Suggestions for AR Optics?

It's a fair piece cheaper than you're looking for price-wise, but check out the Bushnell AR Optics line; various magnifications, drop reticles specific to 223, 308, and 6.5. They're clear glass and I've gotten kind of partial to them; but partially because I can get them for $100 at a local outlet.

That said, and I've got one of the Bushnell's 4.5-18X on a 308 and a 223, the last optic I put on an AR was a secondhand Leupold 4X Pig optic....for a 300BO near range shooter.

Check out the Burris MTAC.

I would want side focus on a gun like that. My preference among the several scopes that I have and have used a lot would be a Weaver Grand Slam 4-16x44 EBX reticle. They've been discontinued, but you can find one if you look around a little (one in the rimfirecentral classifieds now).

Bleedblue22 said:

I plan on using the rifle for an all-around platform: target shooting, coyote/boar hunting, home defense if **** ever goes way sideways.

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Firstly what works perfectly for those 3 things has yet to be invented yet. With that out of the way, you can always do some informal target practice with a “hunting” scope though the reticle may not be ideal and in your case the rifle is not a true target model anyway. Home defense wise I’d swap in the red dot you have for those purposes.

Now to what I might suggest in the price range you’ve suggested, and with hunting in mind, is what I just ordered myself. https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...e-Scopes/5eb0346f-bcd4-4f1f-93df-d6f5a8428b8a I chose the Sierra3 4.5-14x44mm/KILO 1000 combo at $450. CameralandNY also offers other combos with a selection of magnifications and more powerful rangefinders. If you don’t yet own a rangefinder this would be choice number 1.

If you’re looking for a good bargain in glass then Bushnell’s Prime line is another compelling choice; I’ve picked up 3 over the past several months in the $200-250 range.

Pairing any of the above with an Aero Precision mount should make for a solid set up just be sure to choose the mount best suited to your eye relief.


All serious bargains in my opinion.


Chose a Prime for my muzzleloader (deer rifle).


My daughter shooting her 1-4x Prime.

View attachment 932187
Yote rig. 3-9X Freedom.
Long flash is to reduce blast.

For HD could yank the scope/mount and DD irons put on (w short flash)

Scope and mount was $295 ish
Reg duplex.
Out to 300 don't need that other stuff, and most times rifle will be shot without bipod.
Proly have scope at 6X too.
But if things close, drop it to 3X.
9X is just for bipod and chucks or longer yotes.

Our area, a "walking varmint rifle" is the way to go.
Some places offer better stands, and long range opps, so a heavy w bipod/tripod might be the way to go.

Still gotta lug that stuff around.
Big diff being 30 something and 50 something.

Oh hell, way back i did the heavy rifle for long range, and a shotgun for close...........big loop through couple farms.
One night of that in decent snow and it was 1 gun from then on.

Need a short ranger and long ranger? Have a hunting bud

Skylerbone said:

Firstly what works perfectly for those 3 things has yet to be invented yet. With that out of the way, you can always do some informal target practice with a “hunting” scope though the reticle ma

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If HD must stay on the table and to keep it as close to $500.00 as possible I’d get a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40, Burris FastFire III mini red dot and a Burris P.E.P.R. AR mount, which when assembled would look something like this:

If HD was not a prerequisite I’d probably go with this:
https://cameralandny.com/shop/meopta-meopro-3-5-10x44-rd-bdc-2/09c24330-dc99-0137-1a1d-00163e90e196?variation=2034252&query=Meopta MeoPro
At that price I suspect it will go real fast.

The reason I quoted Skylerbone is I agree with his first sentence and believe it to be the key point In what your goal is. One optic to perform all three of your wants may be such a compromise as to make it very mediocre overall.

Why not use your AR with a Red Dot for HD? Unless your goal is to have two AR’s for the apocalypse when syphilitic druids roam the earth.

Bleedblue22 said:

Looking to outfit my BCM Recce 16 with an optic, but given I’ve only ever used one ol’ reliable hunting rifle with one ol’ reliable scope, I don’t have any experience with buying scopes.

I already have an AR with a red dot so I’m looking at some magnification for this one. Was looking at 3-9x, and have done a little research on the Leupold VXFreedom version. But after dropping a good chunk of change on the rifle itself, I don’t want to put a garbage optic on it and was hoping someone had some experience with a 3-9x that they would be willing to share. Not looking to break the bank, but just get a solid, reliable scope. Max budget is probably around $500, but obviously would prefer to go lower if possible.

I plan on using the rifle for an all-around platform: target shooting, coyote/boar hunting, home defense if **** ever goes way sideways.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

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I have that optic on an 18" AR. It's a 450 BM so it's main use will be hunting. Its a fine optic for that. If you want better glass I see Leupold VX3i on sale various places for low $300. The VX Freedom works fine with it's duplex reticle, but probably not what I would choose if home defense was a use case.

-Jeff

You’ll find plenty of excellent scopes here
www.swfa.com

https://www.swfa.com/swfa-ss-2-5-10x32-ultralight-rifle-scope.html

https://www.eurooptic.com/trijicon-tr20-2g-accupoint-3-9x40-mil-dot-crosshair-with-green-dot.aspx

Those are my 2 recommendations for your purposes.

Some good talk about using a 1-4X on an AR for close to mid stuff (HD).
Freedom VX 1-4X



Proly fine for deer hunting too, but for smaller critters I'd like a little more magnification.

FWIW I never could get any one rifle or shotgun to do everything.
I'll proly set up another upper for other purposes.

Bleedblue22 said:

Looking to outfit my BCM Recce 16 with an optic, but given I’ve only ever used one ol’ reliable hunting rifle with one ol’ reliable scope, I don’t have any experience with buying scopes.

I already have an AR with a red dot so I’m looking at some magnification for this one. Was looking at 3-9x, and have done a little research on the Leupold VXFreedom version. But after dropping a good chunk of change on the rifle itself, I don’t want to put a garbage optic on it and was hoping someone had some experience with a 3-9x that they would be willing to share. Not looking to break the bank, but just get a solid, reliable scope. Max budget is probably around $500, but obviously would prefer to go lower if possible.

I plan on using the rifle for an all-around platform: target shooting, coyote/boar hunting, home defense if **** ever goes way sideways.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

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In your price range, I’d stick with something from Vortex or a Primary Arms house brand.

This is a very interesting unit. With a mount, you are looking at well under $350 delivered with a 3 year warranty. I really like these types of reticles now that I’ve gotten used to them. Very fast acquisition in targets.

https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-4-14x44mm-riflescope-acss-hud-dmr-5.56-reticle

for a few hundred more, upgrade to a lifetime warranty newer model.
Primary Arms is a good outfit to buy from.

For an AR I tend to prefer a scope with an ACSS reticle. The Primary Arms scopes are a good price and offer the ACSS, but I think they're only available in a fixed magnification.

If you're only looking to use it for hunting and ACSS is not ideal.

If you want the Recce optic to match your Recce rifle, low power variable optic is probably most consistent. I’m partial to Leupold, but everything I’ve read would suggest vortex might be a good choice for you.

Maybe a StrikeEagle in 1-6x24 ($350 on Amazon)?

imac98374 said:

If you want the Recce optic to match your Recce rifle, low power variable optic is probably most consistent. I’m partial to Leupold, but everything I’ve read would suggest vortex might be a good choice for you.

Maybe a StrikeEagle in 1-6x24 ($350 on Amazon)?

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If you're getting a LPVO 1-6, get the Meopta Optika6. I have the 1-6. Very nice glass for the $. About $100 more than the ChiCom made Strike Eagle & has a significantly better eye box & illumination. And, y'know, isn't Made in China.

I would want something like a 1-4x or 1-6x, not a 3-9x.

Skylerbone said:

Now to what I might suggest in the price range you’ve suggested, and with hunting in mind, is what I just ordered myself. https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...e-Scopes/5eb0346f-bcd4-4f1f-93df-d6f5a8428b8a I chose the Sierra3 4.5-14x44mm/KILO 1000 combo at $450. CameralandNY also offers other combos with a selection of magnifications and more powerful rangefinders. If you don’t yet own a rangefinder this would be choice number 1.

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I just got one of those in the 2-8x flavor. Haven't mounted it yet but played with the app a little. Interested to try it out.

js8588 said:

If you're getting a LPVO 1-6, get the Meopta Optika6. I have the 1-6. Very nice glass for the $. About $100 more than the ChiCom made Strike Eagle & has a significantly better eye box & illumination. And, y'know, isn't Made in China.

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I’d much much rather have the Meopta than the Strike Eagle.

Another to consider - Leupold VX-Freedom AR 1.5-4X20 Riflescope. $450-500 if you shop around. Even better if you or someone you’re close to qualifies for the Leupold mil/LEO discount .

I’ll second the Meopta suggestion if you can swing the price tag, particularly those offered on sale at CameralandNY. The Meopro will easily best anything Leupold puts out through the Mark5 series. Were mine not purchased for a very specific purpose (younger shooter) I’d have picked up one of their 4-12x.

Skylerbone said:

I’ll second the Meopta suggestion if you can swing the price tag, particularly those offered on sale at CameralandNY. The Meopro will easily best anything Leupold puts out through the Mark5 series. We’re mine not purchased for a very specific purpose (younger shooter) I’d have picked up one of their 4-12x.

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This is the one I have https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...-00163e90e196?variation=2086086&query=Optika6

Call and ask for Doug. Bet he'd get it for you ~the $450 mark.

I don’t have an Optika, mine are MeoPro’s. In normal light I don’t notice a bunch of difference with my Leupold’s. In low light my Meopta’s are discernibly better.

cdb1 said:

In normal light I don’t notice a bunch of difference with my Leupold’s.

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Surely you’ve twisted the turrets and noticed a difference. While I still own 5 Leupolds my plan going forward is to never buy another.

I’m in the same boat. Just bought an AR 10 today in a 6.5 creedmoor. Using it mostly for deer hunting, but also wanted it for home protection. The last 3 scopes I’ve bought have been leupold. This my first AR. I would never shoot further than 400yds, but I’d like to be able to use it for protection at short range if possible. Not sure what to get.