I know little to nothing about rifle scopes generally but I want to put one on a DD AR .223/5.56.

I am thinking 1-4 magnification as my range and needs do not go to more than 300 yards, usually more like 100. The purpose of the rifle is home defense but the reality is it is for fun at the range, I am more inclined to a handgun if I ever found myself in a home defense situation. I want decent quality but not the best. Lighter and more compact is better.

I am kind of hovering around the Vortex Crossfire II for around $200 with the Vortex cantilever mount. For now I want to go with a scope not a red dot for longer range accuracy (within the limits I mentioned above). I would appreciate any thoughts on the Crossfire or other options.

$200 doesn't go far in the scope world I have found out.

I used a Primary Arms 1-6 for a bit and have a 1-8 now.
Both Second Focal Plane, which works well enough for me and I like the ACSS reticle.

I do want to step it up a bit into the $1,500 range one of these days.

thanks Powermad. I am less concerned about the cost if we are talking about a couple hundred or so more but not wanting to spend $1,ooo or more. I also am disinclined to a 1-6 or 1-8 due to increased length and weight and more because at my distances I don't really think I need that much magnification anyway. Primary Arms has a 1 - 4 but it is a bit bigger and heavier. Hoping someone has some experience with the Crossfire or similar/.

This thread from March re: LVPO's had lots of good info on the subject...

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/1210044094

Most budget 1-4 thru 1-8 scopes are about the same weight and length.
Around 10" long and around 16 oz.

Compact ones usually start around $1,500.

I started with a red dot and 4x magnifier.
Didn't like that so went with a 1-6 and now a 1-8. Which is 10" long and 16.9 oz

The Sig MSR 1-6 is about $300 and comes with the mount, caps and throw lever. It's 18.5 oz.

It seems like every time I look, scope prices go up and availability drops.
If there is something you're interested in you may want to get it while it's in stock.

1-6x LPVO's are coming into the "budget" market.
Seems to be some "good" ones in the $300 street price range and seem to double in price at every step up.
Burris, Sig, Vortex, and Primary Arms all have ones in that price point, they are so close it is a tough choice between them, do some research to figure out which one suits your preference.

Depends on your budget, needs.

I have a Luepold VXR patrol and 2 Burris RT-6's that I really like. I got my last RT-6 for about 300 plus free shipping

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Marcushoss,

The link from nhracecraft was really helpful. I did a search before I first posted but missed that thread. Thanks

I think I am now looking at three (all prices Euro Optic):

Vortex crossfire - $199
Leupold Freedom - $299
Trijicon Accupoint - $714

I have two questions about the Leupold. It is a 20mm objective as compared to the others which are 24mm. Also the objective is not adjustable. How important is this?

Also from what I have read the center red dot on the Crossfire is said to be difficult to see in bright light. Does anyone have experience with this scope and this feature?

Last question, any thoughts on whether the Trijicon is worth the extra money? I can go there if its really worth it but for my limited needs and knowledge having a hard time figuring out the value is there.

Thanks again.

don't go the chicom route. Go Trijicon

Both Leupold and Trijicon are US companies. All Leupold manufacturing is in the US. Trijicon manufacturing is in the US and Japan. At least that's what I am finding online.

I didn't really think about this but after some quick research what I found is that Vortex is a mixed bag. It also is s US company, with manufacturing in the US, Philippines and China. The Crossfire line I am considering is made in China. That is a consideration for me as I try to avoid Chinese manufactured products where possible. So many products from phones to cars to so many other things have bits and parts sourced from there its almost impossible to avoid entirely. I know from previous threads that many members here own Vortex scopes, although not necessarily the Crossfire line so not sure how to look st this one. I have to give that some thought.

I still would appreciate any substantive input especially as to these questions. Thanks again for all the responses.

Vortex Crossfire and Strike Eagle lines are built in China. IMO the Crossfire isn't all that well built, but the Strike Eagle is a pretty decent scope for the money. Common problems with lower-tier scopes include:
- Cheaper construction of turrets. For those of us who constantly dial elevation when shooting, turrets are a big deal. Lesser turrets do change elevation/windage accurately, and the mechanical controls tend to fail with moderate use.
- Poor optical quality at the scope's highest magnification.
- Poor differentiation between light and dark objects that are side by side. The colors bleed into each other.

Understand that a cheap scope of today will almost certainly be significantly clearer than a good quality scope from decades ago. Today's cheap scopes may fail mechanically in relatively short order, but the view through the scope will be clearer and brighter.

Vortex Viper PST II scopes are built in the Philippines. These are really quite good scopes, with a wide variety of magnification ranges for various uses. The glass quality is quite good, and so far mine has held up over a few years of use. For rifles that don't need a Nightforce scope, Vortex works for me.

******
Based on your original post, I suspect you are more familiar with pistols than rifles. I was in the same boat at one time, and had challenges spending much money on rifle scopes. Over time I realized that a scope is the effectively the steering system for the rifle. If I desired accurate results from a quality rifle, I needed to spend some money on the optic. Given my poor vision, this is especially true.

A DD rifle is a quality rifle and it deserves a quality optic to exploit its potential. To put things in perspective, I have a couple of ARs from Wilson Combat that wear Nightforce scopes -- scopes that cost as much as the rifle.

Another vote for Leupold.

I have a Crossfire II that bought on sale a couple years ago. It's OK, a decent scope for what I paid for it, but now I mostly keep a RDS on that rifle instead of the glass. The Crossfire is sitting on a shelf these days. I only mount it on the rifle for load testing. The biggest thing I don't like about it is the elevation and windage knob detents are really soft, it's hard to tell by feel how far you've turned them.

Leupold would be my first choice in the price range.

The SWFA scopes have been excellent. The HD models have great glass, and SWFA has very excellent reticles.

Their scopes tend to be heavy duty, and somewhat heavy. However I notice they have a new 2.5-10 that is very light weight. Check their sample list, the three scopes I bought from there were excellent.

Since you're looking at EuroOptic, I'd recommend this Trijicon AccuPower 1-4x24 at $649.60 over the AccuPoint, though I'm not sure which one you're considering.

https://www.eurooptic.com/Trij...m-Matte-Black-R.aspx

Reticles are important to me and I REALLY like the BDC Reticle on this LVPO! I've got the same Reticle on the previous gen AccuPower 1-4x24 Scope, and I like it enough that I'm planning to get the Trijicon Credo 1-6x24 with the same reticle for another rifle!


ETA - That said, here's an Trijicon AccuPoint TR24R w/ ADM Mount in the SIGforum Classified that 'might' interest you...

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/8490075194

Fritz nailed it. I am definitely not experienced with rifles, and because of that I was thinking a cheap scope would be adequate enough on a quality rifle. So I am raising my sights (HA!).

nhrececrafts Eurooptic link took me a Trijicon Creedo which is clearly a big step up from what I had been looking at before at a still acceptable $650. https://www.eurooptic.com/Trij...e-Black-R.aspx[/url]

But at the bottom of that page there is a Steiner 1-4 demo scope for exactly the same money. https://www.eurooptic.com/Stei...Riflescope-5202.aspx

I am generally familiar with Steiner as being very high quality glass, and the reviews are positive. And I am not concerned about the demo part. So I bought it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kho,

You can find some used Leupolds out there for good deal. I find 1x4 is not enough for me. I have one rifle with 1x6 and another with 4.5x14 Burris. I like the extra magnification on my AR's. I am also using the Leupold and Aero Scope mounts and they both hold zero. Good Luck.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1009282264/

Yeah now I am trying to decide on a mount. Looking for cantilever style. But this is easier than deciding on the scope.

As to the 1 - 4 I think I will be fine with that at the distances I shoot and for my general purposes. If not, I have options. And alot of good info from this thread.

quote:

Originally posted by kho:
Yeah now I am trying to decide on a mount. Looking for cantilever style. But this is easier than deciding on the scope.

As to the 1 - 4 I think I will be fine with that at the distances I shoot and for my general purposes. If not, I have options. And a lot of good info from this thread.

Vortex makes a nice cantilever mount. I found them much cheaper on eBay.

Great suggestion, thats what I just did. Thanks.