Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Best optics for AR 15???

Trijicon is Jap glass that is assembled in Wixom, MI. That is, at least the civi issue stuff is. I can not comment on where the stuff that our troops/LEO are using comes from. Perhaps others can.

That said, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that their Accupoint is the real deal. Incredibly bright in low to bright conditions. Rapid acquisition. Incredibly durable. Exceeds my FXIII's in terms of clarity.

Pricey, but worth it if your task is. Were they not so expensive, all my rifles would have one.

On a budget (as I now am). Weaver Grand Slam. Bushnell 4200 Elite. For an AR, 1.5-5x40.

i have always prefered these...

they are free, they dont break, they are as accurate as i need to be w/ a battle rifle.
no use changing what aint broke. how much ammo can you buy for what an ARMS system and a ziess cost or better yet an ACOG?

The question has been answered in the field by our troops. Optics make a battle rifle better.

As has been stated already, magnified optics help identify threats quicker and help shot placement.

Red dots up close and personal are quicker and in a gun fight, quick accurate fire wins.

How much ammo? These days not so much... so using what ammo you have wisely makes sense.

the optics on an ar is a band-aid. the soulution isnt a flowerpot on a tank. the solution is not to use a tank in town.
the optics were a way to use current inventory. the soultion is to build from the ground up a better MOUT fighting platform. one suited for CQB. in that situation i agree that a dot or a 1.5X IR is prefered.
but in speaking of the platform, the AR is a general purpose battle rifle BEST suited for use w/ iron sights.
you cant chop the barrel and slap on a red dot and make an m16 the equal of a submachine gun inside an 8' room.
that type of fighting is best suited for a medium cyclic rate submachine gun like the Kriss superV or the UMP.

and then sometimes a band-aid is all you need...

nevermind

A lot of dead radical muslims would disagree about the inferiority of the "chopped AR". Besides, we have a tool used in 8' rooms you describe. It is called a 14" 870 shotgun and we almost never use them. The general purpose M4A1 carbine with a general purpose low powered variable works for me since I am not issued a crystal ball to tell me what parameters of the fight will be.

Now back to our previous discussion.........

Durn good synopsis Mackay. I want/need something I can use going in or standing on a perimeter. I think the weaver will do nicely. Most everyone I work with runs an eotech, and I'm the hold out with irons. I actually have one but have never gotten acquainted with it.

MS makes a very important point--we don't know what the fight will look like.

I am just a tax lawyer from Orygun, but even I can figure that out.

None of the guys in the NRA's "Armed Citizen" files got the fight they envisioned.

Nevertheless, I continually encounter guys who "know" what the "situation" will be.

Both ourselves and our tools must serve general, not special, purposes.

I see this specialization problem everywhere.

The survivalist who cannot swim--He is prepared for the end of the world but will can't survive a fall into 5 foot deep ditch.

The Fat Martial Artist -- He knows 43 different ways to break a board but he cannot run 1 mile if required (flash flood, chemical spill, whatever).

The "Gun Nut" who owns a different rifle for each combat scenario but has not trained with any of them.

Each one of these guys has a limited, predetermined scenario that he is training for. Sadly they odds are EXTREMELY high that real life won't meet their predictions.

That being said . . . . . . .

(sheepish grin) . . . . .

My AP4 (a DPMS M-forgery in 308) wears a 6x42 HEAVY DUPLEX Leupold. Target acquisition inside a room is best described as "sucky", but it can be done.

Its "mostly" a General Purpose AR, but first round hits at 300 yards (prone or kneeling with a rest) are pretty easy.

Good Shooting.

BMT

Great post, BMT.

-KS

Thank you.

BMT

BTW guys Natchez is out of the Weavers.....I just checked.

Some great information and conversation on this thread which brings up another point to throw into the pot of ideas............whoever said anything about just using the AR-15 platform for CQB or MOUT or as a offensive or defensive type weapon concerning optic use?

How about the everday American hunter who prefers hunting varmints (or any big game animal if thats legal in your state)with their AR platform? I train and use my bushmaster as a defensive weapon platform (home defense) and as a hunting arm for hunting coyotes or wolves here in Alaska. My optic of choice is the Leupold 4x12x40mm 1 inch tube. If I need to shoot close than I train to shoot over the scope tube instinctively in close quarters. Works for me!

Thats why I really enjoy the AR platform.........because its a very versatile platform and can be used in many different ways!

Airborne,

Please refer back to page #1 where we discuss using the AR and a low powered variable as an ideal platform for coyote hunting.

But just for giggles and to entertain ya, here is a pic from a coyote hunt that turned into a grouse hunt, that was followed by grouse in the crockpot. Welcome to the forum.

This one was taken with my Colt AR with the 1.5x5 Leupold.

This one was taken with a Bushy/JP lower and a custom Rock River upper, with 2.5x10 IOR Valdada for glass. I ended up only having a head shot which was pretty ugly for pics so this picture is the least graphic I have of this dog.

Here is another dog from a week earlier:

I'm running Leupold 3-9x50's on my open calling AR's.

I'm running a fixed 6 on my other one.




I'm not a 50mm fan but when calling in open country, I'll take it for a few ounces more weight.

Great pics GMoney.

The plain old 3x9 is completely overlooked these days. That is a shame because it really does a whole lot of things well.

Smile when you call me Fudd...




That's my cousin and his hog, you can't see it but it's a Bushmaster Varminter. The bobcat pic is his as well both of those guns wear 6.5-20's and the rest of mine are of 1.5-5 and 3.5-10's. I even have used the Aimpoint succesfully just no pics. The AR is a versitile platform, limited only by your imagination...