What's the best scope for my needs?

Which is best for my needs?

  • Leupold mk4 mr/t 1.5-5x Ill.

    Votes: 22 71.0%

  • Acog TA33H

    Votes: 9 29.0%
  • Total voters
    31
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sprice

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2008
Messages
916
I have a 20" ar-15 and want some glass for it. It's mostly a "zombie" gun and I also use it for backpacking and pretty much all my outdoors activity. I also would like to use it for occasional hunting like for bunnies and target use.

It's between the Leupold mk4 mr/t 1.5-5x Ill. or the Acog TA33H.
 
I really like the TA33. It's a nice compact little scope. I'd opt for the one with the green reticle. When I tried the one with red, I'd lose the reticle in foliage when under a canopy of trees. On the other hand, I think the Leupold will have better glass. For that matter, my Sightron 1-5X Big Sky had better glass than the ACOG. Lots of guys comment that the Trijicon products have the best glass that they've ever seen.

I don't know what it is that they've seen, but it's certainly not the best glass that I've ever seen. The ACOG is a pretty purpose specific piece of gear and is built tough. Forged 7075 as opposed to extruded 6061, if I remember right.

In any case, if your needs require something tough with pretty limited purpose, then an ACOG may be for you.

I don't know. Really, only you can say what's going to be better for you. I really just don't see any reason for the expense of an ACOG. It's small and compact, but may even look weird on a full size AR. The conventional scope will certainly be more flexible and will offer a wider field of view. The TA33 has a pretty narrow field of view and pretty much requires you to shoot with both eye open in order to see much other than the target at up to 100 yards.
 
The problem with acogs is eye relief. If you wear glass that may get in the way. I used them in the middle east and south america, for my own practical experience I would use the leupold. Suitable for up close and several hundred yards at 5x power.
 
Ya know, you don't 'have' to put a "tactical" scope on it, just because it's an AR. Decide what your needs are and tailor your scope to your purposes. While this Leupold VXII 1-4x ended up on another rifle, it would indeed do most everything I needed it to do on the AR.

IMG_7747c.jpg
 
The problem with acogs is eye relief.
Click to expand...

These sorts of comments can be very misleading. We aren't talking about an ACOG as though it is a single particular item. There are many ACOGs with differing specs. It just so happens that the model up for discussion here has a very generous eye relief with a fairly wide eye box. Whatever the shortcomings of the TA33 might be, eye relief isn't one of them. The only models that I've seen with super short eye relief are the 4Xs, which is probably what ms6852 is referring to.

If you do decide to go with a conventional scope and want to stay on the compact side, I'd go for the gusto and not limit myself to 5X. Provided that you have the finances, I'd be looking for something like a Nightforce 2.5-10X24. It's compact and has magnification that will let the 20" AR stretch its legs.

BTW, Sightron used to have a really nice 1-5X. They have discontinued it and are supposed to be releasing a 2-7 or 2-8X pretty soon.
 
I have a Leupold Mark 4 1.5-5X ill. SPR on my POF. I used it this past weekend in a match. It's an excellent scope but it's not as fast as a red dot for close up work due to the width of the "eye box" as Zak Smith calls it. I shoot with my nose indexed on the charging handle, but I struggled a couple of times to get a good sight picture after magazine changes, but once you're on, you're on ... you get the idea. I've used some red dot scopes including a couple of Aimpoints and an ACOG and have to wonder if a 1X red dot with a 3X magnifier would be a better way to go, particularly if you shoot in matches where the targets can be 10 ft to 200 yards away. But for all around use, the Mark 4 is a great scope and I have no regrets. It is a "jack of all trades but master of none" with very, very good glass. If you know that going in you won't be disappointed. As it is, I'm going to buy an Aimpoint and try it in some matches to see if my times improve. The LaRue mounts make it easy to switch optics around.

pof_p415_04.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top