what do you guys think ...

said a freind who is currently in military told him that "some special forces" have had good results with low power leupy shotgun scopes ...

1x4 heavy duplex ...

never seen one in person but have shot with scopes from the time i was 8 ...

will be on a bushy carbine by the way ...

thanks

Leupold makes actual "carbine" specific optics:



Leupold Mark 4 MR/T 1.5-5x20mm M2 Illuminated

Special Forces? Not gonna touch that one.

Low power variables (1-4, or 1.5-5) are commonly used in 3-gun competitions. The low power variable shotgun scopes are low cost and effective. I have a Simmons Pro-Diamond on one upper and it works. The reticles and adjustments are limited, but fine for 3-gun. The diamond is great close up, and the cross hairs far.

Lee

That MRT SPR is a great piece of glass. I have one on my carbine and love it.

thanks guys ...

and yeah i agree on the special forces comment ... that's why i put it in quotes ...

The shotgun line is cheap. $200 in black, and $220 in Flat Dark Earth. (I have actually heard the rumor that there are special forces using these low buck non illuminated scopes, which is why they're available in FDE to begin with.)

I haven't gotten to try one, but I'd imagine the circle plex turkey reticle would be ample for quick shots in day time use. Probably more so than the tons of illuminated reticle scopes which lack day time capable illumination and have much harder to pick up reticles.

I do 99.99% of my shooting in the day, so illumination that only works at night is essentially useless. Especially when most of the illuminated 1-4X scopes use standard duplex reticles that suck (IMO) for quick shots. If I need to shoot at night that bad, I can either try and manage with a non illuminated scope, or go the more traditional route, and use a red dot.

An illuminated reticle that is not visible on light backgrounds in the daytime, is visible on dark backgrounds in the daytime.

FWIW...

I have both the MR/T SPR Illuminated shown, and an S&B Short Dot.

Quoted: The shotgun line is cheap. $200 in black, and $220 in Flat Dark Earth.

Got a link for that?

i've been thinking about doing the same thing with the mid length i'm gonna be building soon, i'd like to see if any others have tried it, how they like it, and how they mounted the scope

The leupold shotgun scopes parallax at 75 yds, that might be a good thing. I don't like that they don't have click adjustments on the windage/elevation knobs, just friction. Optically its probably pretty good, but I haven't had a chance to look through one.

You can get a VXII 1x4 leupold for about 300 bucks I think, while the VXI (shotgun version) is about 200. VXII gets you click adjustments and better lenses.

I've used the VXIII 1.5x5 on a carbine and really liked it a lot. I eyeballed it indoors side by side with a VXII and the III is a little better .

Given the use and price range, I like the RRA hi-riser mount for installation. Be advised that you don't want a front sight though, its a blurry thing in your view when the scopes on low power.

Quoted: You can get a VXII 1x4 leupold for about 300 bucks I think...

If you have a MidwayUSA discount you can get a smoking deal on the MR/T I have pictured above.

Quoted: Quoted: The shotgun line is cheap. $200 in black, and $220 in Flat Dark Earth. Got a link for that?

looks like a good scope for the money Leupold
the Turkey Plex Reticle is $20 more Turkey Plex

its nice to see the FDE scope but do they make rings for a flattop in FDE?

Quoted: Special Forces? Not gonna touch that one. Low power variables (1-4, or 1.5-5) are commonly used in 3-gun competitions. The low power variable shotgun scopes are low cost and effective. I have a Simmons Pro-Diamond on one upper and it works. The reticles and adjustments are limited, but fine for 3-gun. The diamond is great close up, and the cross hairs far. Lee

+1 on the Simmons Pro Diamond. Downside 1/2 MOA clicks Plus side fast target pickup and huge FOV at 1.5 and inexpensive.

I used a borrowed Simmons Pro-Diamond for a rifle comp..  It wasn't bad.
Reticle was good.  Clarity good enough.  Clicks too rough.  The scope I used said 1/2' at 50 yards-and I believe it.    I could never get my 100 yard zero exactly on and that bugged me.
RRA15

Sounds promising!  1X for up close, both eyes open work with 4X for longer work.  I may just have to give the thing a try!

Old SF

I have 3 of the 1-4 VXI shotgun scopes, two on ARs  and one on another carbine.  I think they are ideal for general AR use.  They are cheap, light, tough and pretty bright.  The 1X is not really 1X.  1X is a real problem for this type of optic.  Even the S&B is at least 1.1X  You don't get quite the two eye effect of a dot scope at 1X, but it is generally good enough.  You do get great flexibility out to at least 300 yds.  The heavy reticle is easy to see at night with a weapon light.  If you have enough light to ID your target, you will be able to see the cross hairs.

I found I had to use a mount at least 1.5" high from the flat top to the center of the scope to avoid looking through the front sight at low power.  At high power it is less noticeable but is still there degrading the image if the mount is not high enough.

Nikon makes a similar scope for about $50 more.  I think it would be worth a look.  It has click adjustments and may have better glass.