Recommendations for AR15 Scope

[Dgd6mm]

I have a Savage Patrol MSR 15 ,1-8" twist 16" barrel. Im going to mount my 12x Super Sniper on it and shoot it at 600 f class match. It's a decent scope and will do what I need for now. I have a new 4-16 Vortex PST that I would put on but your not allowed over 15x.

 

[fkimble@charter.net]

Butch L. who's ext. pic . base is on your rifle? Been looking but haven't found one with enough extension. Your looks like exactly what I "think" I need.
Thank

Frank

 

[Dud]

You don't need much. I have shot an AR at 600 yards with a Nitrex 3-15x42 scope I bought for $200 something on clearance at Natchez. It did fine but it has a hunting style BDC reticle, you might prefer something else.

But there is the rule of thumb (that I violate all the time) that you should spend as much on your optics as your rifle. $1,800 would certainly get you a really nice scope. The Tract Toric 30mm 4-20x50 is very nice for around $1,300. The Meopta Optika 6 line is even cheaper and sounds great, I have one on order.

You could also spend $4,000 on a S&B, ZCO or Tangent Theta.

You have lots of options that will get you there. I would say try your cheapo to see what you would like to improve, then go shopping, or try it and then wait for a big sale or clearance.

Also make sure you save a little budget for a nice mount.

For QD, I like the KDG Sidelok, for budget I keep my eyes open and bought two Leupold MK 4 IMS a few months back, very nice and dirt cheap but not QD and they are gone now.

Of course, take care of your barrel, no mag dumps and shoot decent ammo. Get a bore guide for cleaning.

I don't think I saw the OP mention what type of barrel he has but some expensive "premium" ARs have hammer forged barrels with chrome lining. That type is usually intended to survive mag dumps and infrequent cleaning, not necessarily accuracy. If that is what you have got, the best glass in the world might not make it a better than 1.5-2 MOA rifle which would be a 7.5-10" group at 500 yards, probably more if you have wind.

If that's not what you are looking for, you could take the $1,300 you would spend on a Tract Toric and build up an upper with a Criterion barrel or something else known for accuracy and probably have enough to get one of the less expensive Optika 6 scopes.

 

[Zurdo]

Hi Zurdo, may I ask what AR you purchased? For $1800 you might have an AR that has a better than typical barrel, etc. What kind of barrel does it have? Perhaps it has a better trigger than a mil spec trigger which can be pretty heavy.

And re. the 2 MOA, that would be with the usual mil spec stuff, but with match grade you could get better results, also much has to do with your skills as a shooter as well.

Here's another thought. You can kind of take this slow. You can buy some match grade ammo for it and try it out, just a box of 20 rounds, of several kinds, and get a feel for what it is capable of, with you doing your part, from a sturdy bench rest, well supported.

As for entry optics, you can always get a lower cost optic and if you are pleased with results, upgrade as you wish. People are forever upgrading/swapping/buying/selling their optics for the "next best thing" so good deals are to be found. You might want to check the PX forum at Snipers Hide for deals on optics.

Thanks for your comments Centuriator. The AR was purchased from a gun show from a custom shop manufacturer. The rifle has a melonited Ballistics Advantage barrel with an Aero Precision upper. The shop used the term “semi-heavy” with the barrel as well. I weapon has the components to reach 500 with match grade ammo but it’s hard to throw significant coinage at a good quality optic if an acog of some kind of low magnification red dot is really the better choice. The rifle is fairly heavy so not so ideal for a home cqb type of weapon.

 

[Mr.Knowit all]

Trijicon 1-8

 

[argrendel]

I picked up a used Leupold VX6 HD 2-12 for $800. Love it. For me the perfect mid range scope. Has the Impact 29 reticule, great for wind and holdover, but second focal plane. Light weight, excellent glass, great turrets, you can even get turrets tuned to your load. But new, it’s a little over your price point.
On one of my 16” ars I have a Zeiss v4 conquest 1-4. Qzar reticule. Plan on buying another. Hard to beat Zeiss glass.

 

[mac86951]

My suggestion; you're just fine with the SS 12x; and go shoot as you've mentioned. In my experience; you'll be far more limited at 600y with your load and 16" barrel (think velocity) than by anything you'd gain by changing scopes. Wind reading will be the trick and the 12x will be fine to get you lots of experience at that. If you were to become a master at reading the wind; and change to a longer barrel (24 or 26) then perhaps the additional magnification may help;. I've shot with a 12x; 25x; 36x; and 45x with my AR at 600y, the better resolution of aiming is nice, but a wind gust will still blow a X to an 8 with a bad wind call. Check your favorite ballistics calculator and see what a full value 1mph wind will do to your load and velocity at 600y. A 1mph wind call is very hard to make and what's the diameter of the 10ring on a 600y F-class target?

That said; and AR is very fun at 600, but FWIW best to get really involved at the range before tossing in big $$ for a scope.

-Mac

 

[A-Rob]

I have a Sig 3-18 on mine and it's more than enough. If I ever switch up I'll get a XTRII 1-8.

 

[butchlambert]

Butch L. who's ext. pic . base is on your rifle? Been looking but haven't found one with enough extension. Your looks like exactly what I "think" I need.
Thank

Frank

Sorry I didn't see your post. John Holliger "White Oak Armament" installed one of his on it.

 

[longtrapshootn]

I've used scopes from 1-4x32 to 4-12x40 on AR's for various purposes. The bigger scopes add a lot of bulk and weight to the package. I'm currently running a Burris E-1 2-7x32 on my winter AR (5.56 x 16"Hbar). It's an improvement over the 1.5-5 x32 I was using. My summer AR (5.45 x 16" M-4gery) has a common 3-9 x 40 on it mostly because I thought I had an accuracy problem(turned out to be a scope problem). I think I'm going back to a lower power for the sake of keeping it compact. My 20" AR's have either 3-9x40 or 4-12x40 since they're used at slightly longer ranges than the 16" carbines. As for the trajectory compensating scope reticles, the variety of .223 ammo makes those barely worthwhile.

 

[argrendel]

One more for you to think about.

https://redhawkrifles.com/demo-zeiss-conquest-v4-4-16x44-rifle-scope/

Hope link works.

Zeiss just came out with a new reticule. Finer for long range with 30 moa holdover, and 80 moa turret adj.
Stellar glass 14” 22.6 oz. second focal plane. Free turret tuned to your load...

 

[argrendel]

#64 is the reticule I’m looking at.

 

[longtrapshootn]

Hi power scopes have poor field of view. Difficult to maintain a sight on a moving target. 3-9 power is always a good route. Try to buy quality leopuld or millet rings. Brands like leopuld, nikon, and burris offer lifetime warranties on most if not all of their products. A red dot will help with low light situations. IS this rifle for varmit hunting, or just typical SHTF duties? I have had good lucky with nikon buckmaster and burris fullfield view II scopes, both 3-9x power. Those hologram sights are good too, maybe not the best for 200+ work, but can do the job. and work much better for close fast action work.

 

[Pawnee Bill]

I've been down this road with ARs at longer ranges, furthest out I've gone is 650 yards. But...at that distance, I've had my best results with a purposefully built AR for accuracy: White Oak Armory 24" barrel, Geissele match trigger, match grade ammo (77gr SMK - Federal and/or Hornady), and a fairly powerful scope x20 magnification. I was able consistently to put rounds on a 12" plate and get it swinging back and forth with shots fired fairly rapidly.

With a regular M4 style AR, with regular factory 16" barrel, 16" etc. etc. You might find shooting at 500 yards with it a bit frustrating, since most AR's are going to not do much better than 2 MOA with regular mil spec ammo, so your spread at 500 will be 10" or more, plus factor in the challenge of a mil-spec trigger, etc. etc. etc

But with that in mind, you might want to consider a Primary Arms scope for your AR, they have received great reviews, I've owned a couple and they are just fine. They would give you the ability to reach out to 500 yards without breaking your bank.

Just some thoughts.

Good advice.

 

[akajun]

For service rifle we are limited to 4.5x but for match rifle it’s pretty much unlimited. Shot a lot of good scores with my service rifle using a vortex pst 1-4x24 which you can find for about $325 used, they are discontinued now. They are a good scope but are .5 moa clicks and I wanted .25. I have since gone nightforce sr-2.
A popular choice on match rifles is the sightron stac 30 with the moa2 reticle. I have one on my space gun, good glass and tracks well.
The more important issue, especially if your gonna shoot prone is getting the scope low enough and forward enough for a comfortable and repeatable cheek weld. Use either the WOA 10 moa rail and tps rings of either ultra low or low height or the ptg/ keystone one piece base.