Scope Experience (Brands)

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VikingTacticalCowboy

VikingTacticalCowboy

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Hello, everyone!

I am a new member here (already posted to the new member thread to introduce myself), but I just wanted to post to get anyone's experiences with specific brands of scopes.

I started my AR build with Vortex Sparc AR Red Dot and Vortex Mini 3X Magnifier. Initially, I actually wanted to do an LPVO with offset dot sight, like I have now, but was talked out of it by a friend of mine. After almost a year with the previous setting, I decided to trade out the red dot and magnifier for an LPVO and offset dot sight.

I went with the TruGlo 1-8x24mm Omnia 8 LPVO and TruGlo TruTec Mini Green Dot Sight. All in all, I paid right at about $500 for that bundle, similar to what I paid for my Vortex Red Dot and Magnifier. I went through a lot of research and was going back and forth between Primary Arms (cheaper models), SwampFox, Vortex (cheaper models), and a few others I could afford. Of course, I'd love to put a Trijicon VCOG or EOTech Vudu LPVO or Leupold LPVO on there with an SRO or DPP or something offset, but I don't have an additional $2000+ to spend on glass right now. I've spent roughly $3000 on my entire AR build, including the glass, mounts, and all accessories. It is a straight shooter and I haven't had a single problem out of the AR or the new scope.

My main goal with this post is to get a discussion going about LPVOs, brands, and if anyone else has similar items with good or bad feedback. I think if I do upgrade eventually, I might go to the SwampFox or Primary Arms brands, as they are closer in price for a little higher perceived quality than the TruGlo. Most people see TruGlo as a toy scope brand or Walmart brand, but a lot of the reviews I watched of the new Omnia line showed it held up a lot better than most other TruGlo items, even some of the blog reviews I read put it higher in their list than expected.

So, what about y'all out there in THR land? Any experiences with these type or brand of scopes (1x/LPVO or cheaper brands) that might be useful for myself going forward, or anyone else considering going just a little cheaper on the glass?

Thanks in advance, and here are a couple pictures of the new and old setup.

-Russ

F903D41F-8526-47D9-9BE5-6FC76079A902_1_201_a.jpeg 7D50F6C8-CFF5-4292-BDB1-CCA7020F690B_1_201_a.jpeg F3414D26-B5B9-4FCE-9023-1C1627F59BED_1_201_a.jpeg EBD96751-DA83-4758-8058-12C1E1063761_1_201_a.jpeg
 
troy fairweather said:
That seems like a lot for truglo stuff.
Click to expand...

I thought that, as well. I did a lot of research through this new line, and several others for Primary Arms, SwampFox, etc. I kind of wished I would've went with the SwampFox, as I've heard the glass clarity is a little better than the TruGlo, but most of the reviews say this new Omnia lineup is higher quality than most of their stuff. So far, I've had no issues, but I've only owned it for about 3-4 months, and maybe put 250 rounds through it, maybe a little more.
 
troy fairweather said:
That seems like a lot for truglo stuff.
Click to expand...

Right now on Optics Planet, where I bought them both, they go for $370 for the TruGlo Omnia 8, and $170 for the TruGlo TruTec Green Dot Sight. Then, about $45 for the offset dot sight mount.

https://www.opticsplanet.com/truglo-omnia-1-8x24mm-scope-30mm-tube-ir-sp-w-1pc-mount-do.html

https://www.opticsplanet.com/truglo-tg8100g-tru-tec-1x-23x17mm-3-moa-green-dot-black.html

https://www.opticsplanet.com/tru-tg8976b-riser-mnt-rds-45-deg-univ.html
 
IMO a low powered 1-4X or 1-6X scope is the perfect AR optic. Having the ability to go up to 8X is OK, but not a requirement, 4X or 6X on the top end is plenty. I have a 1-6X Vortex Strike Eagle on one of my AR's. It has the ability to have an illuminated reticle and I like it well enough. It isn't an expensive optic, but does what I need. I have no personal experience with the Truglo scope, but it is probably a decent scope that is as good or better.

https://www.swfa.com/vortex-1-6x24-strike-eagle-30mm-rifle-scope-2.html?___SID=U

I picked up a couple of Nikon 1-4X24's on 30mm tubes a few years ago when they were discontinued at a dirt cheap price, Those are on 2 other AR's. Another I have set up for long range use with a 2-10X40 scope.

If it were my rifle I'd not waste my time or money on a 2nd dot sight at a 45. Everything you can do with the dot, your scope set on 1X does better. Adding a 2nd optic is just excess baggage and cost. For that matter I don't waste time with iron sights either.
 
I have a Swampfox Optics Tomahawk 1-4 scope with MOA reticle. Comparing the Swampfox LPVO to the Primary Arms, I would have to go with the Swampfox. They are both very comparable as far as quality goes. I give the nudge to Swampfox due to the reticle. The Swampfox reticle is a little bigger than the similar Primary Optics reticle without being too large. If you go with Swampfox Optics and prefer locking turrets and can spend a little more, go with their Arrowhead LPVO. For the price the Tomahawk does well.
 
For AR15ish LPVOs I have:

Leupold VX6 1-6X with their multigun reticle on my 3Gun AR15, very, very happy with it for 3 match seasons now
Vortex PST 1-4X on my DSA SA58 Para-FAL, also very pleased.
Vortex PST 1-6X on my all-around AR15, also pretty pleased with it.

I'm shopping now for a 1-8 or 1-10X for an 18" SPR build I just completed. I have a Vortex 4-16X on it now, which is fine for shooting steel, but I want a LPVO for coyote hunting. Right now I'm using my 3Gun carbine and taking the brake off, adjusting the gas, and re-zeroing for my yote loads after match season.

I've been researching every Swampfox Arrowhead 1-10x review I can find, and am leaning towards getting one.

I also wouldn't bother with 45 degree off-sets. I've got a set of irons on my 3Gun rig that I've only had to use a couple times going from close to far tgts and back again. IMHO the LPVO negates the need. Might be useful with a higher lower end magnification, but not a LPVO.
 
Chuck R. said:
I also wouldn't bother with 45 degree off-sets. I've got a set of irons on my 3Gun rig that I've only had to use a couple times going from close to far tgts and back again. IMHO the LPVO negates the need. Might be useful with a higher lower end magnification, but not a LPVO.
Click to expand...
Exactly.

The only LPVO I currently have on an AR is the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6 (bought before the 1-8 came out). Using the Burris PEPR mount. I like the etched reticle. I like that I can use it on 1x as a red dot, both eyes open, with the illumination on. Not the best as far as adjusting for parallax, for sure, when magnified. But for a $300 optic, it does its job and it function well when shooting targets out to 300 yards. It is by far the least expensive optic I've put on a rifle, and it complies with the old adage, buy cheap, get cheap.

But, if I really needed an LPVO for serious purposes (other than trying to hit the steel gong up on the hill or punching holes in paper), I'd definitely go big and get much better quality glass.

Just my opinion, but I don't think there's any benefit to attaching an offset RDS with an LPVO at all. I don't do 3-gun competition, though, so YMMV. BUIS work fine for me. Anyway, most of us are no longer going downrange as the squad designated marksman who may need an option for CQB.

For my pure defensive rifles, the EOTTech with a G33 magnifier, the 4 power ACOG or the AIMPOINT PRO suit my needs just fine.
 
i posted this in another thread last month. if you have more specific questions, just ask

taliv said:
i've owned the vortex 1-6 razor hd gen2 and the swaro z6i and USO 1-8x, NF 1-4x and 1-8x ATACR, among others
I've competed with several of these

some very brief advice in no particular order
- USO is nice, but expect to send it back for repair
- vortex and swaro are amazing experience. it's like the optic disappears.
- swaro glass is awesome, but controls are wack
- vortex is awesome but crazy heavy
- khales is light and good glass. imho, good choice for range. maybe not the most rugged
Click to expand...

My social AR has a 1-8x NF ATACR on it.
 
I have no experience with Tru-glo or Swampfox but I have and like the Primary Arms 1-6x. Mine is the second focal plane.

I agree with the earlier comment about the reticle; it is pretty small. The glass is really clear and crisp.

Honestly for general purpose use a 1-4 would have been fine. If I had a do-over I used to wish I had pinched the pennies harder and gotten the FFP model. But now I wonder if the absolute best quality basic 1-4x I could afford would suit me better.
 
jmr40 said:
IMO a low powered 1-4X or 1-6X scope is the perfect AR optic. Having the ability to go up to 8X is OK, but not a requirement, 4X or 6X on the top end is plenty. I have a 1-6X Vortex Strike Eagle on one of my AR's. It has the ability to have an illuminated reticle and I like it well enough. It isn't an expensive optic, but does what I need. I have no personal experience with the Truglo scope, but it is probably a decent scope that is as good or better.

https://www.swfa.com/vortex-1-6x24-strike-eagle-30mm-rifle-scope-2.html?___SID=U

I picked up a couple of Nikon 1-4X24's on 30mm tubes a few years ago when they were discontinued at a dirt cheap price, Those are on 2 other AR's. Another I have set up for long range use with a 2-10X40 scope.

If it were my rifle I'd not waste my time or money on a 2nd dot sight at a 45. Everything you can do with the dot, your scope set on 1X does better. Adding a 2nd optic is just excess baggage and cost. For that matter I don't waste time with iron sights either.
Click to expand...

My main reason for building this rifle was to have a reliable weapon that performs as I need it to, with everything being at least mil-spec reliability or better, but I also wanted to build it to a specific "look", while remaining functional in the areas I needed it. I initially went with the red dot and magnifier because I never expected to take this to any "longer" range than maybe 50-100 yards. As I progressed, I wanted to test out longer ranges and, having less than perfect eyesight, I can't see good even at 100-200 yards without some higher magnification. That's why I wanted the higher end of the LPVO range of magnification (either 8 or 10).

I wanted an offset dot sight on it mainly for the "what if" of "what if I was shooting something further downrange and needed to immediately shoot something up close without having to take one of my hands off of my weapon to dial down the magnification back to zero. My scenario was, what if I'm out hunting a deer or something, and as I'm zoomed in full magnification, I hear something like a bobcat or mountain lion, and need to turn and shoot quickly. I wanted to be able to keep both hands on the firearm, cant the rifle, and fire. Weight is not a huge factor to me, being just over 6ft tall, about 250 pounds, a former powerlifter who is still very capable and athletic (I can't still squat and bench what I once could, but I can still easily bench 300 pounds more than once). So, I can hold up an 8-10 pound AR long enough to make a shot, or several shots. So, the few extra ounces of an offset dot sight and mount, to me personally, doesn't affect me in the slightest. It might if I had to carry it for days on end without ever removing it, but how likely is that right now?

In addition, my everyday use for this firearm is home defense and target plinking. I don't hunt with this rifle. So, I'm not worried about the ounces, but I do understand why people cut weight where they can. My mindset is form AND function, not function over form, or vice versa. If I was a 3-gun shooter, absolutely I'd have the lightest weight hand guard and barrel, no light or laser, the lightest weight mount and scope that matched my needs, etc.
 
12Bravo20 said:
I have a Swampfox Optics Tomahawk 1-4 scope with MOA reticle. Comparing the Swampfox LPVO to the Primary Arms, I would have to go with the Swampfox. They are both very comparable as far as quality goes. I give the nudge to Swampfox due to the reticle. The Swampfox reticle is a little bigger than the similar Primary Optics reticle without being too large. If you go with Swampfox Optics and prefer locking turrets and can spend a little more, go with their Arrowhead LPVO. For the price the Tomahawk does well.
Click to expand...

I am still heavily considering upgrading to the SwampFox 1-10 Arrowhead with Green BDC Reticle and SwampFox KingSlayer with Green Circle Dot in the future. I've heard their glass quality is incredible. The only complaint I have of my Omnia is no parallax adjustment, and it doesn't filter in light as good as some others in lowlight conditions. The reticle is great (super bright, perfectly laid out), glass clarity (to someone as uneducated on the topic as I am) is great (surpasses my standards), and it has locking turrets with the ability to reset the zero dial on the turrets after setting it. So, to me, it was a good value. Overall, I'm much happier with my current setup than with the red dot and magnifier.
 
ford8nr said:
Rifle build scope / sight set for what purpose.
If you're looking for tacti-cool anything will do. A lot going on with that rifle.
Give us the purpose we might be able to give better feedback.
Click to expand...

Mostly home defense, a touch of tacticool, and just plinking targets at close and long range. As I told JMR40, weight is not a factor to me (not right now, at least). I'm a bigger, stronger guy, still very athletic, etc. So, I'm not worried about adding an extra few ounces when it will mostly ever be slung around my neck and/or supported with the bipod when not being aimed at something specific.
 
Old Dog said:
Exactly.

The only LPVO I currently have on an AR is the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6 (bought before the 1-8 came out). Using the Burris PEPR mount. I like the etched reticle. I like that I can use it on 1x as a red dot, both eyes open, with the illumination on. Not the best as far as adjusting for parallax, for sure, when magnified. But for a $300 optic, it does its job and it function well when shooting targets out to 300 yards. It is by far the least expensive optic I've put on a rifle, and it complies with the old adage, buy cheap, get cheap.

But, if I really needed an LPVO for serious purposes (other than trying to hit the steel gong up on the hill or punching holes in paper), I'd definitely go big and get much better quality glass.

Just my opinion, but I don't think there's any benefit to attaching an offset RDS with an LPVO at all. I don't do 3-gun competition, though, so YMMV. BUIS work fine for me. Anyway, most of us are no longer going downrange as the squad designated marksman who may need an option for CQB.

For my pure defensive rifles, the EOTTech with a G33 magnifier, the 4 power ACOG or the AIMPOINT PRO suit my needs just fine.
Click to expand...

I don't do 3-gun either. As I told JMR40, I imagined a scenario possibly walking through the woods hunting or just out target shooting on my parents property, and possibly aiming at something further downrange, and then hearing or seeing something super close and needing to immediately turn and shoot. With the offset dot sight, I don't need to remove my hand from my gun to change the magnification power, I just cant the gun 45 degrees and take my shot on the dot sight.
 
aaronu said:
I have no experience with Tru-glo or Swampfox but I have and like the Primary Arms 1-6x. Mine is the second focal plane.

I agree with the earlier comment about the reticle; it is pretty small. The glass is really clear and crisp.

Honestly for general purpose use a 1-4 would have been fine. If I had a do-over I used to wish I had pinched the pennies harder and gotten the FFP model. But now I wonder if the absolute best quality basic 1-4x I could afford would suit me better.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I went to Academy near me and they had several of the lower end 1-4, 1-6, and 1-8 options from Vortex, and a couple other brands, and tried out a few, then went to a higher end gun shop and tried out some of the Leupold and Trijicon 1-4 or 1-6 LPVOs, and the gun shop I was at had the TruGlo (I really badly wanted to look at the SwampFox, but didn't find any anywhere), and I truly felt like, for my use, the TruGlo looked as good if not better than most of the options (of course, excluding the Trijicon and Leupold). So, I gave it a shot. I love it. Wish it did just a little better letting light in at night, but other than that it's fine.
 
Just ordered a Meopro that was on sale. 3.5-10 with illuminated BDC reticle. This will go on my new Wby Mark V. I figure it deserves a good optic. Leupold (the right models), Meopta make good optics.
 
VikingTacticalCowboy said:
and then hearing or seeing something super close and needing to immediately turn and shoot.
Click to expand...

Others experiences my vary but in almost 50 yrs of hunting big game it's never been a problem. Might be a solution looking for a problem. Passed weekend zoomed my 2.5-8 Leupold to check out a deer in the distance, another deer walked through at 75. Reached my thumb up and dialed scope back down. It's about knowing your equipment. Now if I were in real combat ...
 
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