So a buddy just picked up a KAC LPR Mod 1.  He's fairly new to shooting, but wants to be able to have a gun capable of hanging with I and the people we go shooting with.  We normally run MK12 clones, but he wanted something a little different.

Our shooting is mostly 200-400 yards, but we push it to 600.  On my MK12 Mod 1, I run a NF 2.5-10x24.



So I've been trying to decide what would be a solid scope for his rifle so I can recommend it to him.  My first thought was a MK6 1-6x.  But I'm starting to wonder if that's enough mag on the high end for what he plans on using it for.  Other options that we could look at might be a NF 2.5-10, a Vortex something, a MK6 3-18x, etc.

Anyone have any recommendations?  Trying to narrow it.  Thoughts on the 1-6 having enough on the high-end of magnification for 600?

What's his budget?

Unlimited, but ideally $2000-2500 new or used max.  I was looking at MK6s in the EE for him around $1500

How about a Razor Gen2 3-18x? If he doesn't want to go that spendy then a PST Gen2 3-15x is still really nice for around 1k.

I'll look into that one.  Price is right in the ballpark.  

For the sake of argument, why that one instead of a used MK6 3-18 for the same money?  The MK6 is more compact, no?

I went from a Nightforce 2.5-10 to a Nightforce 4-16f1 and it's a lot more fun to shoot.  

I always wanted more that 10X but never used less than 6.

Will he need 1x magnification for the shooting you guys will do?

If not, look into the Bushnell 3-12 LRHS or LRTS. I prefer that to the 2.5-10 NF in almost every possible way. (Glass, 10 mil zerostop turrets, reticle, FFP, etc.). If he wants something a little nicer the 4-16x42 NF is still within budget. I run a March 3-24x42 very successfully but would not recommend that to a new shooter as it takes a little more to set it up.

The Razor gen 2 3-18 is a great scope but a little large and heavy for a light AR-15 IMO. If he's only going to shoot from bench then it doesn't matter but from other positions I find it unbalanced.

I have not been impressed with the Mark 6 3-18. Although the one I handled was with the older giant turrets.

The Steiner 3-15x50 T5xi looks like it could be decent on an AR. Be sure to get the updated version. Not as good as the 4-16 NF but half the price.

If he needs 1X, there are several 1-8 options. I like the MK8 CQBSS the most but Trijicon makes one with good reviews for half the price. They are capable of 1x and will hang with higher mag scopes at 8x. No issues with MOA targets at that distance with 8x.

Thanks for the suggestions; lots of good ideas in there and I'll have a look.

Regarding the 1x power, I'm not really sure tbh.  Certainly not every day; we all have other rifles that are better-suited for plinking and "shoot and move" type stuff than an SPR.  There are 4 SPR matches a year here though that (if he were to get into them) involve shots from 20-420 yards and are very "shoot and move" in nature.  I know a lot of guys run 3x+ optics during those matches though, so 1x isn't super critical.

I'd imagine he doesn't want a brick of a scope on the top of it though.

I like his budget but I keep coming back to Vortex Viper PST II 2-10x32 FFP. It's a little on the heavy side at 26 ounces but definitely an awesome scope, especially for a newer shooter.

IMO, you are kind of on the line of needing / not-needing a FFP. Under 400-500 yards, not sure you really gain much with a FFP.

If slightly higher quality is desired, I would suggest NXS 2.5-10x42 since they don't make the smaller objective anymore. It's about 6oz lighter than the Vortex I mentioned.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Leupold. I think they are a little overpriced.

I think Vortex made a mistake with the 2-10 gen 2 PST. The Gen 1 was an amazing optic at a very light weight. I compared that scope to several others that should have easily beat it but it held its own.

The extra weight of the gen 2 makes it a hard sell against the LRHS and LRTS.

Thanks guys.  Looking all this over.