The Leupold Mark 8 CQBSS is a variable power 1x8 scope that works as a general purpose optic allowing target and threat ID as well as engagement and distances substantially father than Aimpoints or ACOGs. All of this in a package that also allows room clearing and fighting house to house in a "one optic, multiple mission" package. I spent several months with this optic before it went out to our USMC sniper and sniper instructor friends for a few more months of use.
Does it work as a general purpose optic, or does it grind into obscurity as simply another "jack of all trades"? Click the picture and we'll let you know the good and bad of it.
The CQBSS has aluminum flip up caps for protection in the front and rear of the optic. This works nicely on the front end, though there is concern on the back end that you can't move it to the position you want once everything is adjusted. With the cheapo plastic caps you can dial everything in, and then slide them around for your own preference. This certainly isn't a deal breaker for anything, and the aluminum caps show this isn't a cost cutting optic, though with prices listing in the $4,000 range you wouldn't think cost cutting should even be in this article. My own concern comes into play more based on the magnification adjustment . The entire rear bell can be grabbed and rotated for rapid adjustment in the field, and keeping gloves on isn't a problem. However, grabbing the cap and rear housing while twisting it quickly made me paranoid that I was going to leverage and snap the piece off. No point in breaking anything if there is no need, especially since Rob signed for it. I did my testing without the rear cap to avoid any ugly eventualities.
I commented already about the magnification adjustment, but it deserves its own section. Adjustment is smooth and even, there are no tight or loose spots in the travel range and there were no issues of accidental changes in settings while getting tossed around. Looking through the glass while zooming in or out the glass stayed as clean, bright, and even as you would expect for an upper end optic. No shadowing , uneven areas, wobble or distortion was viewed at any time. This glass is clear, clear, clear, and it should with a Mark 8 designation. Light transmission is fantastic through the CQBSS's 34mm tube.
Locking pinch turrets are a nice touch, though the snipers had large concern that this would be an area that fine silty sand would infest turning it into a gritty nightmare. Rob spoke with Leupold about this, and they stated this was considered during the development of the optic, and that long term testing had show this was not a problem area for them. The pinch turrets are heavily textured for positive grip in varying conditions. One tenth mil increments, and zero stop turrets clearly marked for left and right are visible enough to be viewed in low light. Repeated box (moving up 10, right 10, down 10, left ten) testing showed the return to zero over and over. Likewise, repeated movement dialing all the way up and down until stop showed the scope had no problems staying dialed in.
While my work dealt inside 100 yards and included up close drills, the snipers took it out to 800 meters with good results. I took a mixed variety of weapons, and mounted the optic to everything I could lay my hands on. The shorter carbine was a MK18 upper receiver, which is a 10.3" barreled CQB beast. In city fighting isn't only a matter of kicking in doors and clearing buildings. While most of us have spent out time in a stack, we also understand that the threat of a guy sticking his head out of a window and taking shots is at least as real a threat as the one inside the building. The 8 power zoom makes head shots at most city distances easy work, and being able to dial it back to a 1 power/ zero magnification keeps building clearing realistic. Room clearing is never going to be enjoyable for me with a magnified optic, and while the MK8 CQBSS does a passable job, the Eotech or Aimpoint simply reigns king of inner domain. I spoke to an active duty friend in SOCOM, and he commented that his desire for a 1x8 optic is so he can drop people at distance, and still have something usable if he needs to take cover in or clear a building. I think that sums it up nicely. After the MK18, the MK8 CQBSS was thrown on a standard M4 (14.5" barrel), a Designated Marksman Rifle (20" AMU upper), and then we moved off the M16 platforms and onto beltfeds. Some great guys in AFSOC had a chance to play around with the CQBSS on a 240B and MK46, with the end thought being that its a functional way to go to war. This was before we knew that Leupold had developed this for the M2 and MK19.
Rob has already pointed out the USMC is going to use a Ballistic Extended Rail Mount (BERM). The scope we received was BERMless, and with an optic that I knew in advance was coming with a steep price tag, I contacted Ted Karagias of American Rifle Co and let him know what we were working on. Ted has the distinction of owning a company that builds scope rings that create no pinch points and leaving no wear marks for scopes. Ted donated a pair of 34mm rings with the stipulation that they be given to the military guys as a thank you for defending our country. That goes a long way in my book, especially when the service is backed by an great product.
After shipping the Leupold MK8 CQBSS out to the snipers, I had a chance to talk with them a few months later. They were clear that no names were to be used, but they were good with us stating they were former sniper instructors from the schoolhouse, and were current snipers. They took the CQBSS out to push it at distance. The work I did was was piggish brute work, and almost anyone can shoot up close and personal. Taking distances out to 700 and 800 meters involves an entirely new level of discipline, and their insights are truly appreciated. They felt the cam matched up nicely with the 77 grain ammunition from 100-800 meters, though they pointed out it had a tendency to shoot .85 high vs the computer. They gave the knobs high marks for their firm but concise movement. They liked the variable illumination settings, especially the night vision capabilities. The 8 illumination settings alternate between off and on. This allows you to shut the illumination off without dialing it all the way around. This is a nice touch for people who might not want to leave the scope on or drop a CR2032 battery in it on a regular basis. The 3.3-3.7 inch eye relief was appreciated by everyone who used it.
The Front Focal Plane (FFP meaning the reticle gets larger or smaller as you turn the magnification) 1.1x8 Leupold MTMR brought up interesting questions. The reticle was not my first choice as the heavy bars on the side, combined with the large open center made no sense. It was obvious that this was developed for a purpose, but Leupold wasn't talking, and while we were doing the testing we were totally in the dark. With the new understanding that this optic is made for the M2 and MK19, it make a lot more sense. Based on this, I'll leave my comments about the reticle simple and say that there are other reticles available for this scope that will no doubt work better for missions other than the M2 and MK19.
Leupold states this scope is waterproof and fogproof. These features were tried out shooting in 35 degree rainy fields and being laid down in puddles. Later on the scope went from inside to 25 degree weather outside, left outside, and brought back in later. Our scope showed no problems at all, which is more than I could say for some of my other equipment.
GearScout has already broken the news about the USMC purchasing the Leupold MK8 CQBSS MTMR optics, and 1st Lt. Jamie Larson, USMC Public Affairs states "The Heavy Day Optic (HDO) will be used with M2 Heavy Machine Guns and MK19 Grenade Machine Guns." All of this aside, we didn't test the CQBSS on crew served weapons. What we did test was how well the CQBSS operated on a variety of weapon platforms, and the end result is that it did very well. As a general purpose optic, you will be hard pressed to find anything better on the market or battlefield today. I only wonder how long it will take before they become more popular on other weapons, especially as we've already heard rumors of them making appearances with certain east coast groups.
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