I’ve been dying to tell you about the new Dual-Enhanced View Optic and Leupold Carbine Optic from Leupold Optics but I’ve been under a Non Disclosure Agreement until literally two minutes ago. It’s great to see Leupold enter into the Red Dot Optic market.
But they didn’t just enter the RDS market. They’ve launched a new way of offering magnification as well.
When I was first shown the D-EVO I know I had a weird look on my face. They handed me this ‘N’-shaped chunk of aluminum with glass at either end and a Picatinny mount at the bottom. I messed with it a little and listened to their pitch. A lot of thought went into this thing. The size had to be just right. The height had to be just right. The angles had to be just right. The D-EVO is a 6×20 fixed power prism optic which uses mirrors and lenses to get the job done. It could be used stand alone but it’s meant to be used in conjunction with a Red Dot Sight.
Developed over the last year, the Dual-Enhanced View Optic has many features being considered for the Army’s future Squad Common Optic. Leupold chose to integrate the Close Mid-Range Reticle with Wind holds (CMR-W) from the popular MK6 line (7.62 version below for illustration). It offers bullet drop to 600m as well as windage but this version uses averages for 5.56 and 7.62 cartridges. It offers up to 50 mils of windage and elevation adjustment with 0.1 mil increments per click of the dials. The D-EVO is 2″ tall, 4.6″ long, taking up only 3.2″ of rail space due to its mount. It weighs 13.8 oz and is waterproof to 66 feet.
Once in the range, I was convinced. It was like bifocals for my rifle. I could glance up or down and the cowitnessed RDS and D-EVO depicted the same POI whether I was looking through the 1x RDS or the 6x D-EVO. I didn’t have to turn any knobs or flip a magnifier into place. I just moved my eye ever so slightly. Experimenting, I found that if you mess around enough, you can see through both of them at the same time although focus remains on one or the other.
The photo above is looking out at about 200m while the image below is at 100m.
Granted, there is a downside. In order to get everything to fit in such a small package, the 20mm objective lens is on the right side of the weapon. Yes, your brass are going to hit it and we talked about this. In fact, there are some photos below of the bottom of a D-EVO and you can see the checking from the expended cases. They’ve got thousands upon thousands of shots recorded on some of these and it hasn’t rattled anything loose yet. This configuration also means that just like with barrel awareness while shooting from a barricade, you’ve got to remember where your D-EVO lens is. While shooting from the left side of a barricade, I snuggled up tight and obscured my objective lens. No biggy, I was able to engage the target using the LCO but it’s something you have to consider all the same.
As a group we were able to try the D-EVO coupled with both Leupold’s LCO as well as an Aimpoint T-1. It worked just as well with either sight. And what’s more, Leupold’s rep at the range acknowledged that the D-EVO would be used in conjunction with other RDS brands and they didn’t care. They realize that there are millions of sights out there from a variety of manufacturers and they know that the D-EVO is such a game changer that they just want it out there regardless of what it is used with.
These shots offer a great 360 of the D-EVO allowing you to see the adjustments and lenses.
And the bottom, with integral Picatinny mount.
The D-EVO ships in March, 2015.
This is Leupold’s foray into the Carbine Red Dot Sight market. It offers a wide field of view and 2 MOA dot. Adjustments are 1/2 MOA. The LCO has a rheostat control and manual on/off with 16 settings, including NVG. It uses a CR123A battery which offers a 5 year life. Like some of the other new optics coming from Leupold, the LCO is waterproof to 66′ so they are definitely looking at military use.
Here is a 360 degree view of the LCO.
The Leupold Combat Optic begins shipping March, 2015.
Both the D-EVO and LCO are proudly made in the USA! I can’t wait for the chance to see how they both fare long term.
* Photographed at Spartan Tactical.
Tags: Leupold Optics
Looks very promising. Would take a little training to get used to the set-up but its a very interesting take on a solution thats been attempted all sorts of ways.
Any word on the price point for these?
It’s very easy to adapt. One range session and you’re on it.
As for the price…are you sitting down?
Gearscout reported 3 grand for the pair, or 1800 for the d-evo and leupold says 1300 for the lco
Definitely out of my reach. For that price I can get three 3X Magnifiers.
*cough* Izzat Tac Program Pricing? *cough*
It’s a Leupold, so guaranteed small loan/mortgage….unless you are a pro shooter with sponsors. Cool optic, but guarantee it will be above the price range of regular people and/or mil members/leo’s…
What’s the weight of the just the magnifier?
Very, very interesting concept. The intergration looks well done and I can’t wait to try it. Only shot across the bow I can think of is intergration with clip on night sights that are now widespread in the USMC and Army might be an issue for the 6x component.
You aren’t going to get I2 or thermal on the D-EVO but there’s no reason you can’t use it out in front of the RDS.
Generally you don’t run NV ahead of a red-dot sight there.
In front for magnified, behind for non-magnified with IR.
In fact . . . I don’t think the clip ons would have enough eye-relief to sit in front of a red dot and still put an image to your eye.
Best to just goggle and laser!
Cheaper than an ELCAN Spector, oh wait no its not. Not being on the same plane for both optics might be a bit of a pain to sight in as well.
You’re zeroing two instead of one but when you’re engaging targets you aren’t flipping any switches, turning any dials or twisting any mounts.
But isn’t your point of aim/point of impact shifting as you go from one to the other since the aren’t in line with one another?
You’re zeroing two….
Two reticles/holographic setups, in two planes, from two different ocular positions. As long as you’re not getting a ton of scope shadow on the zoom optic, they’ll both work brilliantly.
Not as long as you zero them both.
Would never ever spend my own money on ELCAN. Leupy I would.
Love my Elcan 1-4…flipping a lever is easy it’s bombproof and the clarity and quality of the optic is unreal. I also enjoy Leupold products…just don’t quite see the attraction to this if it’s truly $3000 total. That’s just me. Look forward to seeing more on this product.
You are NOT zeroing two! If you sight your Red dot at 50 yards (easy to do) adjust the back fixed 6 power at the same point. Your 50 and 200 yard impacts are damn near the same. I’ve shot these and they are unbelievable! You can shoot a target at 10 yards and in one second, hit another target at 300 with removing your hands from the firearm!
Big points for innovation. No doubt about that.
Tactical bi-focals isn’t a term I ever thought I’d hear…
SSD,
You have quite possibly the most awesome job in the world…
A cure for the ejected brass hitting the bottom may possibly be a sliver piece of XPEL paint protection film. We install the stuff all day here in my shop and the one downside may be the hot brass searing the film but it’s being ejected so fast I don’t see a problem there.
Bad ass concept but how is it for folks who wear prescription eye wear with bi-focal already?
Yeah, I was thinking the brass would be a simple fix too. Tiny square of tape, etc. Replace as necessary.
I wear bifocal eyepro and it was fine.
SSD….sucks getting old eh?
I mean I have a full head of hair and would gladly swap that for my eyes back!!
Thanks for the confirmation
Ridiculous question, but why doesn’t it come with a DeltaPoint hanging off the front to reduce complete optic package overall weight? That’s the setup I’d like to see.
You CAN mount it with a Deltapoint if you prefer.
Excepting large and alphabet agencies, they’ve pretty much priced themselves out of the LE market for a patrol rifle optic, but this isn’t copsystems.
Is 6x a magic number? I would have thought 4x would be a reasonable leap going from the RDS.
If you are engaging a target that is 300-500 meters away would you rather have 4x optical zoom or 6? I personally would rather have 6. Now for a magnifier sitting behind a red dot I wouldn’t want to go beyond 4x but that is simply because I don’t want the red dot to be so huge through magnification that it defeats the purpose.
That’s the beauty of Eotech holographic sights. The dot reticle does NOT get larger when you increase magnification.
Funny, I just checked your hypothesis against my EoTech 557/G33 combo. I don’t think so Jason.
That is impossible.
it gets bigger, but it’s 1MOA nominally, so it’s not a great big blob.
That would be a core difference between LE and MIL riflery; It’s very, very rare that we have to take shots in excess of 100 yards, 40 is the anecdotal average. Too much magnification at our typical ranges and we can get lost in the scope, which is the beauty of this system – the ability to immediately translate out to the zero-power optic.
On our side, if it can’t be handled with 4x, it’s time to get out the precision rifle.
Weird and wonderful, can’t wait to check it out at SHOT.
Pretty innovative concept, but I am curious just how obtrusive it will be to left handed shooters. It sticks out far enough to be in the way I would imagine.
Wow. How do you justify 1300 for a red dot? I’d like to know what it does that my $700 T1 doesn’t.
That aside, in FDE and minus the giant logos, I’ll take a D-EVO.
Seriously! I was thinking the exact thing. I could buy two aim points or eotechs for the price of that thing. The 6x looks awesome and I don’t think the price is out of line for the type of optic it is. Its price pretty similar to ACOGs and other mil tough magnified optics that it will compete with. But, seriously, $1300 for a red dot is just stupid.
Any word on what sort of usage the battery life is based on? Constant on, or X hours a day at a certain brightness, or…?
Very interested in running a T-2 with the D-EVO despite the limited info so far, but I’m not sure about the LCO yet, anxious for more info. Only criticism is that I hate thumb screw mounts but I’m sure somebody will come up with something.
We talked about the mounts and I’m told you should see some after market stuff soon.
Good to hear
Got a little more info from a design engineer on the D-EVO project
“I actually sit next to the LCO design engineer. I just texted him and he didn’t go into a ton of detail but said it’s not a constant-on for 5 years. It’s some “average life cycle” and its a combination of the auto-off and reflective coating on the lens allowing the LED to work more efficiently. I know there’s one sitting on his desk for over a year now, been borrowed several times and its on the same CR123.”
Two similar optics, possibly inspirational to the fine folks out in Oregon, came to mind as I read this:
The Warner-Swasey Musket scopes, mounted on ’03 Springfields during ‘The Great War’
The scopes atop Japanese Type 96 machine guns during WWII
the D-EVO reminds of a Trilux SUIT scope.
Woah. That’s a really cool idea, any plans to illuminate the reticle or something (make the horseshoe red or whatnot)? Can’t really find a reason to switch to the red dot, but the D-EVO is sweet. So it’s easier than switching from say an RMR on top of an ACOG?
Yes, because you have to move your head with the RMR. With this, you just look down and don’t change the position of your head. no more craning.
This giant waste of corporate resources is a perfect example of why Leupy has to offshore most of their shit from China. First of all, the D-EVO blocks a significant portion of the user’s forward vision. If you’re left handed your right eye is now effectively blocked by a big ass chunk of black aluminum and you won’t be able to properly use your RDS as intended: with both eyes open. Secondly, it’s offset at least 2.5″ from the bore axis, making a NWZ at more than one range impossible. That is wholly unacceptable for the kind of use that a 6X optic is supposed to support. Zero it at 100m, and you will be over a full MOA off the left side of your POA at 200m and beyond. Thirdly, the pricing is ridiculous. Make mine a Specter DR and I’ll happily flip a lever and save weight and money too, or use what I use now, an ACOG with an RMR on top. Same performance, less money, less weight, and no obstructions in your forward vision. Leupy sure launched a stinker with this abomination.
Look elsewhere on the web and you’ll see they’ve compensated for the objective offset in the reticle. Elite users are claiming accuracy to the limits of the 600 meter BDC reticle.
The objective doesn’t look to occupy any more space than current flip to side magnifiers.
All of Leupold’s riflescopes are made in Oregon. Do you have some evidence to the contrary?
The reticle compensates for the offset? I call bullshit. One look at the 7.62 reticle included in the article puts the lie to that. If that were the case, the lower vertices stadia would be an ever increasing curve to the right as the range increased. 1 mph of full value wind at 1k yards =1 foot of 7.62 bulet displacement. A walking man assuming that is what the first windage hold dot is would be a 3-4′ displacement. The misalignment of optic/bore would give you a 20′ error at 1k yards. That means that if the reticle is correcting as you say the interwebs claim, the lower vertical stadia would be curving and corresponding to a point somewhere between where it actually is now and the first windage hold point. If the first wind hold corresponds to a 5 mph full value wind as most do, the same effect applies.
I’m certain that “elite” users could get solid hits at 600 with this thing, but they would have to be holding imaginary windage of over a foot to the left on their POA. “Elite” user would know this and train for it, no one else will. The “Elite” users that I have shown this thing to a man laughed out loud when they saw it. The reticle is already set up to hold for wind and elevation. No one in their right mind would want to introduce another hold value into their firing solution to compensate for a erroneous reticle.
Flip to side magnifiers suck too. Now you have 4 lenses to keep clean, two mounts to maintain, two items to keep zeroed/aligned and double the weight. They are a bandaid solution at best.
All of Leupold’s rifle scopes are ASSEMBLED in their plant in Oregon. They however contain enough non US parts thst a good portion of their product line can no longer legally wear the Made In USA label. This includes parts other than glass. Hell, look at the image included in this article: “Designed, Machined, Assembled in the USA” See something missing? “Manufactured”. If it were, it would wear the simple statement “Made in US”. In contrast, Trijicon actually uses US glass, and manufactures every part of their product line inhouse. This doesn’t mean I hate on Leupold, I own and have owned several of their higher end optics and am satisfied with them. I consider the MK4 line to be the lower limit of glass for my own personal use, but this monstrosity won’t ever be on any of my guns.
*20″ error at 1k yards. Damn thumbs…
Here is a different article that shows an image of the 5.56mm reticle. In this image we can see exactly what I was referring to in my above post: the lower portion of the vertical stadia bends to the right as distance increases. If THAT is the case with both reticles (the 7.62 version in this story is biased to the left) then I can see how the offset would be handled. There is still an issue with the 5.56 reticle as pictured in this story though. If you look at the windage holds, the left and right holds are not an equal distance from the vertical stadia. One or both of them are not right…sigh…
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/gun-shots/gun-lab-leupold-d-evo-and-lco
There is only one reticle. It is a blended 5.56/7.62 CMR-W reticle. Due to the blending it can only go out to 600M. The wind holds between the two calibers start deviating too much at longer ranges. Does it work? Yes. Am I speculating? No.
Thanks! I mentioned there was a blended reticle but some folks get confused by words and stuff.
A 77gr 5.56 reticle can be functionally the same as a 175gr 7.62 reticle. I get that. It’s why I use a TA01B on my 5.56 carbine.
What I don’t get is why this story shows an image of a 1200m reticle, and then the next two images show a view through the optic itself that clearly shows a 600m reticle.
Is there one, or are there two? Or is there a third that will be unveiled at SHOT by scantily clad dancing girls, who were designed, machined and assembled in the US?
Whatever. Never mind, I don’t really care.
The author states the reticle shown is the 7.62 version CMR-W from the Mark 6. This is not the D-EVO reticle but its the same class of reticle. Google: “Outdoor Life Leupold D-EVO”. There is a video embedded in that article that briefly shows the D-EVO reticle.
Exactly, you can also see the reticle innthe images.
This giant waste of corporate resources is a perfect example of why Leupy has to offshore most of their stuff from China. First of all, the D-EVO blocks a significant portion of the user’s forward vision. If you’re left handed your right eye is now effectively blocked by a big chunk of black aluminum and you won’t be able to properly use your RDS as intended: with both eyes open. Secondly, it’s offset at least 2.5″ from the bore axis, making a NWZ at more than one range impossible. That is wholly unacceptable for the kind of use that a 6X optic is supposed to support. Zero it at 100m, and you will be over a full MOA off the left side of your POA at 200m and beyond. Thirdly, the pricing is ridiculous. Make mine a Specter DR and I’ll happily flip a lever and save weight and money too, or use what I use now, an ACOG with an RMR on top. Same performance, less money, less weight, and no obstructions in your forward vision. Leupy sure launched a stinker with this abomination.
I disagree with at least 2 of your statements:
1. Leupold is not mostly “offshored”. Take a tour sometime and then go talk to all the local suppliers. Many of which are also right there in Beaverton. If you are punching a time card there I’d really like to have you show me all this offshore going on with the riflescopes there. I can’t seem to find it.
2. The objective is not offset at least 2.5″ off the bore.
interesting concept. wonder if they thought about flipping it on its side like a backwards Z and putting a forward mount on it for a red dot. that way no side view obstruction by a barricade or for a lefty and no issues with brass bouncing off of it.
as for pricing take a look at the SSD post a short while ago about ‘why things cost so much’.
Ill tKe the 1-6xACSS over that any day! The ACSS and ACSS HUD DMR are way better reticles then that.
I wonder why they didn’t have the objective lens go on the left, if it has problems with brass hitting it on the right
Controls on the left of the weapon.
Joe Liberty brought up a point that I came back here to make:
With the optic offset from the bore as it is, you would only be zeroed at one specific range. Any closer and your hits will be to the right, any farther and they’ll be to the left, potentially a great deal depending on the range.
Are they going to include specific BZO targets for you to zero the D-EVO with? I’m thinking along the same line as the BZO targets for laser aiming devices.
Reminds me of shooting with a PEQ-2. Now it may be inches at 300m but sometimes (actually most times) inches count (that’s what she said).
The offset objective is compensated for in the ballistic reticle.
You are correct but I don’t think it would be that big of a deal.
If the lens is offset 2 inches to the right, then just zero it so that the point of impact is 2 inches to the left of the cross hairs. If you do this, then the bullet and line of sight should run parallel to each other, but offset by 2 inches.
Are they in the making of a night vision compatible with the D-EVO? (Noting for the possible Squad Common Optic)
Just chewing on the idea of it being used for military service the design is very interesting but for night operations the design is flawed for night usage.
200 or 300 yard/meter recommended zero?
Is the offset enough to clear an EOTech?
Is it going to clear a left mounted offset light?
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