So, you want to get a scope for your AR?

BLUF: Don’t buy cheap glass.  You’ll regret it.  I promise. Decide what you want to do with your rifle. Technology is always changing. Get an aimpoint for 200 and in. Get a reputable 1-4 or 1-6 for mid distance. Fixed 10’s for farther.

Want to shoot your AR with more than just the iron sights?  Need some magnification to identify targets at 300 yards?  Want quicker sight acquisition for those fast bad-breath-distance shots? There are tons of glass options for your AR15.  Here is a brief overview, including some of my favorites. But in all of this, remember: skimping on your scope is the quickest way to limit the capabilities of your rifle.  Don’t just get “enough to get by” on a scope.  Get what you need to push the capabilities of the platform in your hands to it’s limits. Most of these options can be found on optics planet, amazon, or by looking for deals around the internet – as long as you know what you’re looking for.  Otherwise, you can be led astray pretty quickly.  Let’s look at some good options among the 3 different kinds of scopes you might want for your AR:

Paralax Free Red dots/holographics Parallax free scopes offer some incredible opportunities.  You can use them with both eyes open, eliminating the feeling of looking down a paper towel tube.  When you shoot with both eyes open, your eyes are taking in such a wider field of view in front of you.  You can now see more hogs in that herd, or more bad guys in that room. Paralax is the need to get crosshairs into the middle of the tube of a scope.  Red dots and holographic sights don’t have a parallax.  There’s no black ring around the scope that you have to eliminate or line up.  If the reticle is on the target, even if the reticle is at the top edge of your scope, then that’s where the bullet will go. One other advantage: if 90% of your scope is blocked with mud, snow, water, or shattered, you can still use the remaining 10% to host your reticle.  That’s a pretty sweet upside. Aimpoint Comp M2/M4/Aimpoint Pro – wider field of view than the little brother listed below.  It’s what I have, and has been the close quarters optic for the US military for the last decade.  Lightning fast target acquisition, and virtually indestructible. You can see how much stuff I have taking up the sight picture of my Aimpoint.  It’s no problem.  Nothing’s out of focus, and I can still use the dot to aim in the top 2/3 of my sight picture. Aimpoint T1 – very small, extremely robust.  My pick for red dots.  Though super-cheesy and good for nothing else, this video shows what kind of abuse it can take. Eotech – Eotech as a brand is has been plagued with issues in their sights.  While the newer iterations seem to have fixed some issues, the earlier models consistently had intermittent power problems. The good thing about eotechs are the reticle.  It’s a pretty great idea to have a dot like the aimpoint, with a larger circle around it that can aid in range estimation and holdovers at distance.

EoTech and 3X magnifier

I also really like my EoTech.  They’ve come under scrutiny lately for some shady dealings, but I have paired mine with a 3X magnifier that flips out of the way, and I love it.

Micro sights – These are for the guy that wants his gun as light as a feather.

• Burris Fastfire
• Docter Optic
• Trijicon RMR
• Leupold Deltapoint
• Insight MRDS
• J-point

High magnification scopes Lot’s of guys buy an AR15, and all they’ve ever known are deer rifles.  They often think that a high magnification scope similar to what they have on their bolt actions will fit the bill.  But this takes a highly flexible rifle, and hems it into only the ranges you’d use the higher magnifications for – making the exact opposite of adaptable. I would only recommend putting a 10x on something that you’ve built for range, and included a Stainless Steel match grade barrel.  A Mk12 is a fine example of a high power scope able to effectively compliment the capabilities of the rifle.  I’ve shot the below Mk12 mod 1 out to 950 yards with surprising repeatability, but it’s not as perfectly suited for the 30yd engagements I often find myself in with hogs in the brush.

Mark 12 mod 1 with a Leupold 3-10x

I say this about everything related to guns but I really mean it this time: don’t skimp on your glass.  Don’t spend 150 (or even 300 – or 500) on a scope, thinking it’ll tide you over.  That’s 150 bucks (or 300 or 500) you won’t be able to put toward a real scope. Also, don’t you dare skimp on rings if you’re going to get a good scope.  Of course Leupold scopes are still King. Bushnell has stepped up their game recently and put out some really great stuff (HDMR). NightForce and Schmidt & Bender will cost you more than your rifle, but you’ve never looked through better glass in your life.
    I know this above picture isn’t an AR15, but it’s a Bushnell HDMR, and it’s a really good scope – it zooms past 20x, and is incredibly clear.  The best high-end match glass for the money on the market right now. Most guys don’t need high magnification on their AR15 scopes.  Many think they do, but they’re wasting their money.   If you put a 21x scope on a chrome lined carbine barrel, your scope is writing checks your gun can’t cash.  But for those of you who want to build a purpose-built rifle for long ranges (400-900yds), then by all means, get some good glass, or it’ll be the other way around. We could talk all day long about first focal planes (FFP) or second focal planes (SFP) or reticle design, or clarity, or matching reticles and adjustments (mil/mil!) or any of 100 different aspects of long range scopes.  Do your research.  There’s too much at stake in a high end scope to get it wrong the first time.  Take my recommendations above.  It’ll hurt at first to spend that much money, but you’ll thank yourself for as long as you own it. If you don’t want to educate yourself, then you should do a “spec build”.  Considerable research has already gone in to putting rifles into military service, and you can capitalize in that extensive research by just building a gun to spec or close to it (like a Mk12 mod 0, or mod 1, or mod Holland).

Low magnification scopes/ medium range scopes For a few years, low magnification scopes have been gaining in popularity.  With the looming war in Afghanistan, the Special Forces fielded T&E scopes in 2002 for their M4s that could give them the range opportunities of a 4x with the close in option of a 1x power.  1-4x and 1-6x scopes are wonderful options for the ranges you’ll be engaging most things with an M4 length gun (14-16″ barrel). Vortex makes my favorite option, balancing affordability with high quality glass, and a very functional lit reticle.  It’s what I carry on my every day hog gun.

My hog gun. Vortex 1-4 optic in Badger unimount.

My Weaver 1-4 has put down over 30 hogs and half a dozen coyotes in the 5-300 yard range over the last year and a half. Of course, the more high end companies like Leupold, Schmidt &Bender, Nightforce, Bushnell or even Vortex have come out with some higher priced models – and they’re impressive (I looked through most of them at SHOT show last year, and they’re awesome), but for the price difference, I really don’t think you can do much better than the Vortex 1-4 mentioned above for the price (also just got word that the Vortex 1-6 is being fielded by The Army’s CAG (the Unit/Delta)- take into consideration that their budget allows for any glass they could want, but they went with the new Vortex 1-6). Lighted reticles, quickly adjustable magnification rings, focus rings, Zero stop turrets, mil adjustable match turrets, and warranties should all factor in to picking this scope. The Vortex Strike Eagle is the dummed-down civilian version.

One thing you should be aware of: if you have a permanent front sight post, it can pitch you fits with this scope.  Unlike the unmagnified Aimpoints and holographic sights, you really need the sight picture to be free from obstacles when using any magnification, even 1x.

a friend’s magnified optic behind a FSP. Consider cutting the FSP off, and installing a flip up front sight if necessary.

Mounts: Scopes need a unimount on the AR15.  Don’t just put 2 scope rings on it.  On an AR’s aluminum receiver and pieced-together body, you really need the extra stability the unimount provides.  Larue is the industry standard (made in Tx!), but there’s nothing better than Badger Ordnance.  The cheapest best option in my opinion is the Aero Precision mount.  These kinds of mounts can be cantilevered forward to give you a little better eye relief, and they can be surprisingly expensive.  Bobro engineering is great, as is SPUHR and American Defense Mfg., but I think the best bang for the buck in scope mounts right now is the Aero Precision Ultralight SPR.

Red dots usually have their own mount, but if they don’t, you can find solid mounts from Aero, Larue, or Daniel Defense.  There are improvements to be had over the factory mounts, but they’re usually frills like quick disconnect throw levers high sided protection fins, and cantilevers to get them out in front of you a little way.

Kyle Defoor talking about fighting from a standing position

Kyle Defoor breaks down how to solidly lock up behind the carbine in terms of stance. I’ve found this to be incredibly sound advice.

 

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