A different scope for an AR question. 50-300 yards

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Hasaf

Hasaf

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I do see that there is another Scope for an AR thread. However, he is looking at 100-600 yards. Instead of starting a threadjack I am asking a different question.

I am looking at shooting (okay, plinking) at steel targets from 50-300 yards. 300 yards would be an uncommon shot, most are under 200 yards. I am looking at the Vortex 3x Spitfire.

What I would really like is a 1-4x with a big objective lens. Most of them seem to be like this 1-4x 24 (yes, there are a lot of other brands; but they all seem to be very similar) and I am concerned that the scope will lack brightness.

In some ways I like the Nikon P-233. In particular I like the 40mm objective lens; However, I am not interested in 4-12x at all. It is just more magnification than I feel I need and feel it would be slow to get on target.

As you can see, I am staying in the under $400 range here. In particular, any other suggestions or thoughts about the Vortex 3x Spitfire for 50 to a max of 300 yards?
 
My budget led me to a Redfield Revolution 2-7x32 for just those parameters on my AR carbine. With it set at 7x, I can ring steel reliably out past 400 yards, and shoot decent groups at 100 yards from the bench. It is also small enough not to look out of place on the carbine, yet the 32 mm objective lense gathers plenty of light. For those with more budget flexibility, a Leupold VX-2, or VX-3 would be even better. I really like the configuration of the 2-7x scope, and my Revolution only weighs 11.1 oz., the VX-2 9.0 oz., the VX-3 1.75-6x32 10.9 oz., the advantage of the 1 inch tube vs. the 30mm.
 
I would look into the Primary Arms prism scopes as well. They have 2.5, 3, and 5x but a way better reticle the ACSS perfect for making hits at your desired range.

For a 1-4 I have read the pst is pretty bright and AA optics had refurbished ones on sale. If you can stretch your budget just a little and find a Stiener PX4i I think that is the exact scope you are looking for DSG arms and Botach have sales on them. I have heard mixed feedback on Botach as a vendor though
 
A lense larger than 20mm on a 4X scope is wasted. The amount of light coming through a scope is determined by the size of the front objective and the magnification. The more magnification, the bigger the front objective needs to be. At 4X a 20mm lense lets all the light through that a human eye can use. If you move up to 8X you need 40mm, 10X needs 50mm.

Moving up to a 30mm tube gets you a 24 mm objective, but the advantages are elsewhere. Many of the scopes with 30mm tubes can be quite heavy, 16-20 oz. The Leupold 1-4X20's that I use weigh 8 oz. I killed a small buck a couple of weeks ago firing the shot 25 minutes prior to sunrise. 30 minutes prior is legal, and I had no trouble seeing well enough to make the shot. In fact I could have seen well enough 10-15 minutes earlier.

A scope with the bottom end at 1X of some variety is my 1st pick. At 1X they are very fast up close and 4X is enough for 300-400 yards. They do make some with more than 4X on the upper end, some with as much as 6X or 8X as well as illuminated reticles. A 2-7X isn't a bad choice either. But the difference up close between 2X and 1X is noticeable. The biggest advantage the 2-7X's have is that there are more good options under $200.

All that said, I'm considering trying this:

https://swfa.com/catalog/product/view/id/111029/
 
I'd rather have covered turrets, but you can set these to "0" so it's easy to check and see if they have moved.

Decent glass (What can one expect for $150 :)) and a great fit for ARs when you don't need high magnification. Great for short range and low enough magnification to use with both eyes open for short stretches. True 1X is best for that of course. There are a lot of 1x4 or 5/6 etc scopes out there, but most are bigger than these little gems and have small objectives, making the need for better glass much more important, and of course that costs money.
300 Blackout Upper on Aero Precision Lower With Nikon 3X P223 Pic 3 @ 89%.JPG
 
I believe there are better optics than the Spitfire in the same price range. jmr40 summed things up nicely.

Glass quality is much more important than objective size.
 
Check out the primary arms 1-6 scope. I think its perfect for the range of 50-300 yards. The glass is pretty good on mine and I really, really like the reticle. It's pretty easy to use and extremely functional at several shooting distances.
 
Uncommon shot is dependent who you ask, for some people in a particular branch service 500m is the max distance for annual rifle qual.
Beside that I second primary arms.
 
You will have no problems with light gathering with a 1-4X24 or even a 1-4X20mm. The exit pupil on both will be more than adequate.

Added benifit of a 1x (even if it’s not a true 1x, such as a 1.5X) will be an extremely forgiving eye relief. They are very easy to shoot with both eyes open, much like a red dot.

I really like the little Leupold 1-4 on my mini 14. It would be better with Leupolds fire dot reticle, but those scopes are pricey.
 
If I may ask, is this rifle just for fun or also for defensive use? My 1-4 scope is on our home defense rifle and the scope ALWAYS stays on 1X unless I’m out shooting with it.
 
chicharrones said:
Another recent thread was looking for a 200 yard AR scope. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/new-optic-for-ar.828955/
Click to expand...

I got a LOT of great responses in that thread. At the end of the day, most of the scopes I looked at (variable and prism fixed power) had pretty busy reticles for my purposes. Bear in mind that when I'm not shooting open sights, my only scope is on my deer/elk/bear rifle, a Leupold VX3 with a basic duplex reticle....so I'm not accustomed to much going on inside the scope.

Given the ballistics of the .223/5.56, within 300 meters (and my purposes), I don't necessarily need all the bullet drop reticles that are present on a lot of the low power variable scopes/prism scope choices. That said, I could probably get used to it with enough use.

I'm awfully tempted by a Burris MTAC with rings for 225 for sale locally and for whatever reason, the reticle I looked through a while back in the store didn't seem too bad.
 
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Why not a new generation burris ar332 prism sight?

I've been using a 5x version in competition for years.
 
I have a Vortex Viper PST 1-4X24 capped turret model. Very clear glass, true 1x low-mag. I can basically run it like a red-dot on low, then twist up to 4x for reaching out. Everyone who tries my carbine wants one.

That said, for the price point i'd probably recommend the Strike Eagle. It's not quite Viper-quality glass and the reticle isnt quite as flexible, but it comes in 1-6 and 1-8 models, and the 1-6 is about $150 less than the PST, last i checked.

ETA: my local range has a public section with a 100yd square range, and then steel gongs from 200-450yd at roughly 50yd intervals arrayed beyond the 100yd berm.
With my 16" carbine and PST, i can walk 75gr match bullets up and down those gongs with boring regularity... :D
 
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