AR optics opinions

[DanWalker]

Hey guys,
I'm in the process of completing my first AR build. Looking for opinions on glass for it. It will primarily be used at ranges of 200 yards and less on coyotes, wolves, and medium big game.(No it's not a 5.56mm)

[wildwilly]

I use an older Weaver K4 for all my load testing. I wouldn't think you'd need anything more exotic than a 4X for your intended purpose.

[Love Life]

A 1-4 or 1-5 power scope would be perfect for that.

[Doc Highwall]

I agree with Love Life on a low power scope. Here is a link to what I have on mine.

http://swfa.com/Leatherwood-1-4x24-CMR-Tactical-30mm-Rifle-Scope-P45852.aspx

[Larry Gibson]

+ another for a low powered variable like a Leupold 1.5x5 or a 1x4.....hihest I'd go would be a 2x7 or 2x8. My preference has become an Eotech mounted forward of the handle so the 1 moa dot is coaxial with the iron sight zero. With no magnification I have found it perfect for coyotes to 300 yards and under.

Larry Gibson

[MtGun44]

I'd think a nice 4X fixed power scope would be fine for that application. While
variables that are inexpensive can be pretty problematic, the fixed power scopes
seem to be pretty reliable, even if they are inexpensive.

Of course, a good Leupold is always going to be a realible scope.

Bill

[Love Life]

Plus with a Leupold you get an amazing warranty.

[altheating]

2x-7x Leupolds on all three of my Ar's. Shot the first coyote this morning with the scope on 5x at 60 yards.

[Moonie]

I like the ability to up the power a bit more, my 6.8SPC wears a 4x12 and green laser, but my 300BO has both irons and red/green dot with no magnification. Different purposes for them.

[alrighty]

I have a Vortex Viper 1X4X24 on one AR.I like the power range and find it both fast and accurate.The optics are very clear but the downside is it is very heavy.

[Artful]

My favorite part of the AR15 System is it so versatile. I have a one flat-top with 3 dedicated sights.
Bushnell 3200 variable for the higher power role - 3x10 power
BSA Catseye variable for lower power role - 1.5x5 power
Trijicon Reflex no magnification dot sight

They all keep their zero when changing sight to within 1/2 inch, and only takes a few seconds to swap out.

[gwozdz]

I have a 2-7 power scope on 2 of my ARs and like it better than my 32 power mil dot. It's not as heavy and easier to lock on.

[GabbyM]

Project funds being available I’d heartily recommend a Leupold which turns down to 1X.
Not 1 .5X.

I have a 1 x 3x Weaver on my AR coyote rifle. It's pretty good but no Leupold or Burris.
I picked it up a few years ago on sale for a good price. So I paid about what it's worth.
Very much like the 1x setting. Both eyes open shooting. With a partial moon you are good to shoot anything you can pick up with your eyes. As long as you can maintain a good cheek weld the 1x is as fast as a red dot sight.
Last Sunday I mounted a Burris 2 x 7X on a new 30-06 rifle. Pretty nice compact scope. Got it with the German reticule. Duplex with thin center hairs and thick portions on the horizontal and lower vertical. Should work great for low light and my old eyes. Used light weight aluminum Weaver bases and rings to keep the weight down on this 7 ¼ lb naked weight Win M70 Sporter. With high rise rings used with flat top AR’s steel will add quite a bit of weight over aluminum and I’d avoid that in the future. My AR scope is riding in huge steel “tactical” rings. If you are going to add weight to a rifle you want it in the barrel.

Just my opinion but. Without a very steady two point rest. Any magnification at all does very little to improve accuracy. At long ranges 2 to 3 x helps define the targets outline. Then on my prairie dog rifles I like my 24x scopes over the 20x because those six inch tall picket pins are hard to center up on at a quarter mile. We shoot off a portable bench with bags. I use a full front bench rest. Guns weigh ten pounds and the entire setup is within a few feet of the pickup truck. In other words the rest of the equipment matches the high power scope. As does the intended target.

I have large high power scopes in Weaver, Burris and Leupold. They all go black when the sun goes over the horizon.

[dk17hmr]

I have a Redfield 2-7x with the accu range reticle, I had it on my 14.5" ar for awhile and really liked it on there......than I picked up the 280 remington mountain rifle and put it on there.

I would take a look at the 2-7 Redfield for sure, they are built by Leupold so they have the same warranty and they are cheaper. Get a good one piece mount.

[Jailer]

I have a 2-8x32 Nikon M223 with the BDC 600 reticle on my 300 blk. Very nice scope for the money.

http://www.amazon.com/NIKON-M-223-8487-2-8x32-Riflescope/dp/B003IT6NPG/ref=sr_1_fed1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356657326&sr=8-1&keywords=m+223

[Got-R-Did]

I love the 2-7X power option so popular with the previous contibutors to this thread. Hard to go wrong with this. If money is no limiting factor, you might even consider the Trijicon 3-9X Accupoint scope with the triangle reticle. I put a 2.5-10X56 Accupoint on my Varmint dedicated AR and never looked back. My choice was a bit pricey, but it has delivered beyond my expectations thus far. The fiber optic enhancement of the sight picture is second to none in ambient light and it is night vision compatible if you have that resource.
Got-R-Did.

[BruceB]

My Armalite 20" flat-top wears a Leupold Mark AR 3-9X. This, as one might expect from the name, is a scope designed for the AR-type rifles. It has a trajectory-compensating feature which WORKS.

The scope has various elevation turrets available for different ammunition; the turret on mine is marked for 55-grain bullets at 3100fps. My "standard" .223 load with 55 V-Max bullets averages....3097 fps. Pretty close, I'd say.

Once the rifle is zeroed at a given range, the turret is adjusted to read that particular range, and the adjustment is locked. From then on, the elevation knob can be set for the range involved for any shot, and then the rifle is held dead-center on the target.... no holdover needed. This works perfectly on my setup, all the way to 500 yards, which is the longest distance I've tried to date.

Nice scope, and highly recommended. I put a Mark AR 1-4X on my Mini-14, and it's also working well. The 1-4X does NOT have the range-compensating feature.

[crabo]

I have an older 2.5x8 VariX 3 on my .223 AR. I hunt with it on 2.5. I can always turn it up for a longer shot.

[winelover]

Trijicon Reflex and a Weaver 3 X 9 for load development on a AR-10.

Winelover

[Combat Diver]

I switch between a Aimpoint CL2 or a Trijicon TA31 on my AR carbine depending on mission. I do prefer the TA01NSN reticle pattern over the cevron of the TA31.


CD

[MtGun44]

Can't find an Aimpoint CL2 model to look at. Is there a more complete model designation?

Bill

[Artful]

I think he means ML2
http://swfa.com/Aimpoint-CompML2-30mm-Red-Dot-Sight-P42360.aspx

here's Aimpoint product line of red-dots
http://www.aimpoint.com/us/products/all-products/

[xacex]

Aimpoins have to big of dot for me (4moa). I found the vortex spark to be a good substitute for some of the premium red dots, and has a smaller dot (2moa). Still 200$ but a good buy. There is a whole thread about these on ARfcom. I still haven't found a reasonably priced rifle scope for an AR. It seems that all the inexpensive ones I have tried are heavy. Leupold makes great scopes, but still a chunk of coin. It used to be a good scope would cost as much as your AR, now that's not the case I need to look at some of the good stuff to hang on my expensive semi auto's.

[Nok Doc]

I own 4 AR-15 rifles and I use a different optic on each one. I use a holo sight for around the home,A 10x power for yote and crow,I have a ATN 30mmtube 3x16x65 with rangefinder and lit reticle for my evening hunts in the Winter time, And I have a 40x on one jst because my father who was a rifleman during the korean war told me you can't shoot what you can't see..How ture! And I like to go long distance on small critters in the Summertime. However..each to their own when it comes right down to it.

Keep your powder dry!

[David2011]

I don't own any high dollar scopes but I'm also not interested in buying any more cheap ones. Everything I use right now was between $160 and $360. The cheaper ones are wasted money as far as I'm concerned.

A buddy talked me into buying a Bushnell Elite 10X Mil-Dot scope. I kept telling him I was willing to spend more. He kept telling me I had to spend a LOT more to do better, like $600 and up. Several people in our area use them for medium range match shooting, out to 300 yards. They're about $200 on sale at Midway with free shipping if you don't buy anything else. The large (I hate to say "tactical") turrets have 1/10 mil clicks to go with the Mil reticle. The glass is amazing for the price. The contrast is far better than my 6-18X Nikon Buckmaster. The turret clicks are positive and repeatable. You can crank up 5 clicks, shoot, go back 5 and be dead on where you were. It's more power than some are recommending and I agree that to 150-200 yards 4X is about all you need but the 10X Bushnell has a wider field of view than you might expect, allowing easier target acquisition. It's a very good value IMO.

David

[Got-R-Did]

Another option for optics I failed to mention in my earlier post.
www.mylucidgear.com
Very nice and rugged for the money.
Got-R-Did.

[Matthew 25]

I love low power scopes, too...but not for smaller critters in cover. Sometimes it's hard enough identifying a coyote when they're active in lower light, but add weeds and brush and it's easy to lose them. I'd go with a 2-7 minimum, I have the 2-7 nikon that is really a great scope if you want low cost. I'm sure you know how to spend more if you have it. I'd also really like to try one like Jailer's, the M223 Nikon.

[Love Life]

If sightron would produce and FFP scope with a zero stop then they would be who I would go with.

Vortex is GTG as are bushnell, leupold, nikon, etc.

Then their is the new Steiner 5-25....

[TXSlade]

I use an Eotech EXPS3-2 with a G33 flip to side 3.25x magnifier. Now this model is NV capable, which if you don't need, don't bother with. It has the two dot reticle which I like for helping me gauge my longer range shots. But doesn't clutter up my close range shots like the 4 dot version. For most shooting I have the magnifier to the side. But it is very nice that when needed I can just grab it and flip it into place and have instant longer range capability.

Aimpoint makes a tough, battery saving device. It can use a magnifier. I would go with the Aimpoint Pro. Law Enforcement has been buying these up by the thousands for the economical value.

Trijicon, it is a known fine product. Go to their website to see their models. They have so many different powers and reticles.

I went with the Eotech for the field of view. You aren't looking through a tube, per se. Unless you use the magnifier. I use it on a Colt 6940, but I have a Colt 6920 that I am debating a Trijicon or Aimpoint.

[Blammer]

I think mine has a 6x25 x 50mm on it.

I would recommend 4-12 power variable by Nikon or Leupold. you can always hunt with it at 4x but when you need to see better it sure is hard to crank a 1x4 higher than 4... :)

[7of7]

Plus with a Leupold you get an amazing warranty.

That sure is true... I sent my dads scope in...wasn't holding a zero..they fixed it, and sent it back.. (it is only about 40 years old)