Optics dilemma! Any advice?

[singhdrew an]

Hey all,
I have a bit of a fork in the road that I'm a bit stumped to go forward from. The AR that I currently shoot the most is my 18". It has an acog on it and the BDC works great for my 62 gr handloads and factory loads (duh). However, since I've gotten into reloading in the past year, it doesn't work too well for my 77 gr handloads (also duh). I've made the decision that my next step is to get a different scope (mil based). I'm strongly considering a USO MR10. However, I have an opportunity to get into a barely used steiner military 3-12x50. Do you guys think a 50mm objective is too big for an AR? I'm not too big on HUGE magnification and I even think 12x is too much as it is (especially on 223). All the scopes I have (Vortex PST FFP, and a couple IOR's) have a max power of 10 and I have no problems making out targets at long range. Any ideas on this? Should I just go for the US optics? Or should I take the next step and get out of my comfort zone? At this point, I'm thinking of just slapping the ACOG on another rifle (or slap it back on with a QD if I'm shooting with 62gr ammo). Thanks for any insight guys, pretty torn at this point.

[tonyxcom]

Just find out how your current BDC works with the 77gr ammo.

[ExtremeX]

I've actually been in your shoes... I had a TA31F for years but I didn't like being tied into one load with that BDC, and even with that it wasn't really perfect. I am more of a target / distance shooter than my natural tendency was to move away from BDC in general, even though I loved my ACOG.

After trying many different items, including a couple 5-20x50 and 6-24x60 sized optics on ARs, I found that I much prefer the low power variable, 1-4, 1-6x, 1-8x, 2.5-10x type ranges.

The SWFA SS and SS HD scopes are have fixed 10x options (own and have used both the classic and HD fixed 10x), but if you can afford the USO, that would be a really nice scope.

I think the SPR type builds can really benefit from a low power variable.

I too find 50mm objectives a little on the bulky end for anything other than a bench gun, but that doesn't stop me from using them either. I have an SWFA 5-20x50 on a QD mount that I use for load dev.

The smaller 44mm objectives and smaller fit pretty well on that sized platform... the overall package being more versatile and manageable.

Really just depends on the type of shooting you want, but a fixed 10x USO with an EREK knob has been on my wish list for a long time too.

These days I load nothing but match ammo, dont care about playing guessing games with a BDC... I dial drop for everything I own these days. I like the versatility and accuracy. 55/62gr stuff never shot the way I wanted it to, and if you reload, the cost difference to just top it all off with a nice bullet is only a few cents more. Point being I ultimately just sold the ACOG and moved on as it no longer fit my shooting style.

[singhdrew an]

Just find out how your current BDC works with the 77gr ammo.

Unfortunately, it's a bit too arbitrary for my liking, as ExtremeX put it

I've actually been in your shoes... I had a TA31F for years but I didn't like being tied into one load with that BDC, and even with that it wasn't really perfect. I am more of a target / distance shooter than my natural tendency was to move away from BDC in general, even though I loved my ACOG.

After trying many different items, including a couple 5-20x50 and 6-24x60 sized optics on ARs, I found that I much prefer the low power variable, 1-4, 1-6x, 1-8x, 2.5-10x type ranges.

The SWFA SS and SS HD scopes are have fixed 10x options (own and have used both the classic and HD fixed 10x), but if you can afford the USO, that would be a really nice scope.

I think the SPR type builds can really benefit from a low power variable.

I too find 50mm objectives a little on the bulky end for anything other than a bench gun, but that doesn't stop me from using them either. I have an SWFA 5-20x50 on a QD mount that I use for load dev.

The smaller 44mm objectives and smaller fit pretty well on that sized platform... the overall package being more versatile and manageable.

Really just depends on the type of shooting you want, but a fixed 10x USO with an EREK knob has been on my wish list for a long time too.

These days I load nothing but match ammo, dont care about playing guessing games with a BDC... I dial drop for everything I own these days. I like the versatility and accuracy. 55/62gr stuff never shot the way I wanted it to, and if you reload, the cost difference to just top it all off with a nice bullet is only a few cents more. Point being I ultimately just sold the ACOG and moved on as it no longer fit my shooting style.

Wow, I feel you voiced my feelings much better than I could! The MR10 is what I'm looking at, which is a 1.8-10. If this was on my bolt gun or my M1A, I'd definitely be looking at the fixed 10. Thanks so much for the insight, especially about running the bigger scopes on an AR. I also am a fan of the HD SWFA scopes. However, every time I ordered one, they were on backorder and I always went with the IOR comparable scope, haha. Thanks so much again! I'll definitely update the post on my decision.

[singhdrew an]

Just purchased the MR-10 1.8-10 from US Optics!

[ExtremeX]

wow... very nice OP. I am excited for you, that's a nice investment.

You should do a write up with some pictures once you get it, id like to see what you think compared to your other scopes.

[HK Dave]

Nice choice!

[ElvenSoul]

Burris XTR

http://www.savinglots.com/lotprod.asp?item=201020&classic=true

[singhdrew an]

Thanks all, I'll definitely do a write up with pictures!!

[singhdrew an]

Updating soon!