Leupold has been making high quality optics
for many decades now, with shooters and hunters worldwide
trusting their shot to Leupold. A rifle is only as accurate as
its ammunition and the device used to sight the weapon. For many
years, I used scopes of just about every brand, but have learned
that it is a waste of time and ammunition to try to determine a
rifle’s accuracy using a low-quality scope.
My most-trusted scope for testing rifle
accuracy, referred to as “The Mule”, is my Leupold Mark 4
8.5 to 25 power riflescope. The Mark 4 series is from Leupold
Tactical, and it is built to deliver precision under adverse
conditions. I call it “The Mule”, as it is a scope in which
I have absolute trust to get the job done, without fail,
allowing me to determine just how accurate a rifle can be. The
entire Mark 4 line of scopes is built for serious, sometimes
grave, operations. The Mark 4 is trusted among those who have to
make the shot count, every time, under extreme conditions.
Usually, I review rifle scopes along with a
rifle test, with the scope getting little more than a paragraph
of attention, but in this review, the Mark 4 HAMR gets the
spotlight, with the rifle shown already being covered here
before. The HAMR is a new scope from Leupold Tactical, and it is
built to be tough and absolutely reliable under extreme
conditions. It is built for combat. An optical sight mounted
atop a soldier’s or Marine’s rifle has to be tough, and the
new HAMR is built to withstand the punishment of combat.
However, the same features that make this riflescope so
well-suited for combat, also make it ideal for use as a tough,
reliable hunting scope that can be relied upon in all lighting
conditions and rough terrain to deliver the shot on target,
every time. Since I do not engage in combat operations, being a
peaceful fellow myself, I decided to take the HAMR bear hunting.
HAMR is the acronym for High Accuracy
Multi-range Riflescope. The HAMR is compact, and ideal to fit
atop a Picatinny rail. The HAMR will not mount in standard
one-inch or 30mm rings as does a traditional hunting scope. As
mentioned above, it is not built to be a hunting scope, but as
more and more hunters take to the fields with AR-type rifles,
the HAMR is ideal to fill the role of a close to medium range
optical sight. Usually, an optical sight for hunting or fighting
has to be a compromise. Getting a non-magnifying sight for close
range results in not having the precision needed for a shot
exceeding one hundred yards (or meters, for you tactical types).
However, entering a building or going into the brush with high
magnification is not ideal either. The HAMR has both covered.
The HAMR has four-power magnification for the longer shots, and
is machined to accept a non-magnifying Leupold DeltaPoint
electronic dot sight on top. The HAMR is available with a
DeltaPoint, or the two can be purchased separately.
The DeltaPoint is a dot sight that uses a
triangle in stead of a round dot. The 7.5 MOA (3.5 inch MOA is
also available) triangle allows the sight to be adjusted so that
the point of the triangle is used for aiming, allowing for more
precision, if needed, but the large triangle allows quick work
up close. The DeltaPoint has no switches to flip on and off. It
activates instantly with the slightest movement, and turns
itself off when not in use. It is ideal for use up close,
whether across the distance of a typical bedroom, or in thick
brush pursuing deer, hogs, or bear.
Back to the HAMR. The HAMR is machined out of
rigid, tough aluminum alloy. The adjustment caps are tethered to
prevent loss, and they are also of machined aluminum
construction. The compact size of the HAMR is only five and
one-half inches long, making it ideal for use on a modern
semi-auto like an AR, SCAR, ACR, FNAR, or other acronym rifle.
The HAMR has four-power magnification for use at longer
distances, with a 32 foot field-of-view at 100 yards, and almost
three inches of eye relief, which is important for the rifle
upon which I mounted the HAMR for this review. More on that
later. The HAMR has Leupold’s Extended Twilight Lens System
for optimal light transmission, and the lenses use Leupold’s
DiamondCoat 2 coating on the exterior exposed lens surfaces for
scratch resistance. The HAMR has an objective lens of 24mm clear
viewing, resulting in an exit pupil diameter of six millimeters.
The HAMR uses an etched-glass CM-R ballistic reticle for drop
and windage correction. The reticle has an illuminated center
for optimal use in extreme conditions. The illumination is
adjustable from none at all through a selection of seven
intensity settings, for use under any lighting conditions from
bright sunlight to total darkness. Between each intensity
setting is an “off” position. The HAMR has 60 minutes of
adjustment in both elevation and windage correction. Weighing in
at slightly over fourteen and one-half ounces, the HAMR is
tough, rugged, and reliable.
As mentioned above, these same features that
make the HAMR a good battle sight, also make it a superb hunting
sight. So, I took the HAMR to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on
a bear hunt. For those of you who have never been to the U.P.,
it is an entirely different world, both geographically and
culturally, from the larger part of that state. The U.P. has
about one third of the state’s land mass, but only three
percent of the population. Much of the U.P. is very remote and
secluded. Were it not for the 51 weeks of winter per year, it
would be perfect. Many folks think that the U.P. should be its
own state, and I tend to agree. Yoopers are some of the nicest
folks that I have ever met, and I headed to the U.P. to stay a
few days with my good friend The Swede and his family, and to go
on a hunt for black bear with the Leupold HAMR. As I did not
draw a Michigan bear tag this year, I was just along to take
pictures and video, and to help drag the bear out of the thick
brush. I mounted the HAMR atop The Swede’s Alexander
Arms 50 Beowulf rifle, which is a superb bear gun. The
Beowulf hits hard, is compact, and is a semi-automatic for fast
follow-up shots, if needed. Waiting in a blind observing the
bear trail, we had a small opening cleared through the trees and
brush, with the trail eighty yards away. Between the blind and
the trail was a small valley, with a creek running at the bottom
(pronounced “crick” in Yooper speak). Heading out to the
blind in the afternoon after visiting Wilderness Sports gun shop
and a fine meal at Buck’s in Ishpeming, The Swede commented
“Awww Jeff, tis gonna be a fine day fer busting dat bear, eh?”
The Swede was right. The weather was warm with a slight breeze,
and the bear didn’t keep us waiting for very long. Making his
way up the ridge from the creek below, we didn’t spot the bear
until he emerged out of the brush. In this terrain, with steep
slopes and heavy cover, it would be important to anchor that
bear on the spot, if possible, and we had confidence that the
Beowulf would do the job, as we had used it on black bear
before. As the bear stopped and turned slightly, that big 400
grain Sierra entered just behind the shoulder, and the bear
dropped like his batteries were jerked out of him. Perfect shot
placement, and perfect bullet performance. That Sierra left the
muzzle at 1625 feet-per-second, mushroomed perfectly, and the
bullet was recovered under the hide on the far side when the
bear was skinned. The recovered bullet weighed 383 grains, with
the lead portion expanded to .881 inch, and the jacket opened up
to 1.09 inches. I can’t think of any other weapon that would
have performed better than that Beowulf. The Swede’s Beowulf
is identical to my own, wearing a sixteen inch barrel. It is
light, handy, and powerful, and the generous eye relief of the
HAMR kept the scope from hitting our eyebrows, as we sighted the
rifle in at the bench the day before the hunt.
The reticle of the HAMR is ideal for such
hunting, allowing precise aiming. The illuminated center portion
shows up perfectly, and is much better in the woods when aiming
against a dark target in poor lighting than trying to use a
black crosshair of a traditional scope.
Returning to The Swede’s to get the sled
and some help to get the bear out of the woods, we used the
winch on the ATV to drag the bear to the top of the ridge. While
The Swede and his wife gutted the bear, The Swede’s dandy
little daughter was helping to hold the bear in position and
poking around in the guts and such. She grabbed a flap of the
bear’s leaf fat and asked “Daddy, can I have the fat?”
There are not too many teenage girls who want to make bear fat
into bullet lube and boot dressing, but Yooper girls are
different. Meg loads her own ammo, has her own Dillon press, and
can outshoot any teenage boy that I know. When her mom later
pointed out that she had blood on her jeans, she casually
replied, “I don’t mind. That’s just an accessory”, as
she stood there smiling with a sixgun on her hip.
We had a great time visiting in the U.P. The
Swede’s wife fed us real good on Cudaghi, fresh eggs, bacon,
pancakes, steaks, and the best blueberry pie that I have ever
slid down my neck. It was a great trip and a perfect bear hunt,
and I look forward to going back again.
Check out the Leupold HAMR and other quality
optics online at www.leupold.com.
Jeff Quinn
