Looking for an lpvo in the $300ish range. The Sig and Vortex pop up for sale in that range and the PA is right in there as well. Any others in that price range I should consider? Which would you choose? It's going on an 18" AR. I'm just looking for as close to a decent do it all as I can find in that price range for my old eyes.

It's pretty much a pick 'em, in that range.  Pick a reticle you like and go with it.  I don't care for the ^ so that takes PA out of the equation for me.  Take a look at Swampfox as well.

Never used the Sig.

It's been a few years since I've looked through a Strike Eagle. After looking through the one I bought, I didn't even mount it. I just sent it back and bought a Trijicon Accupower.

I recently bought a PA SLX 1-6 for an AR10. I bought it really because I wanted to see the Nova reticle. I have been impressed with it. Don't get me wrong, the glass isn't amazing, but it's really impressive for a $300 optic. The Nova reticle is awesome for close to midrange distances. It truly is like shooting with a red dot sight up close (minus the bloom) and you still have to ability to reach out a bit or for positive identification.

Edit. Saw the above poster mention Swampfox. I tried one of theirs only because Michael Branson was working for them at the time. It was also very solid for the price. I would get either of these before a the Vortex. Vortex makes some nice optics on the upper end. Yes, they have a great warranty. Yes, everyone knows about it. The reason they know about it is because so many have had to use it.

Sig out of those.

Of the three I’d do the SLX Nova, but only the Nova specifically.

Myself, I’d save a little more and get a Vortex Viper.

Psa has vortex 1-8 for $300, sometimes you can get the sig 1-8 for $370 (eurooptic, optic planet, sportsman’s wearhouse). They are pretty equal with a slight nod to Sig. Both are way better than the 1-6 options.

If you can find one, the arken ep8 seems really well regarded. Think it's only a bit more cash.

They have them on their webpage for 25% off right now. I did just see a video yesterday that showed it failing the a drop test though.

PA over the other two any day.

The strike eagle has been discontinued and replaced with the venom which seems like a better scope fyi. Also don't sleep on the burris RT-6. People seem to have forgot about it them the last year or 2, they might not have the best specs but it's still a solid phillipines made scope which is something you can't say for the others.

I was in this boat back at Christmas time one. I went with PA Special Purchase (or was it Special Buy?) 1-6 with Aurora reticle. I’ve not had it to the range but just dry firing with it. I love it. It’s a GLX body with Philippine glass.

Sig Tango MSR was what I was going to go with. Arken EP8 and Burris RT6 are also solid options. The Sig gets great reviews and field of view.

I have owned a Tango MSR 1-10 FFP, Strike Eagle 1-6 and Strike Eagle 1-8. The Tango was over double your budget.

If I were looking for a budget LPVO now it would be a Primary Arms option.  While I have no personal experience with PA optics, I have quite a lot with various budget Sig and Vortex optics.  My experience combined with the glowing PA optic reports would steer me that direction.

I have all three and would rate them PA>Vortex>Sig.

I was going to say the same thing, but didn't want to be the first guy to tell the OP his budget is too low. The OP could also look for a Steiner P4Xi with G1 reticle (much cheaper than the other reticle option).  They're going to around the $500 mark and are A LOT more optic than any lower end Sig or Vortex.

Frankly, the OP's $300 budget severely hampers the optical performance he's going to obtain.

Heck, for $375 I'll sell the OP a NIB Vortex Spitfire Gen 2 HD 5x prism WITH a Vortex Venom mrds piggybacked onto the Spitfire.  This will be a lot more optical performance than any of the listed bottom end LPVOs ... especially if $300 INCLUDES the LPVO mount.

So, I figured I would follow up and let you guys know what I decided to do.

I work in marine retail, and it turns out I can get a discount on different brands of recreational products. Burris is one of them. I went ahead and ordered an RT-6. Ended up less than the others I was originally looking at and should do just fine for my needs.

Thanks for all the feedback,

Not the worst choice, although I'm yet to get my hands on the Nova for extended use

I have a RT-6. I like it. I'm not a high end optics guy though. If I were I'd probably be able to pick it apart. As things stand, I'm impressed for the money. It seems well made and does what I need it too.

Good choice, this would have been my pick.  I’d wait for a sale on the PST gen2.  It’s a great scope, but not for $600 IMO.  You see it go on sale for $450 to $500.