasts are all about the highest quality available, specially the hunters.

 

Kdog, He's planning on shooting F-Class. Most F-Class shooter's here in the USA use Second Focal Plane scopes with 1/8th MOA turrets and MOA type reticles.

 

yep, the first scope in the thread starters post is FFP.....but that wasn`t the point. Lot of scopes are offered in FFP aswell as SFP reticle and you can choose the setting if MRAD or MOA.
I was just pointing out the differences in scopes in terms of pricing, since he asked what makes the one more expensive then the other.

 

What do you see the top shooters using?

That is who you get recommendations from.

Searching the previously owned sales is my preference.

 

Chris
Our friend TX really knows his stuff. But I have shot a Leupold M-1 Long Range scope for years. And it is only in 3.5 X10 X50. It has been a good one. And yes at 1000 + yards the furthest being 1400. But here is the new version of the Leupold Long Range M-4 Scope. This is the updated model to my much older LR Scope!
The good news I saw I think Midway had them marked down from $1300.00 to $999.00. Here is the description.
Leupold Mark 4 Long Range Tactical M1 Rifle Scope 30mm Tube 8.5-25x 50mm Side Focus Matte And I like the reticle in this scope.
They also have a 12X40 at $1750 +
First of all, the first Leupold you listed for $2800. IMO the reticle is way to busy for me!

My other choice would probably be a Nightforce Competition Scope. $2400.00

03

 

Good lenses in optics are not cheap at all. This is true for binoculars, scopes, telescopes, etc. They account for a good bit of the price on the higher end optics. The mechanisms are next. You'll find the higher end scopes don't have any plastic in them. Tracking is top notch, usually.

Don't be fooled by the brightness and clarity of lower end scopes at lower magnifications. As long as you keep things down around 14-ish power or less, even cheap scopes "look good." It's when you start cranking the magnification is where good glass makes a bigger difference.

Then, too, there are people's preferences. For example, I prefer good clarity over "true colors" in the view. I don't even mind a little chromatic aberation. The sharper the image, the better. But one area that high end glass also has an advantage is in light transmission. Often a pricier scope can be used late in the evening longer than a cheap scope because you can still see in lower light. For range use, this may not be a major criteria.

Tracking and the mechanism are important when dialing back and forth for ranges in a competition. You want it as perfect as you can get. And this brings me to another topic...do you dial or do you use the hold over stadia in your reticle. That's a personal preference too. Since I "dial" I'm not a fan of many of the overly busy "Christmas tree" reticles out there. I'm ok with a basic cross hair with tick marks, but I don't care for the ones with lines and dots all over the glass, I find it distracting.

Then there's the first focal plane vs second focal plane argument. If you're a dialer, then a second focal plane will probably serve you better. If you prefer to use the stadia lines and such, then a FFP is the way to go since it maintains accuracy of the stadia regardless of magnification setting. Just be aware that FFP reticles can be difficult to see at lower magnifications. Also, they tend to be thick at high magnification as a result. SFP reticles will not change at all regardless of magnifiction, but the stadia are usually only accurate at full magnification (there are a few out there that have their "accurate" setting slightly less than full magnification, but they are the exception rather than the rule). .

 

Most F-Class & Benchrest competition shooter's use SFP scopes. They are shooting at known target distances, so they don't need to range the target with the reticle. They don't use FFP scopes mainly because the reticle gets bigger at higher magnification and covers up the bulls eye portion of the targets.