Forums / Gun Discussion / Best Scope For AR-15?

Are you primarily looking for a precision rifle or a CQB rifle (besides the occasional 300-500 yd shots)? What is your budget?

If you're talking carbine length rifle at paper, cardboard, steel, and people, then an ACOG is a great sight. If you're talking full length rifle shooting for pinpoint accuracy, I love the Leupold MK3 or MK4 series.

CQB Rifle Reaper and as for the budget, I would like to see under $250, under $500 and then unlimited. I have some funds for this but wondering how much to allocate.

250 will get you a lot, but most of it won't be very high quality. At the 500 mark, you start getting into the EO Tech and Aimpoint categories as well as some fairly decent rifle scopes. ACOGs will run from around 800 to over 1700. My suggestion is to list exactly what your specs are, then we can give you a good idea from there. Your original post said out to 300 with the rare 400-500 yards, and then your said CQB. There aren't many sights out there that will accomodate that. The Leupold CQ/T is one possibility. Another is a J-point mount. This allows you to have a rifle scope mounted on top with a smaller mount housing a small red dot to the side so you can fire long shots and simply cant the rifle slightly for close shots. I don't know who makes them off the top of my head, but a google search for j point sight should help out

Normal cross hair in a scope covers 1" at 100 Yd's, a Red dot 3" to 5" at 100yds for those long shots you will have to know the ballistic trajectory
on a dope card or have a scope matched to the caliber.

I have a 2X which seems to work quite a bit better for CQB than their normal 4X. You'd be suprised at the groups you can still shoot at 300 yds with a 2X. As thegayrunaway mentioned, ACOG's can get expensive. I also agree with looking at the CQ/T. 1-3X is good for CQB and having fun at the range.

I've had great luck with a Millett Designated Marksman Scope. Its in the $250 range and the 1-4x magnification and illuminated circle dot retical are great for most any target engagement. It is as good for up close quick shots as the 300yd precision shot with the 1moa dot. Just an idea.

I have the CQT and it is a good scope, clear optics and the reticle is etched so if you run out of batteries, you still have a reticle. I also custom ordered a BDC MK4 from Leupold. Works great and helps with some of the computations, this was designed for a semi auto AR style "precision" gun, so I will have to put a DR on it as well for the close up shots.

One thing I do not like about the CQT is its weight, but it is very rugged and has taken some violence and kept on working, okay I dropped the rifle...what can I say, I was retarded at that instant. It held zero so I was pretty happy. If this is meant to go on your defense rifle, I would not skimp. I would consider what has been written here and go check out the scopes for yourself. I would stay away from anything cheap, as cheap tends to break when you need it most. I bought my CQT at a gun show, I was able to haggle $150 off the asking price. You might consider that as a way of acquiring a good scope for a decent price.

clint

This is the Red Dot/Scope that I intend to mount on my RFB. Great warranty, 100% waterproof. Has a price tag of around $700-$900 dollars on most sites, although you may be able to find it for less. Runs on AA batteries with ~600 hour battery life. Etched dot so even if you lose power, the scope still works. I did quite a bit of research on the red dot/scopes and this is the one that I thought was the best option. As a side note, according to Leupold, they are the most commonly used scope by our military forces. I've got a package deal for the CQ/T with my RFB (CQ/T at cost with the RFB at listed price) which will get me under the $700 dollar mark.

Leupold also makes an MR/T (medium range/tactical) and LR/T (long range/tactical) if you feel the CQ/T isn't enough magnification.

In summary, I'm with clint on this one. You can check out the product on Leupold's website here:
http://www.leupold.com/tactical/products/scopes/mark-4-cqt-riflescopes/

wish they had those when i was in.What type mount would you recommend for that?

The Throw lever mount, as the RFB has a standard 1913 Picatinny rail for optics. You can see the Leupold product specs here:

http://www.leupold.com/tactical/products/mounting-systems-and-accessorie...

This mount is about $100 average price.

Note that I don't have this scope yet, as I don't have the RFB yet. Dealer wouldn't ship the scope until the RFB is available, so this is based solely on my research.

However, BlackPearl stated that they are looking for a flat-top, so maybe as a different option:
http://www.leupold.com/tactical/products/mounting-systems-and-accessorie...

if this is the system chosen. Optics Planet has the flat top for about $42.

To clarify though, I'm not sure if Leupold is saying the CQ/T is the most common scope used, I think that they say the Leupold brand is the most commonly used scope brand by the military. There are also a lot of ACOG's and Eotechs in use by our soldiers. There's a lot more that could be said about the CQ/T, honestly-but the link to the product on the Leupold site should cover most of that.

I would use LaRue's LT106

I just checked that one out. Why do you like this one better than the Leupold? Is it the superior finish or does it have better return to zero?

I have been using Larue and GG&G mounts for years. They both put out very high quality stuff. While I can vouch for Leupolds glass, I've never used their mounts. As a matter of fact, Leupold doesn't make this mount. It's an A.R.M.S # 12 mount. I'm not saying that the A.R.M.S # 12 mount is inferior, just that I know for a fact that the LT106 is good, so I would personally choose it. You can also lock the throw levers on the LT106, not sure if you can do that on the A.R.M.S. The LT106 is type-III anodized so it will last. If you want to save a couple bucks, the A.R.M.S may work, but its really not that much cheaper. I have also heard of many A.R.M.S mount's levers breaking or not holding a zero, but again I have no personal experience. The guys at LaRue are really good guys, so I like to support them as much as I can. Just my $.0000000000002.

If your looking for something that functions and is not going to pull the vault door on top of you.

Barska offers some low budget effective scopes for all configuration...

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Barska&hl=en&client=opera&hs=IG...

I had three different mounts for my CQT. I ended up using the LaRue because it had the slimmest profile. Not to mention you get a free dillo with every order...

clint

I found out, after eye surgery on my right eye that I am left eye dominant. Don't know if I was ever right eye dominant or not. All of my shooting, pistol,AR-15
and 308 pattern are low left. All the weapons shoot fine for normal right handed, right eye dominant shooters. I have a 3-9X42 scope on the AF and I have a red/green halo but can't seem to get the target align to bullseye. Left hand shooting is out of the question. I am 68 and changing is not an option. Is there an attachment to the Picatinny that will place the scope slightly to the left side? Has anyone been able to shoot with both eyes open. Thanks for any help.
Viet Nam Vet . that should make a difference. Fred

If you're using a scope, then eye dominance should not be an issue. As long as you don't have any shadowing in the field of view and the scope is mounted level, you should be able to shoot either way. As far as shooting with a pistol, practice canting the weapon 10 or 15 degrees toward your left eye. This will put the sights within the line of sight of your dominant eye without requiriing you to move your head and it isn't a significant enough cant to throw your rounds at pistol distances.

Something else that may help is a shooting patch or cover for your left eye to allow you to use your right eye with a right hand hold.

I'm lucky in that it comes natural to shoot both eyes open, I can actually see my rear, front sights and the target...

They are priced around $100 bucks for the 3x32 carbine model ,to about $200 for the p-223 3x9x40 , to about $300 for the m-223 3x9x40. I dont see much diffrence between the m-223 and the p-223 honestly.

Thats what i thought. awesome scope for an ar, Ill have one on my carbon 15 before its all over.