AR15 Most practical optic magnification & reticle?

[SocomM4]

If youre shooting less than 300 yards, and using a very flat 50yard yard Zero, (like me) , then I'd suggest running an eotech. I have a 512 and the dot is 1moa, I love the damn thing.

[tomd1584]

I LOVE my 1.5x ACOG. I'm just as fast with it as I am with my aimpoints.

[nvision]

Eotech round reticle for close quarters and center 1moa for long range. Works awesome.

[ScottsBad]

I found that the size of the red dot on most optics is too large for longer distance shooting. Now I haven't tried the aimpoint micro that has the 2 moa dot. It might be "just right" and I'm hoping some who has it and has tried a variety of optics can comment.

I tried a VX3 1.5-5x and I found that 3x was max power that still allowed me to shoot both eyes open at closer distance. For longer shooting I close my left eye. I don't remember why but I didn't like this scope on my AR but I still have it.

I tried a 3x acog and I liked the reticle but I didn't like the very very short eyerelief. I prefered the AR332 but now I finding the reticle to be less than ideal.

Maybe expecting too much from one optic.

I own some of the optics that people have mentioned here. So I can comment on what my experience has been and impressions are.

I do want to make a comment on the ACOG first, there are many models of ACOG and some have much longer eye relief than others. The TA11F, for instance, is designed for both eyes open pointing and provides longer eye relief. Look for ACOGs that say BAC in the description. BAC is the Bindon Aiming Concept, both eyes open pointing.

Really, for 200 yards plus you would be served by a 1-4X or 1-6X variable scope. The problem is that glass and tubes are heavy (ACOGs are not that light either). Most of the good newer 1-4X scopes provide good eye relief that allows a shooter to point easily with both eyes open.

If you are zero at 50 yards a Trijicon Accupoint TR24R provides an EXCELLENT sight picture. I have a TR24R and an older TR21R, for the price they are very nice and the glass is functionally very good. The TR24R gives you a generous bright triangle. Simply zero at the tip of the triangle and you have a quick red-dot like aiming tool. Very bright daytime reticle, no battery, tritium lit reticle for complete dark, and if the incoming light gets too bright (like a flashlight shined in your direction in the dark) the red aiming triangle simply becomes a black triangle so you can still point. These are still pretty popular in three gun. This is a quality scope for the bucks.

I also have a SWFA 1-4X DOD reticle scope. Built like a tank with glass that blows my NightForce NXS 2.5-10X scope out of the water for clarity. This thing is really nice for the $$$. It is heavier than the Trijicon, but it seems to be built for rugged use.

The REALLY cool thing about the SWFA scope is the FFP reticle. At 1X it provides you a really clear donut reticle (DOD = Doughnut Of Death) for fast shooting like a Red-Dot.

As you zoom the SWFA to 4X the FFP reticles doughnut enlarges until you are looking though the doughnut at illuminated cross-hairs which gives you a finer aiming reticle. The reticle is etched which ensures that even with the illumination off you have a good reticle to shoot with.

The SWFA scope has good eye relief, great glass and a good eye box at 1X, but at 4X the eye box is not as forgiving. Your eye must be better aligned to the scope to keep the reticle clear than with the Trijicon. I think the trade off is worth it for the finer 4X reticle and clearer glass of the SWFA.

For red-dots I own Aimpoint T-1s and EOTech. I like the Aimpoint T-1, I have two of them, but they are the 4 MOA units, which are fine for 100 yards or less, and I know folks who shoot to 200 with them, but for me the dot (4 MOA = approx. 4 inches at 100 yards) is a bit large for more than maybe 100-150 yards.

I will say that I love the quality of the Aimpoint T-1 sights, they are rock solid and very very light weight. However, I would suggest the 2MOA version of the T-1 or the M4 2MOA sight, and maybe the Aimpoint PRO.

I also have an Aimpoint magnifier on a LaRue flip-to-side. Magnifiers are of limited use as you know, but they can come in handy some times. They are really not useful with a T-1 with a 4MOA dot. I'm keeping mine for later purpose.

I have an EoTech 557 which is an older model with the BDC. I like the reticle. It is a primarily a 65 MOA ring with a 1 MOA dot in the center. I have an EOTech 3X Gen2 flip to side magnifier. Problem with EOTech is that my eyes had some trouble with the reticle rendering. However the 1 MOA dot is more precise than the larger Aimpoint dots. Also, there have been some problems with EOTech reliability on some models and this is completely unacceptable in a high end optic.

I sent my EOTECH in recently and they replaced the guts with the newest electronics for free, but I just am not comfortable with the optic. I've probably only fired 150 rounds with it, but at this point I'm going to put it up for sale soon. If you buy an EOTech I would only buy the newer XPS versions.

So, I think you may want to look at the 1-4X optics if you are having issues with seeing the reticle and would like to shoot more than 150-200 yards.

The 1-4X scopes I would look at include:
Trijicon Accupoint TR24R
SWFA 1-4X
Vortex Viper 1-4X
Leupold VX-R and VX-R Patrol

There are others of course, some less, some more expensive, but these are reasonable for a good quality optic.

Red-dots are really most effective for CQB, but can be stretched for longer range. They are lighter (some are pretty heavy though) and easier to get on target fast, but on most if the reticle doesn't light up you cannot aim.

The only red-dots I could recommend would be made by Aimpoint.

The Trijicon SRS and new RMR with LED look good, but I have no experience with them.

Anyway, good luck.

[dragon7]

I have had a 4X32 ACOG on my lightweight AR going on 2 years now and find it's relative lightweight, compact size, and ruggedness ideal. I have the green horseshoe reticle which is bright even in daylight and makes bracketing any target very quick and accurate. Anything between 50 and 250 is mine to score on. The only task, for me at least, it isn't ideal for is CQB. Having to offset the center illuminated reticle is not intuitive. I know with more training I would become more comfortable with the offset however I've decided to solve the ACOG's shortcoming by adding a T-1 Aimpoint on an angled mount to my carbines rail just forward of the ACOG. I know Trijicon has an ACOG model with a top mounted mini red dot but having tried it I found the loss of my cheek weld very unstable due to the height of the red dot. Larue has an image on their website of just such an arrangement which was my inspiration for going this route.