Is it worth putting an optic on a 10.5" AR?

I've recently been looking for a replacement optic for my 1.5X ACOG and was considering getting a prism optic from Primary Arms, but I was thinking that it might be fun to put a variable power optic on it to stretch its legs a little.

I'm thinking something small...10-11" long, like a 1-4X or a 1-6X. I like the offerings from Primary Arms and SWFA. It's looking like these brands hit a good bit above their price point.

Opinions?

ilbob said:

Once your eyes get old and decrepit the utility of putting a red dot or other illuminated optic will jump out and grab you.

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I'm already running the equivalent of a red dot. A 1.5X ACOG. What I'm wondering about is the wisdom of putting more magnification on a 10.5" AR.

ilbob said:

Depends on how far you think you will be shooting mostly. It seems to me a sbr is mostly suited for use indoors. If you want to do long range shooting a longer barrel is probably in order.

Try shooting your existing setup at different ranges say starting at 25 yards and working out to maybe 200. See what you can do with what you have. Chances are realistically you will not need to engage a target rhat far anyway.

Unless you want to do it just for the fun factor. I have never been real fond of variable power anything. But I don't shoot at stuff half a mile away either.

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Honestly, indoors is that last place I'd shoot my 10.5. No way. If I miss what I'm shooting at with the first shot, all I'll be after that is deaf and blind.

I know I can shoot it out to 100 yards on however big a clay pigeon is. I can't even see a clay pigeon at 200 yards.

I guess posing the thread was more out of boredom and looking for something to talk about, weighing the pros and cons, etc.

I figure this rig should be useful out to about 300 yards, which means I'll need an optic. I guess I need to decide between a 4X and the small size or a 6X and the slightly less small size.

Varminterror said:

I have a 1-8x on my 10.5” 458socom and a 4-16x on my 10.5” 5.56. The optic is for the application, sometimes I shoot small stuff at the longer end of short range, or big stuff at the shorter end of long range, even with my SBR’s - can’t hit what you can’t see, and generally, I can’t see worth a damn.

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Yep, this is me. As much as I like the speed and thrill of banging steel, I also have lots of fun shooting at small stuff. For handguns, I like to shoot at clay pigeons at 25 or 30 yards. For long guns, what I have most immediate access to is 100 yards.

I’ve been shooting at clay pigeons thus far, with the 1.5x, but what I usually shoot at are those little practice golf balls. They pop up and fly when you hit em just right.

I got a ballistic advantage barrel and I suspect it’s a real shooter. The last time I took it out, I rigged a hoopty magnifier setup using a Russian magnifier off of an RPG launcher and put it behind the ACOG. I know. Don’t laugh.

Anyway, I only shot it to 50 yards, but 5 69 grain smks went through about an inch. I’m kind of itching to see what the pistol can do with some glass on top.

Right now I’m looking at a few scopes. The lpvo from primary arms, SWFA and, again don’t laugh, a Monstrum.

The Monstrum is getting good reviews and at the price, it would serve as a nice paperweight and reminder.

I know the short barrel is a handicap at longer ranges, but I figure it’s better than throwing rocks. And seriously, I’ve mentioned before that I’m a small guy. I REALLY like the form factor of the 10.5. Maybe I just built it in the wrong caliber.

Varminterror said:

Same. I have a lot of red dots, and have had a lot more, but I always seem to come back to telescopic optics.

Even with magnifiers, I just don’t love red dots on rifles. I shoot with both eyes open when in magnified optics, so making short shots with a scope isn’t a challenge, no moreso than a red dot, at least, and it always makes me cringe whenever I drop a 3moa dot on top of a target and totally cover my desired POI - for instance, a bunny at 250. There’s just so much more covered up by a dot - a guy can break the shot quickly by putting a .2moa crosshair Line within 1.5moa of the desired POI, just as quickly as placing that 3moa dot - that’s nothing more than tactics and practice. But the dot can never deliver the degree of precision possible with that crosshair.

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I hear ya. I still have a few red dots, but have two of the little ACOGs and those are what I use on my rifles. The etched reticles are a lot cleaner than a dot and you can actually use the circle dot reticle of the TA44 for holdovers and unders to a degree, but I do like real optics. I too have never had a problem shooting a scope with both eyes open. The only real glass I have right now is the 5-20x nightforce on my .308.

Really all of this corona stuff and being stuck inside is starting to affect my thinking and reasoning. As I mentioned above, I am considering getting one of those monstrum scopes. I'll send the ACOG in and when that gets back, likely spring for a low power Vortex PST and put the monstrum on a dedicated .22 upper I just built.

Well, while waiting for the scopes to come back in stock at Primary Arms, my ex called me and said that she found one of my scopes. I asked what's it look like? She says it's small and says Weaver on it. Man, my face lit up.

She found my Weaver V3 that one of the kids apparently put on their airsoft gun. I looked everywhere for it. Not in the market for a lpvo any more. It isn't perfect. There's some fisheye at 1X, but at 1.5X everything clears up. Stamped Made in Japan.

Love this little thing...https://photos.app.goo.gl/UzzZELq17QtaW1Kq9