Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Recommend an optic…

..in the 1-4 to 1-6 range for a flattop AR, pic rail, 5.56, 8 twist, illuminated reticle nice but not a deal breaker, would like to not get much past $500 with rings. What are useful bells and whistles, what to avoid??? Would post this on the optics forum, but you know how things get there…

I have 3.5 x 10 Leupolds on two Rock Rivers

Not quite what you are looking at, but I have a Vortex 1-8 Strike Eagle. Love it, even if it is chinese made. Palmetto had these on sale (there is a 1-6 version also) recently, with a cantilever mount and I think it was priced at $600. I think the 1-6 option would have gotten you under your $500 limit....

Kaiser Norton

I use a Burris RT-6, got it this winter. Haven't really stretched it out yet, but I like it so far.

I have a SWFA 1-4 mounted on one AR and a SWFA ultralight 2.5-10 mounted on another. The 1-4 is built like a tank. Have not abused the ultralight, but it works well enough that I have not replaced it yet.

Hanco what brand of handguard are those? I think they are the same brand right? I've already wasted 15 minutes trying to recall, and it just won't come out of the dust folds. Thanks.

Trijicon for me in the illuminated 1-4 role. A little over your budget, but less than a 1-6 Razor

Picked up one of these at a LGS recently. Had never heard of them before, but for the price decided to try it. Put it on a new SA Saint and really like it so far. Adjustments are precise and illuminated reticle has like 11 brightness settings. No complaints so far. Mine is the 1-8x24 with "Guerrilla Dot BDC".

https://www.swampfoxoptics.com/tomahawk-series

A budget priced option:

Burris RT6 Rifle Scope

I have two Leupold VX-R patrol with the fire dot reticle and I am quite pleased. They can be bought used in the $400-$500.

Athlon 1-4.5 is good, hilux 1-4 is good, swfa 1-4 is good, the first 2 are very popular with the highpower crowd. All 3 of them fall into your price point.

I like the Primary Arms with the ACSS reticle. If you want to get a lot, without paying a lot, give them consideration.

This is the 1-6x24 SFP ACSS,

https://www.primaryarms.com/primary...3-illuminated-acss-5.56-5.45-308-reticle




PA has some newer 1-6x24 offerings as well, that are still very budget friendly,

https://www.primaryarms.com/rifle-scopes/with-acss/magnification/1x-6x

I hate to buy anything Chinese but the Athlon Midas is or at least was an excellent scope for the money. I bought a gen 1 on closeout a few years go and would definitely recommend it. I haven’t kept up with the pricing. Otherwise as Goalie said the Trijicon 1-4x would be my next choice baring a killer deal on something else. 1-6x is great but I’d give up some power for a Trijicon over a Vortex Razor. Better glass, a reputation for being a whole lot more durable, with a proven background and USA made.

I have Trijicon 1-4 Accupower's and a 1-6 Credo, they are great scopes.

Where are they made?

China

A Vortex viper PST 1x6 is close to your price range

The new PA 1-6 with the Nova fiber optic illum reticle would be my choice under $500.
https://www.primaryarms.com/primary...illuminated-acss-nova-fiber-wire-reticle

Well, just pulled the trigger on a Burris 1-6 today. Started shopping around online and Midway had them with a deal , through in the mount at no extra cost. Find myself leaning toward Burris a lot lately. We’ll see how it works. Tax and all, out the door for $404.

Now you have some left over to add an off set red dot.

the steiner p4xi has came back down in price

inside of 300 yards it's my favorite sub 500 scope.

set and forget a 200 yard zero and hold off on first hash.

dots almost aimpoint bright

1x is windowpane like

it's not made in china.

17oz isn't overly heavy.


put it in a reptilia AUS mount and ur golden.

i think the steiner s illumination, 1x performance and overall quality of glass makes it superior to the rt6.

i like the pst 1-6.. but that's 22oz weight penalty puts it a bit beyond what i like to put on a l sling, light, type of rig.

SWFA 1x4 .

I'm a big fan of the SWFA 1-4x on an AR, and last year's Black Friday $200 price tag makes it an absolute bargain. I should have ordered a couple more!

Even at $275, the SWFA is backordered, so I was open to other options. I've looked at a few LPVO scopes in person (Vortex, Burris, Cabela's, etc.), but none of them in this price range seemed better than the SWFA.


Another member posted a link in the optics forum for the Trijicon Credo HX:
https://www.eurooptic.com/Trijicon-...uplex-30mm-Satin-Black-Riflescope-2.aspx

I ordered one with red illumination. I've never seen this particular Trijicon in person, so I am hoping it proves to be a good way to go.

I am a big fan of Steiner scopes, so I will second NDBowHunter's post above.

Someone just posted yesterday about a huge blowout deal on Trijicon Credo HX in the Hunting Optics forum above. A Trijicon 1-4x for $400, hard not to like that

https://www.eurooptic.com/Trijicon-...uplex-30mm-Satin-Black-Riflescope-2.aspx

Seems nice, but not under 500 bucks. Did I not search far enough?



https://www.primaryarms.com/steiner-optics-p4xi-1-4x24m-rifle-scope-with-p3tr-reticle

Oh, found it at Euro Optics marked down. It's the 2 FP model and has the diamond reticle same as my SWFA.

have had good luck with a vortex stirke eagle 1-6.

the vortex strike eagle is a very marginal scope

i'd be hard pressed to put one on a 22lr.

considering it totality what a rifle setup will actually run (ammo for the lifetime of the gunrifle, quality mount, light, sling, future upgrades) the rt6 is the bottom rung for LPVO.

i've had 2 swfa 1-4 classics not track at all. like 10.5 mil on 10 mils off the erector. add in the narrow FOV, weak illumination, and fairly poor "glass" i think they are tertiary level optics. the crazy amount of travel, 10mil erector and mil based reticle coupled with its 14oz weight means it has merit. just not first or second tier guns.

Agreed. I really like the Trijicon 1-6 Credo for an ar platform.

I picked up a Riton Tactix 1-8 and mounted it in a their own QD mounts. The scope is a little heavy for my Ruger AR556, but it balances nicely on the slightly longer Ruger MPR. It has an illuminated reticle that goes to a black reticle when you turn it off. I've only shot the scope off the bench, but so far, so good.

I can really vouch for the Riton QD ring/mount combo, though. I sighted it in for 50 yards, then at home proceeded to play musical scopes and detached and returned the whole ensemble many, many times. Months later I re-mounted the scope and shot it off the bench - the zero was perfect.

The Trijicon Credo HX 1-4x arrived yesterday. The glass is noticeably better than the SWFA 1-4x, brighter, clearer, and exhibits less of the "fisheye" effect at 1x. It's easy to keep both eyes open and track side-to-side without the optical weirdness I've seen with other scopes.

The crosshairs are pretty fine, but the illumination is brighter on the Trijicon. The illumination was still visible on the Trijicon in sunny daylight and a white snowbank as a background. I couldn't see the illumination on the SWFA in the same conditions; I still saw the reticle, of course, but the red illumination was washed out.

I like the covered turrets on the Credo, and they are easy to re-zero without tools - lift up on the turret, spin to zero, and snap back down into place. Easy!

The Trijicon has about an inch more eye relief, as well, so it should be much better suited for a boomer than the SWFA. As luck would have it, I picked up a M70 Stainless Classic in .375 H&H, over the weekend, so I'm planning to test out the Trijicon on the "new" rifle. Should be a great pairing!

I still like the SWFA 1-4x on an AR. I really like the reticle, and you can't beat the price point, but there's no denying that the Credo HX is a nicer scope.

Another vote for the Steiner p4xi 1-4x24. I have a couple on AR-15's I shoot in competition and they have been very good. They are a bit over your $500 limit, but deals do come up occasionally.

I have the SWFA 1-4 on an AR, and it's OK but not in the same class as the Steiner. The illumination is not daylight bright. I see it as more of a budget scope.

I also have the 1-6x24 Razor on another AR-15 I shoot in matches, and it's a great scope, but much more money than what you want to spend.

Burris AR 332 is on quite a few of our truck and house guns.

Have never had an issue with it. fixed 3X and works fine. Almost never turn on the illumination but it works.

Like the reticle a lot once we got used to it.

Dollar wise they are reasonable enough.