Leupold Mark IV 1-3 X 14mm CQ/T Rifle scope

 It is my opinion that a lot of people top their calling rifles with way too much magnification for 90% of calling situations.  I’ve seen more often than not, most new guys to the sport carry more glass and they will likely ever need.  Even with the standard 3 X 9 power scope, how many times do you ever turn up the power of your scope while predator hunting?  I’m willing to bet not many.  The extra magnification is great for sighting in at the range and pinking targets out in the distance.  But for predator hunting the extra power is more of a hindrance than any help.  A great example of a negative situation would be, forgetting to turn the magnafication down after a range session and having a coyote pop out of the brush at 25 yards,  Or the new guy that has the high power scope and gets a hard charger and all he can see is fur. I know that my calling style and situation doesn’t pertain to everyone, but I do believe that a lot of callers would benefit from a lower power scope for some of there calling.

I felt just like a kid at a candy store the minute I heard the deliveryman at my door, I knew he was there with a new Leupold scope for me to try out.  I’m sure most of you get the same feeling of anticipation when you get that knock.  Doesn’t get much better, then when you receive something you’ve been waiting for.  After signing for the package I made a beeline straight for the man room, I quickly removed it from its package and peeled back the cellophane wrapper.  As I opened the box I almost felt as if I was cracking open a treasure chest, it was beautifully packaged with everything having its own place in a well laid out foam nest. Its not often a scope comes with everything you need to use it. It comes with a mount for a Picatinny Rail and a mount for a A2 style AR 15, Plus flip open lens covers for the objective and eyepiece. Leupold left little to nothing necessary to purchase afterwords.

 A low power scope has a bunch of advantages, One being, on the bottom end is there super fast target acquisition. With the high end being enough power for most hunting situations. Have you ever looked in a area you plan to do a stand and couldn’t decide weather or not to bring a shotgun or rifle? Well a low power set up would really shine in that situation. How about a hard charging coyote that just wont seem to stop for you? With a scope on 1X its like swinging a shotgun on them. 

 Now all I needed to do is chose a rifle worthy of being crowned with such a noble cap. Being I had initially wanted the scope for a close to mid range predator hunting instrument, It would need to ride atop something of similar grade. It just so happened that I had a qualified associate. Its partner would be a custom built AR 15 carbine, one of my favorite calling rigs. It is a 16″ side charge upper riding on a DPMS lower with a Rock River two stage trigger. A decent shooter considering the barrel is fairly inexpensive.  

After getting it mounted onto its new home, I hit the range. The ease of mounting this scope was refreshing, no trouble leveling the reticle, Just put her where you need for eye relief and tighten it down. I was very happy when it only took me a few shots to get her where she needed to be. Even more so after I shot a few groups. Most groups I shot were at or under 1″, not bad for a scope on 3 X. One thing I really liked during sight in, was that the lighted dot is the same size as the center bullseye on my targets, so that made for a good sight picture for aiming. Leupold has always been known for quality, and there Mark 4 line is no exception. keep an eye out, I am sure you will see and hear a lot more about this scope and set up on future hunts.

I recently received a TC 15 from, Tactics LLC. Tactics is a new company that specializes in custom AR 15’s. The TC 15 is a idea that I have had rolling in the back of my mind for a long time. It stands for Tacticle Coyote. It is a accurized AR 15 set up with the predator hunter in mind. The one I received is a prototype that I am going to go through at the range and during filming this season.

First impressions,
It felt pretty light weight for what you get. The finish is second to none, The one i have is done up in a Coyote brown coating. It has a stainless 18″ mid length barrel that has been bead blasted, target crowned, in a H-bar profile and flutted. The upper and lower receivers are a tight fit and of top quality. The lower receiver has a Timney trigger nestled in side, and set in the neighbor hood of 3 pounds. On the rear it sports a collapsible Mag pul CTR stock also in Coyote brown, A great light weight stock that to me just seems to fit as good as anything out there.

After a quick cleaning i needed to adorn her with some glass. I chose to put a US Optics SN-3 for load development, which is a 1.8 – 10 power scope. Then after finding the right load I would install something a little lighter and with less power. This rifle is to be this seasons calling rig, so it needs to be accurate with my coyote loads, light and nimble.

So I loaded up the truck and went to Usery, Usery range that is. I had loaded 2 different loads and brought some of my hunting loads also. I was going to be trying a new powder that i have had no experience with. After a quick sight in, I was ready to get started. I new it wasn’t going to be the best day for groups, as the wind was gusting pretty good. I settled in for the first group and was pleasantly surprised at the initial accuracy of the rifle and the new powder, especially considering the wind.  I fired a few more groups one with the other load from the new powder and a few from my standard hunting ammo. None of the groups really blew me away, but i consider the wind to be a big part of that. Over all i was very happy with the results from the first trip out, and new it was just going to get better from there. With a start like that i feel very confident that this is going to be a great shooter. Stay tuned for another range report, I am going to try a few other loads and hit the range on a more shooter friendly day. Remember this was the first time this rifle has been shot, once it gets broke in and i find the right load, it will tighten up even more.