Forget all the dumb crap people tell you to buy. Only 3 things to consider.
1)Good optic.
2)Good Trigger
3)Ammo to improve your shooting skill.
1)Good optic.
2)Good Trigger
3)Ammo to improve your shooting skill.
Please Help me Customize my AR-15
- Thread starter PremiumSomdier
- Start date
4)Good barrel.
I hope he was joking about taming the recoil.
i want something with a little bit of magnification so i can engage targets better at 100+ yards...also my eye sight is getting bad...does magnification not work with a fixed front sight post?
1. i dont shoot with any anyone, just myself 2. i dont reload because i dont have a place to reload my ammo nor am i consistent enough in my mind (issues with my brain from being in the Army) to be precise with powder grain weights, and i would be too concerned with messing up and blowing up my gun. 3. im thinking about 100-200 yards max range 4. i have 1:8 twist already (my gun came with that barell)
ive been shooting since i was 6 years old...and i got expert marksman in the army. So i know how to shoot...with my current set up i can hit targets about 1 foot in diameter at 100 yards with iron sights (unsupported), but i want to be even more accurate than that...i want to have a clear sight picture where i can be dead on 95% of the time...
Some LPVO scopes I have which I can recommend. My favorite one by far is my Leupold Mark AR Mod 1, 1.5 to 4. Mine is the Fire Dot reticle. They also made one without the Fire Dot illumination. Properly positioned on my carbine for me and on the lowest magnification, the top portion front sight frame is visible as a big, out of focus shape in the lower third of the scope. It does not obstruct aiming and is easily ignored. When I turn the magnification up, the sight disappears, probably around 2x or so. In practice I only use 1.5 or 4x. At 4x sight is completely invisible and does not effect the scope in any way.
I have a Vortex Viper PST 1-4. It is on my 20 inch AR15 “National Match Service Rifle” so, longer sight radius than the aforementioned carbine. The front sight is farther away. As I recall, the front sight was not visible at all. I say as I recall because I only use it at 4x. where the sight is invisible. My only criticism is it has ½ minute clicks. A top shooter might want ¼ minute but the way I shoot it doesn’t matter much.
The catch on both of these scopes is that they’ve both been discontinued for a while. The Viper PST was discontinued and some time later reintroduced as the Ranger 1-4x24. I’m not sure but I think it’s discontinued too. But the Leupold and the Vortexes can be found used if you search and have some patience. Cheaper than new and better than a new, inexpensive scope.
So unfortunately my experience with LPVO is with these older scopes but there is one current scope I have limited experience with but others here will laugh. But it’s not garbage, it’s actually pretty decent especially for the price. It’s the Firefield 1-6. Mine came from Cabela’s. I think they currently have it for about 180.00 and it comes with it’s own mount which is again, pretty decent. Three year warranty I think. I can’t speak to durability of it. I just stuck it on a spare carbine that is rarely used. But, it’s something that’s not junk and might meet your needs for not a lot of money.
That's the ones I have experience with. But, in the long run you will never regret spending as much as you can swing on a quality optic. Buy the best you can.
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I like a two stage trigger and there are some good choices for a reasonable price. A milspec trigger can be improved with a reduced power hammer and trigger spring and a set screw/grip screw, examples below. A less expensive mod is to get a short 1/4-28 set screw and use to limit trigger engagement. You can find guidance for that by searching on the web. Some guys have bent hammer and trigger springs to lighten them. I've never done that and wouldn't recommend. Depending on what you started with you might wind up with a satisfactory trigger. Make sure you don't get misfires with the light hammer spring. Should be OK I've never had trouble but you never know. Some guys lighten the hammer to make it quicker with the lighter spring like in the third picture. I never have. I've been told the James Madison Tactical drop in trigger is a good trigger for a good price.
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jmm03
Gold $$ Contributor
For shorter ranges under 300 yards a decent quality 10 power fixed scope will improve your scores. If you prefer a variable the sky's the limit as to what is available. There are several pretty good scopes in the classified section of this site as we speak. (I assume you know I was being a wiseass about the "brutal" recoil...)
the sky isnt the limit, my wallet is the limit...i need the best for the lowest amount of $$$...the top tier cheapo brand...like little caesars pizza, the best trash pizza in town
Back in 2016, when CMP Service Rifle rules allowed optics for the first time, what I did was get a Picatinny riser from ebay which was cheap but sturdy (like pictured below). I used some old rings I had and an old, made in Japan fixed 4X scope with a 34mm objective and a simple fine crosshair. This setup worked very well especially for EIC matches at 200 yards. The only reason I moved away from it was it was not good for dialing up for 300 and 600 yard across-the-course matches.
Those made in Japan scopes were sold in the 70's and 80's under different brand names and even unbranded. They're actually pretty good scopes and can be found used for around 50 bucks. Check ebay (and hope the one you get is not too beat up, pictures sometimes deceive!) and some inexpensive but sturdy rings and you can have a nice setup for...a hundred bucks? I bet this would suit your needs quite well.
Those made in Japan scopes were sold in the 70's and 80's under different brand names and even unbranded. They're actually pretty good scopes and can be found used for around 50 bucks. Check ebay (and hope the one you get is not too beat up, pictures sometimes deceive!) and some inexpensive but sturdy rings and you can have a nice setup for...a hundred bucks? I bet this would suit your needs quite well.
if you go that route, get the riser that looks like the one pictured above. There are some cantilevered risers on e-bay which are really cheap and flexy, springy. The one pictured is plenty rigid.
edit; ah, I don't remember if the front sight housing was visible or obstructing with that set up. At some point I replaced the front sight with a railed gas block (no sight tower) and that may have been why.
edit; ah, I don't remember if the front sight housing was visible or obstructing with that set up. At some point I replaced the front sight with a railed gas block (no sight tower) and that may have been why.
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jmm03
Gold $$ Contributor
I have bought scopes and barrels from this place, a reputable man, although hard to get a response from occasionally. (just another reference of what is out there, ) https://theshooterscorner.com/files/2025/05/2025_SCOPES_5-8-25.pdf
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
1. The nickel Boron plated bolt carriers are nice - but not necessary, just get a quality M-16 unit
2. Get a Chrome Silicon - Buffer Spring (they are rated for somethin in the range of 500,000 cycles
vs getting worn out in 3000 rounds with a standard
3. Optic - Your choice but an Aimpoint Comp M4 is great for years of duty
If you retain open sights - get a Tritium front sight at least
4. Highly recommend a JP trigger - I like their Revolution roller trigger
JP has nicely polished, hard sears that last like forever without wearing the profile
---I wasn't sure if I would like it due to the roller, thought my finger may slip off
but this is not so, your finger dont slip off due to the roller
A Very clean crisp trigger with perfect adjustability in every aspect
Also get a JP spring kit for your trigger to tune it the way you like it.
5. Comp / Brake - I like titanium units for for an AR-15 you can find them for around $100
other than that, a 223 doesnt kick much and you can use a $30 ebay unit if you want and be fine
I did try the Hyped up Precision Armament M4-72 and was disappointed so I would avoid any of that style, since it didnt work much better than a factory flash hider. (Dia. too small to do much braking)
Additional:
You would help yourself a lot by installing a tuneable gas block
This helps your gun in so many various ways it should be included now from the factory on every AR
Unless you have a rifle length gas system - most all AR's are over gassed
If I only had 2 choices to upgrade - it would be Trigger and Adjustable Gas Block
Attachments
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Pyscodog
Gold $$ Contributor
I'm not an AR guy but one day I woke up thinking I needed one. I also didn't want to spend several $thousand on one. A local gun show had a guy selling ZRO Delta AR 15's for $499. It had all the "furniture" that I was looking for. Going into this rifle I knew it would need a trigger so I found a deal on a 2 pound CMC trigger for $100+/- a few bucks, I don't remember. I hated the collapsible butt stock so I bought a Magpul that lets it ride a rear bag better, $40. Next was an optic and a 1/2 riser. So I went with a 1-8, which for coyotes is plenty of power, about $250. Several trips to the range and with several different hand loads I was getting patterns not groups. Ended up replacing the barrel with a Ballistic Advantage Hanson barrel and for no more than I have shot it, it is much better with groups hovering around an inch@100yds. (I'm still doing load work). BA barrel-$140. So here I am, still $1000 in a rifle I wanted to build on the cheap.
joshb
Gold $$ Contributor
I’ll add to the “Don’t waste your money!” I have a couple cheap ARs. I have a couple nice ARs. I wouldn’t put a penny into trying to make a cheap AR into a nice AR. Save your money so you can buy a Rock River. They make a great gun. Larue and HK are really nice but too expensive for my needs.
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