Leica Amplus 3-18x44i scope

[StevieD]

New scope on the Tikka, having tried 4 different scopes; two Zeiss Conquest v4s, a Hawke Frontier and a Meopta Optika 6, I’ve finally settled on a Leica Amplus 6 as my scope of choice.
Fantastic little scope, which just oozes quality. Everything smooth and precise as is should be, well built and finished, looks and feels like it can take the knocks. Relatively light weight (660g) and the glass to my eyes is absolutely fantastic; Crystal clear edge to edge, bright and vibrant. It has a BDC Xmas tree style reticle with a simple fine red dot illumination which is perfect for low light situations.
Highly recommended!

 

[Shaun Goss]

Would be interested to hear how you compare the amplus to the Zeiss v4?

What’s the 44 objective like in fading light?

 

[StevieD]

Hi Shaun, I actually tried two v4s, the first one was a 6-24 (zmoa ret).. nice bright clear glass, low weight for mag range, but didnt like the full illuminated ret, plastic windage cap and thought Zeiss had cheaped out on the plastic windage cap. Coupled with a min 50yd parallax and limited fov (I shoot HMR and LR, and have a slot for fac air) it wasn’t suitable for me.
I then tried the new gen 4-16 (t30 ret locking windage, min 10yd parallax); much better, simple illuminated center cross. Again nice bright glass, and would have kept, but the illumination had an intermittent fault where it would completely fail. Macloeds were great, confirmed the fault and refunded - put me off tbh.
I also tried a 2.5 -15 x56 Amplus, which I have to say is a light gathering monster, just too big and heavy for my rimfires. I shoot against a backdrop of a mountainside in a valley, often overcast and dark and to my eyes at least, not a massive difference, maybe a few less minutes at last light with the 44 but the Leica glass is just so damn good it was honestly hard to tell, for me the lighter scope with the extra mag was the sweet spot. I should also note that the fov on the Amplus is fantastic, you can actually see the barrel at 3x and comparing to a Frontier 3-15x44 that I also run, it’s just better (saying that the Frontier is a third of the cost and although not comparable in terms of overall quality, it tracks fine and is a lot of scope for the money, and now sits on the LR).
Hope this helps, but given my experience, Leica for me over the Zeiss v4s.

 

[ColinBr]

Cracking scopes the Amplus range.

I have the 2.5-15x56 on 1 of my rifles and I am seriously considering 1 of the 3-18x44 scopes for another rifle.

Like you say I find the glass really impressive.

 

[Jack3]

Likewise, I have a 2.5-15x56 over my 6.5CM and it's a brilliant bit of kit!

 

[StevieD]

Cracking scopes the Amplus range.

I have the 2.5-15x56 on 1 of my rifles and I am seriously considering 1 of the 3-18x44 scopes for another rifle.

Like you say I find the glass really impressive.

Yes was torn between the two, both cracking scopes, can't help think that Leica are missing a trick in the UK with such limited suppliers especially at the Amplus price point; one thing to note is that the 3-18 is the only one in the Amplus range that uses MOA, wasn't a deal breaker for me, but might be for some. I think looking on their website that there's new models in this mag range on their way at some point which offer both mil and/or the duplex style reticle.

 

[Shaun Goss]

Hi Shaun, I actually tried two v4s, the first one was a 6-24 (zmoa ret).. nice bright clear glass, low weight for mag range, but didnt like the full illuminated ret, plastic windage cap and thought Zeiss had cheaped out on the plastic windage cap. Coupled with a min 50yd parallax and limited fov (I shoot HMR and LR, and have a slot for fac air) it wasn’t suitable for me.
I then tried the new gen 4-16 (t30 ret locking windage, min 10yd parallax); much better, simple illuminated center cross. Again nice bright glass, and would have kept, but the illumination had an intermittent fault where it would completely fail. Macloeds were great, confirmed the fault and refunded - put me off tbh.
I also tried a 2.5 -15 x56 Amplus, which I have to say is a light gathering monster, just too big and heavy for my rimfires. I shoot against a backdrop of a mountainside in a valley, often overcast and dark and to my eyes at least, not a massive difference, maybe a few less minutes at last light with the 44 but the Leica glass is just so damn good it was honestly hard to tell, for me the lighter scope with the extra mag was the sweet spot. I should also note that the fov on the Amplus is fantastic, you can actually see the barrel at 3x and comparing to a Frontier 3-15x44 that I also run, it’s just better (saying that the Frontier is a third of the cost and although not comparable in terms of overall quality, it tracks fine and is a lot of scope for the money, and now sits on the LR).
Hope this helps, but given my experience, Leica for me over the Zeiss v4s.

Thankyou for that detailed answer, I also had a v4 and can relate to a lot of your comments on them. Sounds like this model of Leica is well worth a look at.

 

[mak]

Yes was torn between the two, both cracking scopes, can't help think that Leica are missing a trick in the UK with such limited suppliers especially at the Amplus price point; one thing to note is that the 3-18 is the only one in the Amplus range that uses MOA, wasn't a deal breaker for me, but might be for some. I think looking on their website that there's new models in this mag range on their way at some point which offer both mil and/or the duplex style reticle.

Interesting comments about distribution?? There are Leica retailers across the UK, however some (not all) prefer to stock and promote other riflescope brands, as well as other models from Leica (Geovids for example), which is rightly their choice as business owners. As for weight and build of Leica (as mentioned in an earlier post), the tube thickness also plays a part in weight (not just the lens elements) so some tubes on the market are circa 0.7mm in thickness, Leica circa 1.4mm, so, there is a trade off between robustness and weight, plus all inner components of Leica eg; lens holders etc are alloy and in Fortis for example the turrets are alloy (not polymer).