If there is one rifle that has distinguished itself during combat operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq it has to be the 5.56mm MK 12 in both its MOD 0 and MOD 1 formats. Time and time again, Special Forces troopers equipped with this lightweight sniper rifle have faced overwhelming numbers of the enemy and prevailed. The MK 12 MOD 0/1 is a highly accurized M16 variant with an 18-inch Douglas 416 stainless-steel match barrel (1:7-inch twist) that is free-floated with either a PRI (MOD 0) or Knight’s Armament (MOD 1) free-floating handguard mounted. But what is of interest to us here is the special scope used.

Developed for the MK 12 series of Special Purpose Rifles Leupold’s 3-9X 36mm MR/T is a perfect match for an accurate AR-type rifle.

Mounted in ARMS Inc. No. 22M Throw Lever rings is a compact 3-9X 36mm scope from Leupold, Dept. ST, P.O. Box 688, Beaverton, OR 97075; 503-526-1400; www.leupold.com. Two models were issued: the TS-30A1 and the TS-30A2. The difference between the two being the TS-30A2 features an illuminated reticle. Equipped with M3 turrets and a bullet drop compensator (BDC), these scopes are well suited to this rifle’s role. When mated to Black Hills’s MK 262 Mod 1 77-grain OTM (Open Tip Match) ammunition, the rig has proven effective out to 700 meters in actual combat.

Originally available only to the military, in 2004 Leupold introduced these scopes, along with two similar models, to the civilian market. Called the Mark 4 Mid Range/Tactical, or MR/T for short, this group of compact variable magnification scopes consists of four models based on a common 3-9X 36mm platform. Offered are models with and without an illuminated reticle with either M1 or M3 adjustment turrets. These models are growing in popularity, so I decided to take a closer look at them. To do this I requested examples of both M1 and M3 models.

As I removed them from their boxes, it immediately became apparent that these scopes are sized for their intended application. Overall length is just 11.3 inches and the objective lens is only 36mm in diameter. Both scopes are built on a 30mm tube milled from one piece of 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum with the only difference being their adjustment turrets. Leupold’s M1 turrets are tall, uncapped, competition-style turrets with 1/4-MOA adjustments. In stark contrast, the M3 turrets were designed with military use in mind.

The 3-9X 36 MR/T’s M3 turrets feature 1-MOA elevation adjustments and 1/2-MOA windage adjustments.

These uncapped turrets are much shorter and feature coarser 1/2-MOA clicks on the windage knob. The elevation knob features 1-MOA adjustments with all the elevation in (60 MOA available on the dial) with one revolution of the knob. In addition the elevation knob features an upper row of numbers. These act as a BDC. My review model was calibrated for 62-grain M855 Ball ammunition, and the turret increments were in 100-yard delineations from 100 to 800 yards.

Optically these scopes feature Leupold’s Index Matched Lens System. Actual magnification runs from 3-8.7X. Field of view (FOV) runs from 35.5 feet (at 3X) to 13.6 feet (at 9X) at 100 yards. Eye relief varies by almost .75 inch, depending upon magnification setting. At 3X there is 3.7 inches of eye relief. This shrinks to three inches at 9X. Two reticle options, Duplex and Mil Dot, are available on M1 models, but M3 models can only be had with a Mil Dot reticle.

Total adjustment range of the reticle (located in the second plane) is 90 inches at 100 yards. Models featuring an illuminated reticle sport a large rheostat mounted onto the eyepiece at approximately 10 o’clock. This features a total of 12 positions (including “Off”) of varying illumination intensity. Power is provided by one small DL1/3N three-volt battery. (This is the same battery used in an Aimpoint Comp M red-dot sight.) The finish on the scope is matte black with white markings. Overall weight is just 16 ounces.