So as the title says, I bought a Scar17.
I'll be picking it up next weekend.
In the meantime.. I'm shopping around for which optic to put on it.

The rifle will be used for range fun (from 50 to about 500 meters) and SHTF.
I'm a big fan of "Buy once cry once".

So all that being said.... I've got a few contenders:

Nightforce NX8
Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42
Trijicon AccuPower 1-8
Elcan Specter TR 1-3-9

Question:
So... which would you choose and why?

Choices:
NX8
NXS 2.5-10
Accupower 1-8
Specter TR
Something else (explain)

 

I think the various 1-6x and 1-8x scopes are tailor made for this application.

CQB and it's Aimpoint all the way, but a SCAR 17 with a 1-8x scope will own real estate from 50m out to 600m easy while still being usable for SHTF room clearing in a pinch.

Congrats, the SCAR 17 is a great rifle.

I suggest wringing it out with the irons for a couple hundred rounds to get the feel of the rifle. It's lightweight and handy (until you weigh it down with stuff ).

My optics experience includes a IOR 1.5-8x (nice but too heavy), a Leupold 1.5-4x (light, but low end of 1.5x sucks), Aimpoint M4S (great but only 1x), and NF 2.5-10x24 (currently, like it a lot).

IME, the weapon loses some if it's handiness / feel once you put more than about 20oz of optic on top (plus about 8-10 oz of a mounting system).

With the polymer lower and the higher rail, I feel that added weight up top makes it easy to tip left and right when transitioning laterally with the weapon - ie, you stop the rifle on target, but the top wants to keep moving or 'tip'. N/A if you are just a bench / prone shooter.

I really like the NF 2.5-10x24 but I'm strongly considering a new NF NX8 or ATACR 1-8. Reports I've seen are most people like the ATACR more on 308 guns due to the more generous eyebox over the NX8, but I'm not sure I want to wait to squirrel away another $1K to make the leap from NX8 to ATACR. I may get the NX8 and if it doesn't work on the 17, move it to a AR15 and start saving again.

I've looked through the Trijicon 1-8 at SHOT but I don't like both exposed turrets and the meh illumination on the Accupower series (I owned a 1-4x but never had it on the 17. Did great on a 16 though). It's also heavy and not daylight bright illumination (yes, you can see it in the day sometimes, but it's not what is commonly considered daylight bright).

I think the Elcans are dated, but that's just me - but the fan club on FN Forum still think they are 'the shit', FWIW.

I'd also consider the Kahles K16I (I am as well). I'd look at the Vortex Razor 1-6 if they weren't all so heavy.

I have a Leupold VX6 1-6 on mine and love it.

Acog. keep it simple

I haven't tried the NX8, but the 2.5-10x I have used for quite some time and a zillion rounds. Its just about perfect for this rifle.
FWIW.

Leupold MK VI
Kahles 1-6
Swaro 1-8

Elcan 1.5-6x

So I've been sitting here mulling this over...

I already have a Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x32 that I bought a while ago (they don't make these anymore).
I originally bought it for a Sig 716 that I had at the time (semi-recently sold that rifle).
It's currently sitting on an AR that I built to be a DMR type gun.... but I can't get accuracy out of this thing to save my life.

So I'm strongly considering simply stealing the scope from that gun and slapping it onto the Scar...

quote:

Originally posted by creslin:
So I'm strongly considering simply stealing the scope from that gun and slapping it onto the Scar...

If you are considering a NF 2.5-10x42 but have a x32, definitely rob it and give it a go on the SCAR 17.

You'll likely go through some iterations getting the 17 set up the way you like it but the x32 is a great scope (I have one myself but never used it on the 17).

quote:

Originally posted by creslin:
So as the title says, I bought a Scar17.
I'll be picking it up next weekend.
In the meantime.. I'm shopping around for which optic to put on it.

The rifle will be used for range fun (from 50 to about 500 meters) and SHTF.
I'm a big fan of "Buy once cry once".

So all that being said.... I've got a few contenders:

Nightforce NX8
Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42
Trijicon AccuPower 1-8
Elcan Specter TR 1-3-9

Given your location and that you’re shooting out to 500m, I’m guessing that you shoot at Woody’s. If 0-500 is your intended role, you want the NF 1-8 ATACR.

There is a good discussion re: nx8 vs ATACR 1-8 here: http://www.m4carbine.net/showt...rock-NF-ATACR-or-NXS

I have a kahles k16i with sm-1 reticle and a ATACR 1-8. The k16i has been on my KAC ACC, but now that the atacr has arrived, it will be moved to a 16” recce-type 5.56.

Vortex Very well made Clean image Fairly priced. Chris

Congrats on the new rifle!

I have the NF 2.5-10x42 on my 17S SBR w/13" barrel. I've shot it out to 700 yards and it's an excellent choice for mid-range use. The larger objective is noticeably better for low light hunting than 1x scopes. I also like the exposed turrets with zero-stop for quick/easy adjustments when installing or removing the QD suppressor.

I've used it for quick shots on running hogs at ~50 yards and it was fine for that (picture below), but 2.5x is to much for CQB use. So if that was your primary goal, and you didn't care as much about low-light performance I'd go with the 1-8x ATACR instead. 8x mag on the top end should be plenty for 500 yards with quality glass. I haven't been hunting hogs nearly as much lately so I've been looking at that new 1-8x ATACR as well.

The 17S can get a bit jumpy under recoil if you keep it lightweight, especially since they are typically over gassed from the factory. So I would prefer the more forgiving eyebox of the ATACR 1-8x over the NX8 for the 17S.

If youve got the coin, my top 2 choices would be the Kahles 1-6 or ATACR 1-8.

I went with the Trjicon 1-8, mainly becaue NF hadnt released their higher pwoer LPVO at the time. My main consideration when looking for an optic for the 17 was durabilty and magnification. I wanted 1x on the bottom and as much as I could get on the top. There weren't many x8 options a the time and those that did have them, I dont feel would have the durability factor that Trijicon is known for....at least in my price range. I have no intentions of swapping to anything else unless it offers all the same features at a substantial reduction in weight......at around the same price.

Those are all nice optics and I'd likely pop that Nightforce off the DMR you mentioned if it was me.

I'm currently running a Burris XTR2 1.5-8 and I like it quite a bit. I would prefer it to be 1x on the bottom end though.

Congrats on the new 17. Got mine years ago before the price increase. Put on a Leupold Mark 4 CQ/T and was able to to ring steel out to a least 500 yrds. Good for my purposes for minute of man at that range.

NX8 all things other than CQB. Best all around optic I have ever owned. Light(for 1-8). Aimpoint-like at 1x. Incredible build and glass quality. Eye box is tight at 8x. Prefer mil vs moa on this one.

I chose the Trijicon Acog TA 33-R9 for my Scar 17. It’s not ideal for further ranges but no batteries and awesome cust service are a biggie for me. If not the Acog I’d probably go Trij Accu.

Finally went and picked it up today!
Here it is just after unboxing:





And here it is after I had my way with it:

Nice, good call on the MREX - it makes the SCAR front end SOOO Much more ergonomic by shortening the top to bottom girth, among other things.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Nice, good call on the MREX - it makes the SCAR front end SOOO Much more ergonomic by shortening the top to bottom girth, among other things.

Had it sitting around in a parts bin.
I bought it a while back for use with my scar16.
But then a year ago I turned that into an SBR and put PMM rails on it.