Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Help me scope my AR!

I've never been in combat because of others who have fought so I don't have to. Nor am I a SWAT sniper. I'm just an average Joe that wants to protect his family against things that go bump in the night or, God forbid, America falls and the shtf. I've had a bad experience with red dot sights in the past so I don't want to go that route. That leaves me with scopes with a range from 1x to 10x at best but those that top out at 10 are out of my price range of $800 or maybe $1000 if push comes to shove.
I've been considering Trijicon Credo 1-6x or the over budget Leupold VX6 1-6x. I know there has to be others in my price range but I'm having trouble finding them. Maybe Doug will see this and give me a nudge in the right direction. What do y'all suggest?

First off, you don't have to spend that kind of money on an AR scope, that it sounds like you are rarely going to use. Looks like you are wanting to go with some sort of LPVO though. A lot of my buddies run 1-6x, some using Burris and some using Vortex. I have one buddy that uses an Eotech Vudu 1-10x28, and the glass is fantastic in that one. It's a spendy scope though, but he's SWAT, so it's fitting on his rifle. I've looked through, and used the Burris LPVO's at the range, and they are pretty nice, with good glass and different reticle options. There's a lot of scope manufactures out there right now that offer this type of scope, since the Modern sporting rifle is so popular, as are these scopes. I'm sure Doug can steer you in the right direction, but keep in mind, you don't have to spend $1,000.00 to get what you need.

I have a pair of Bushnells.

One is the AR series 1x-8x, should have gone with the max of 6x as the eyebox gets tiny at 8x. Illuminated reticle, really like this scope.

The other is an Elite 4500 1x-4x. Only mounted to a 6.8 upper so no clue on how I will like it once I start using it but so far I am impressed for $125.

Neither are near what an $800 scope is but that just saves me $$ for loading ammo.

I have 3.5x10 Leupolds on mine, fine for pig shooting

I bought a Leupold one piece base with rings made on it for the rail. Lots of adjustment and 6 base screws. Mounted a 1-4X Leupold. Both found on the campfire. It works well for any distance I'll ever shoot.

This scope is out of stock here but Doug might do just as good or better.
https://www.eurooptic.com/Trijicon-...C-Hunter-Holds-223-30mm-Satin-Black.aspx
I have this scope on one of my AR's and I love it. Eyebox is great all the way to 6x, glass is clear, it holds zero and the BDC is pretty spot on.

Please note, there are other scopes similar in Trijicon's lineup but this one is the only battery powered scope they have that the illuminated dot is daylight bright. The rest of them are daylight visible but just barely. That may not make any difference to you but it does draw your eye to the dot quickly.

I have a Leupold VX6 1-6x and it's a great scope, but pretty expensive for your stated purpose. I have the Steiner 1-4x24 p4xi on a couple of AR-15's that I use in 3 gun competition and I think it's a great scope for the money. It has daylight bright illumination and has held up well after being banged around in matches. It's a true 1X and the 4x is plenty usable to 300 yards at least. They have good glass and are fairly light at 17 ounces. You can get them on Eurooptic on sale for about $470 with the G1 reticle. With the the BDC reticle they are more.

I think they work well on a defense rifle.

These are supposed to be exceptional for the price.
https://www.brownells.com/optics/sc...po-1-6x24mm-sfp-illuminated-rifle-scope/

You really cannot go wrong here as there are many viable options and you only need to spend a few hundred. Vortex Strike Eagle is a good one that I have used but there are MANY others. Athlon have impressed me too. Call Doug and chat about requirements, deals and price.

I am very happy with both of these.

Top is a Bushnell AR 1-6 illuminated. Bottom is a Credo 3-9x40. Kind of a personal thing, but I think once you start going over 6X an LPVO stops being an LP. It's almost as if anything with a straight tube is thought to be an LPVO. You may as well step up to a belled objective and get the better field of view. They also usually start getting pretty heavy in the 1-8 range.

Which reticle in that 3-9x?

The Green Precision Hunter. I have it on 2 scopes and like it quite a bit. https://www.trijicon.com/products/details/cr940-c-2900040

Trijicon Huron 3-9x40 @$299 from Eurooptic…

I have optics on a couple of my AR's. One is outside the parameters of this discussion, but one is a Burris 1-6 LPVO with an illuminated reticle. I haven't really used it enough to give a comprehensive evaluation, only to say it's okay optically and I had no trouble dialing it adequately to hunt with it this fall...killed one deer with it. I'm looking forward to using it some more when I get the opportunity for some range time.

I've got ar's set up with different sights,but my go to favorite is a holographic sights. I have an eotech with magnifier on one and a sightron on the other,I like both.
For the money the sightron is hard to beat...imo

I currently have three LPVOs on hand, the Credo HX 1-6, the Bushnell 4500 1-4, and a SWFA 1-4. All of them have what seems to be true 1x, or close enough for Grandpa, and that gives them an amazing wide view at the lowest setting, better to my notion than a red dot, and certainly more precise. The SWFA and Credo are illuminated, which is a good thing for defense I think. What they lack is the long battery life common to red dots now, along with auto on, which means you have to train yourself to turn them on, and off if you want to be sure you’ll have your light when you need it. I once had a Leupold AR-something or other with a motion switch, that usually worked, but not infallibly, but it was a 1.5-4 not a 1x, and that makes a difference to me.

Any of those scopes I have are acceptable, but the Credo is the best, and costs like it. The SWFA is rugged as an anvil, but does have exposed turrets, though they don’t turn easily by accident.

BTW, the Credo with a green dot has a much better battery life than the red one. Also consider the Accupoint series which feature tritium and fiber optics.

This looks like a good one:

SWFA 1-4, Steiner 1-4, Leupold 1-6 VX6, Trijicon 1-8 FFP, all good scopes no problems.

I find those reticles with a horseshoe or ring around them to be distracting, and yes I know what their purpose is. Give me a crosshair/duplex/T-plex, preferably with a lighted dot in the middle.

OTOH, some of the Sightron stuff looks pretty good, so I’ve added them to the list of possibles.

I bought an Aero Precision awhile back that was already set up with a scope I had never heard of. It a Vector Optics Grimlock 1-4. Figured I would ditch and upgrade the glass, but I love the thing. It has an illuminated circle dot reticle and a true 1X on the bottom end. I like it at least as well as my Vortex 1-6 Strike Eagle and like the reticle better. Lots of good options out there for very reasonable.

The reticle on my Bushnell AR 1-6 has almost a complete circle on it with a dot sitting on a post. I didn't think I would like it, but I ended up loving after I used it.

i bought one o the first Leoupold vx-1 1x4x20 pig hunter reticle scope on my AR . i like it .they about 300 dollors now

This thread motivated me to dig out the above mentioned rifle and scope (been put away since fall) and get somewhat reacquainted with it. It's an RT-6 and the lighted part of the reticle is a circle/dot. Brightness is adjustable via dial on the side and between each increment of brightness is an "Off" position. Interesting (to me anyway) was the fact that with magnification set at 1, it actually seems like a little less than 1, in other words, a slight wide-angle effect.

We just put the Sig Sauer TANGO MSR 1-6X24 – 30mm – SFP - Illuminated BDC 6 - Black on sale for only $259.99

SWFA 1X4 Or Athlon 2x12 are on my AR,S

I would add that if the primary purpose of this rifle is defense, then you want a true 1X on the low end for close up situations. In most cases you don't need a lot of magnification for SD, but you do need something that is fast at 5 yards.

If "home defense" is truly your #1 goal, then probably NO OPTICAL sight may be best. Make your rear peep sight opening as large a ghost ring as you can. Paint your front sight bright orange or green. Your encounters are likely to be be very close, and you may be more likely to be "pointing" rather than "aiming". You'll be able to be more aware of your surroundings, and the perp's movement with iron sights, and not lose precise time trying to: find the perp in your scope, and not be so focused on on thing ("aiming"). There may be more than one perp, and a large ghost ring rear will allow enough "aiming", but you will also be able to maintain observation/assessment of the "perp area" for his/her team members.

If optics absolutely necessary, then employ the KISS method:
Weaver micro-trac steel-tubed k1.5

Or, something like a Weaver Classic (Japan) 1-3x.

I vote for a big honking ghost ring rear peep sight...and practicing with it from 5 - 50 feet.

This is an excellent scope, especially for the money, & comes with a Sig mount; I love the reticle. Great of all around use.

Sig optics seem to punch a little above their price point, IMO.

MM

Doug what does the Sig scope weigh?

18.5 ounces

One more thing I think is very desirable on a defense rifle is daylight bright illumination. A lot of less expensive scopes have illumination, but it's not daylight bright. When you're shooting under pressure, illumination really helps, no matter what the light conditions are.

Bought a Sig Tango 1-6X24 from Doug like the looks and reticle capped .5 inch adjustments 44 " travel. Free Ground shipping a good deal for Alaskans as most ship Air ordered it on Monday here by Thursday! thanks Doug

Our pleasure, enjoy it

Sig is a great choice.

Finally went with the Steiner 1-4x 30mm with the diamond and dot illuminated reticle. Seems like it is going to fit the bill.

👍 I’d say a heavy duplex on a 1-6 would be the Bee’s Knees. If your combat rifle in waiting is a 5.56 16 to 20” barrel carbine, does a FFP mil reticle with kill zone outline really do anything clinically significant for you? Forgive my ignorance but it seems to me such an outfit would be prepped for fast acquisition of target at close to mid range out to 150ish yards. A heavy duplex or triplex does that without batteries or quantum calculus. At say 300 yds max a more unhurried shot should be absolutely doable on a human torso target. Some feel a lighted reference point is a good thing but a heavy reticle can make that not only redundant but unrequired. A matter of personal preference. But my point here is that simplicity has its strong points. The primary purpose of the weapon considered is to rapidly engage targets in that 10 foot to 150 yard span. Have manufacturers been pushed by inflated need to market overly complex products? To me it seems apparent.

Obviously lots of choices for an AR scope mine is only for plinking & the occasional coyote / ground squirrel so my Burris ff2 is fine. For self defense I load number 4 & 5 heavy duck loads in a semi-auto 12 gauge. Perfectly deadly inside a room & no wall penetration to kill neighbors or family members. I’m pretty rural so it would be unlucky to hit an unintended person. Easy to do in a crowded urban environment- see KC parade shooting.

the Leupold VX6 1-6 that I own has a heavy duplex, I like the scope. Other than the power ring is too tight and I had to install a lever given to me by another fire member, I am very happy with it.