This past weekend, I shot a match called Hard as Hell 2 Gun in the St. George area. Among a long list of lessons learned, one of the few that’s able to be purchased is a new scope.

Currently I have a Leupold VX-HD 1-5 with the duplex reticle, FireDot, and CDS turret. The carbine is currently a 16” HBAR but will be upgraded to a better 16-18” barrel of medium weight.

The scope works great at 1x, is not overly heavy and is clear with workable eye relief. I was able to see and hit the 200-300yrd targets just ok.

However, I personally want more than 5x for the 300yd A/C steel targets. I’m not that good yet but even so, trying to hold at the edge of the target for specific aiming point was rough. A reticle with hash marks would be appreciated as well as maybe Mil turrets. It was all hold over as I need more time behind the glass and a better range card. This match we were able to know the distance to the target.

I’m not opposed to higher magnification and an offset red dot but would like to stay with only the LPVO for this gun.

Use: 3 gun type competition, Tactical Games etc.
Price: $2,000 or less if possible. Mount not included in this.
Weight: Average, with the edge to durability over light weight

I can't tell you with any sort of 'comparative' analysis. You'll have to hope fritz or one of the others checks in. But I am a NF person and I have both the ATACR 1-8 (above your budget) and the NX8 1-8. Ive shot both quite a bit and while there are for sure differences I've been completely happy with the latter as a competitive 3 gun type optic.

I personally own multiple NX8s.
I also own a sig tango6 1-6

I LOVE the field of view on the sig.
But in every other aspect it loses out to the NX8.
The NX8 is FFP so when you're sitting at 1x for the close up stuff - the reticle is super tiny - and the illumination is bright enough to EASILY make this thing do double duty as a red dot - even in the brightest sunny day.
You can also frequently find demo versions at eurooptic for a cheaper price.
Oh look...
MIL
MOA

Thanks. I was looking at the NX8 and several folks at the match liked them.

IOR, Trijicon or Kahles maybe. I do not think you need to spend $2000.

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:


Use: 3 gun type competition, Tactical Games etc.
Price: $2,000 or less if possible. Mount not included in this.
Weight: Average, with the edge to durability over light weight

The Vortex Razor-E 1-6 with the JM1 reticle would be a perfect fit. Fantastic glass. Well established track record as probably the most ubiquitous LPVO used in 3-gun. JM1 reticle is fast and intuitive for holdovers. I have and understand MIL scopes and have chosen a proper BDC for 3 gun because it works so well for that type of shooting.

Kahles K16 is killer. Love mine - I think best in class among the 1-6 LPVO. Lighter than the Razor, four reticles to choose from, very bright dot...

with the release of the K18, prices on the K16 are <$2K.

Hard to beat the NF NX8 for your stated needs. I currently own a Kahles k16i and NF ATACR 1-8. Several friends have the NX8. On a 5.56, the NX8 is great. And the price fits your budget.

quote:

Originally posted by feersum dreadnaught:
Kahles K16 is killer. Love mine - I think best in class among the 1-6 LPVO. Lighter than the Razor, four reticles to choose from, very bright dot...

with the release of the K18, prices on the K16 are <$2K.

The Kahles is exceptional. The Razor came out first and I am very happy with mine and the JM1 reticle, but I can't think of a single bad thing to say about the Kahles.

The NX8 is fantastic too but it is a little more less forgiving at 1x than the Kahles or Vortex Razor. It is light though!

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaBoy:

The Kahles is exceptional. The Razor came out first and I am very happy with mine and the JM1 reticle, but I can't think of a single bad thing to say about the Kahles.

The NX8 is fantastic too but it is a little more less forgiving at 1x than the Kahles or Vortex Razor. It is light though!

There is no wrong choice between the Razor HD2e 1-6, k16i, and nx8. All three are excellent, albeit with differing pros/cons, but not a bad one amongst them.

quote:

Originally posted by JoshNC:

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaBoy:

The Kahles is exceptional. The Razor came out first and I am very happy with mine and the JM1 reticle, but I can't think of a single bad thing to say about the Kahles.

The NX8 is fantastic too but it is a little more less forgiving at 1x than the Kahles or Vortex Razor. It is light though!

There is no wrong choice between the Razor HD2e 1-6, k16i, and nx8. All three are excellent, albeit with differing pros/cons, but not a bad one amongst them.

Agreed.

I'm not an LPVO specialist by any means.

I wrote about the latest one from March in my stickied thread in this forum, and it happens to be at the end of the thread.

The March 1-10X24 with the DR-1 reticle is the state of the art in LPVO offerings. The dual reticle is made up of an FFP with ranging marks, married to an SFP with a solid crosshair and daylight visible green dot. The zoom range is 10X, going from 1X to 10X and you can see the FFP reticle grow while the crosshairs and greed dot remain the same size.

The unit is small and light and is very solid.

It is outside your price range by several hundred dollars.
https://marchscopes.com/scopes/d10sv24fiml/

quote:

Originally posted by NikonUser:
I'm not an LPVO specialist by any means.

I wrote about the latest one from March in my stickied thread in this forum, and it happens to be at the end of the thread.

The March 1-10X24 with the DR-1 reticle is the state of the art in LPVO offerings. The dual reticle is made up of an FFP with ranging marks, married to an SFP with a solid crosshair and daylight visible green dot. The zoom range is 10X, going from 1X to 10X and you can see the FFP reticle grow while the crosshairs and greed dot remain the same size.

The unit is small and light and is very solid.

It is outside your price range by several hundred dollars.
https://marchscopes.com/scopes/d10sv24fiml/

You just cost me my next paycheck.

I played with one a couple of times and also showed it to a good friend of mine who builds rifles in his gunshop, not far from me. I had to use a crowbar to pry it out of his hands.

If you do get one, guard it jealously. Just a word to the wise here.

Well, thanks a lot. I looked at the specs on the March and that looks like a sweet unit. Under $2k is still my preference but that might be close enough to do some trading for. A late summer purchase anyway, no matter the scope.

The downer is there aren’t many folks around that have higher end carbine optics to look through. Dealers have mostly Vortex, Leupold and some Nightforce but all more suited to long range bolt guns or tight budgets.

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:
Well, thanks a lot. I looked at the specs on the March and that looks like a sweet unit. Under $2k is still my preference but that might be close enough to do some trading for. A late summer purchase anyway, no matter the scope.

The downer is there aren’t many folks around that have higher end carbine optics to look through. Dealers have mostly Vortex, Leupold and some Nightforce but all more suited to long range bolt guns or tight budgets.

Hey Riley, don't blame me for spending your money; any time someone comes here and says, help me chose ..., that person deserves everything coming at them. I know, you set parameters, I just like showing what's beyond the known limits. But you're still in control because it's ultimately your decision how to spend your $$$.

As I said at the outset, I am not an LPVO aficionado; I'm an old geezer and running around with 2 or 3 guns and blasting away is just not something that I can do anymore and not get hurt or bruised doing it.

F-class is perfect for me; high-pressure, high accuracy, low physical impact. So LPVOs are just not indicated. However, this Shorty 1-10X24 with the DR-1 reticle is simply amazing. I could not get over the reticle the first time I played with one, and it's built like a friggin' tank, the Abrams kind. If you decide to buy one, let me know. I do not sell anything and I have not financial interest in any of this, but I can help you with your March purchasing decision. That goes for everyone here.

I do appreciate it! Just a little humor as I know full well the consequences of asking for recommendations here. Hehe.

quote:

Originally posted by NikonUser:
I'm not an LPVO specialist by any means.

I wrote about the latest one from March in my stickied thread in this forum, and it happens to be at the end of the thread.

The March 1-10X24 with the DR-1 reticle is the state of the art in LPVO offerings. The dual reticle is made up of an FFP with ranging marks, married to an SFP with a solid crosshair and daylight visible green dot. The zoom range is 10X, going from 1X to 10X and you can see the FFP reticle grow while the crosshairs and greed dot remain the same size.

The unit is small and light and is very solid.

It is outside your price range by several hundred dollars.
https://marchscopes.com/scopes/d10sv24fiml/

That is one awesome optic! I wonder what type of mount a person would use with it. Probably a single ring type for an Aimpoint PRO maybe?

quote:

Originally posted by Belgian Blue:
That is one awesome optic! I wonder what type of mount a person would use with it. Probably a single ring type for an Aimpoint PRO maybe?

You do not want a single ring scope mount, the scope will move far to easily. You want a two ring mount. Currently, March branded mounts are made in San Marino by Audere.sm and they have one specifically designed for this scope.
You can see it here and they are being sent to dealers in the USA this month.

https://www.marchscopes.co.uk/...x24-shorty-unimount/