Looking for an entry level scope.

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Looking for an entry level scope.

Posted: 4/27/2008 12:58:51 AM EDT

So I've been running iron sights for some time now, and I am definitely interested in a scope...but my wallet isn't exactly deep. I've read the sticky threads and it seems some people are ok with just a regular hunting scope on an AR. I'm just an ordinary guy, so I don't plan on playing rough and tumble with my AR and doing powerslides to dodge insurgent bullets

. That being said, I am eyeballing some of Leupold's entry level scopes (the rifleman series, and their $200-$400 scopes).

I think a good 4x should suit me well. Variable zoom being just a plus, not critical. No fancy reticles. Just something I can rely on to hold zero from normal bumping around in the trunk of the car and transport, and the occasional tipping-off-the-gun-rack (not that I would allow that ). I shoot mostly targets at the 100 yrd range, and I plan on going to 200. Maybe some varmint action here and there.

I've read the stickies in this forum, and people seem pretty set on the more tactical type scopes, which definately suits the AR well...but I is poor.

What do you guys think? I have limited experience with scopes (as you can tell), and I've never actually owned one...

How are your experiences with scopes in this price range? Do they tend to go wonky and kaput pretty quickly?

Extra suggestions on other products are welcome too.

This is the setup I am running:

Will she be a good candidate for glassware? Maybe a new dress? Shoes?

Posted: 4/27/2008 3:15:29 AM EDT

[#1]

I bought a Leupold Rifleman 3-9x for just under $200. It is an excellent scope for the money.

Posted: 4/27/2008 5:37:21 AM EDT

[#2]

Swift reliant 1.5-4.5x $99.00

Made in South Korea (Not China) and uses Schott (German) Glass. It is a 1" tube.

www.swfa.com/pc-10051-1396-swift-15-45x21-reliant-rifle-scope.aspx

For a mount, look at:

Command Arms Accessories one piece mount @ $27.00 (you'll need 1" spacers)

Millet Xtreme tactical "High" rings 1" @ $49.00

Armalite one piece @ $89.00 (you may need 1" spacers)

Posted: 4/27/2008 4:22:21 PM EDT

[#3]

Hmmm...what about mounts and stuff?

Posted: 4/27/2008 7:30:48 PM EDT

[#4]

Weaver 1x3 and larue mount. If you get more money later you can upgrade the scope and use the same mount.

Posted: 4/27/2008 7:59:39 PM EDT

[#5]

I noticed that many setups have the larue extended eye relief mounts.
I assume this is for greater precision, but is there anything wrong with just using a regular mount and mount it further to the front, part of it onto the forearm rail for better eye relief? Does it effect the level of precision pretty badly, and is generally unfavorable?

Posted: 4/27/2008 8:22:53 PM EDT

[#6]

+1 for the Weaver V3... it's a fantastic scope for the $$$. Japanese optics (not Chinese crap), and has held zero well for me on my backup 3-gun rifle. With these 1-3x or 1-4x zoom scopes, you need a scope mount that hangs the optic forward over the handguard because of the eye relief they need. The LaRue is fantastic and bulletproof - buy once, cry once - or you can run with the PRI riser and some WalMart Leupold rings if on a budget. Avoid regular hunting scopes on an AR unless your application is strictly plinking or tack driving from the bench.

Posted: 4/27/2008 9:24:09 PM EDT

[#7]

So many choices, and so many price ranges!! This is gonna be harder than picking parts for my AR...which is part of the fun

So I've gotten a suggestion for a weaver and swift, and interested in those... I'm looking around at some more leupolds and burris also...

I think i'm gonna go with either the larue extended mount or maybe the armalite one-piece...

Moar suggestions would be great! I'd hate to be shopping alone here.

This is the only time a man will take as much time to shop as a woman...except maybe at the hardware store, and it doesn't involve walking or a pair of designer jeans!

Posted: 4/28/2008 3:42:14 AM EDT

[#8]

Nothing wrong with a lower end Leupold, you can not go wrong there. Great glass, made in the USA, outstanding warranty. You can use standard high mounts and put the scope as far forward as possible.

Posted: 4/28/2008 6:15:03 AM EDT

[#9]

I am currently eyeballing this one:

Burris short mag

I looked on the burris website for more info, but I didn't see a "short mag" line up anywhere...

Anyone with experience with this scope?

Posted: 4/28/2008 7:03:21 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
I am currently eyeballing this one:

Burris short mag

I looked on the burris website for more info, but I didn't see a "short mag" line up anywhere...

Anyone with experience with this scope?

For 2008 the Short Mag line has been replaced by the Timberline scopes.

The only experiance I have with the Short Mag line was with the fixed 4x scope. It was/is a very nice scope, but you will need an extended mount if you shoot NTCH.

The Timberline series of scope are a lot less expersive than the Short Mag line. The 3-9x32 Timberline is ~$175.00.

Posted: 4/28/2008 9:34:30 AM EDT

[#11]

I'm kind of in the same boat that you are in and I ordered a Burris Fullfield II 3x9 off ebay for $160 shipped.
its got a BDC reticule and "european" eye piece which I think looks a little cooler than a hunting scope.
they're supposed to be made pretty well and have features that a lot more expensive scopes have. I found a chart online that showed all these features but I can't find it now.
it should be here sometime this week and I'll let you know how it is when I get it.

Posted: 4/28/2008 9:57:41 AM EDT

[#12]

Millett DMS

Posted: 4/28/2008 4:42:56 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
I'm kind of in the same boat that you are in and I ordered a Burris Fullfield II 3x9 off ebay for $160 shipped.
its got a BDC reticule and "european" eye piece which I think looks a little cooler than a hunting scope.
they're supposed to be made pretty well and have features that a lot more expensive scopes have. I found a chart online that showed all these features but I can't find it now.
it should be here sometime this week and I'll let you know how it is when I get it.

Awesome. I'll keep looking around...lemme know how it turns out

Posted: 4/28/2008 7:15:02 PM EDT

[#14]

At $200, this is pretty freaking hard to beat.

www.swfa.com/pc-10714-1395-millett-1-4x24-dms-tactical-30mm-riflescope.aspx

Posted: 4/28/2008 8:46:22 PM EDT

[#15]

+1 for the Millet for the price. What ever you buy I cannot stress enough the importance of a good mount, and Larue is the best. I am on a similar budget I went with a bushnell Elite 3200 10x fixed because Im going to be doing 1-500yd shooting at the range I go to, and I bought a Larue mount for it. I had one for a used Acog, and I will only use their mounts from now on for my optics.

Adam

on a side note you stole rifle.

Posted: 4/28/2008 9:25:13 PM EDT

[#16]

height=8

Quoted:
+1 for the Weaver V3... it's a fantastic scope for the $$$. Japanese optics (not Chinese crap), and has held zero well for me on my backup 3-gun rifle. With these 1-3x or 1-4x zoom scopes, you need a scope mount that hangs the optic forward over the handguard because of the eye relief they need. The LaRue is fantastic and bulletproof - buy once, cry once - or you can run with the PRI riser and some WalMart Leupold rings if on a budget. Avoid regular hunting scopes on an AR unless your application is strictly plinking or tack driving from the bench.

why?

Posted: 4/29/2008 8:23:53 AM EDT

[#17]

I ordered a Larue mount for my Burris. should be here on thursday.
I didn't spend much on the scope so I had money leftover for the all-too-important mount

Posted: 4/29/2008 2:33:34 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

on a side note you stole rifle.

i78.photobucket.com/albums/j94/dm_gangl/DSC00609.jpg

Holy crap. i think my rifle found its twin!

I even got the arfcom sticker in the same spot.

Posted: 4/29/2008 4:43:25 PM EDT

[#19]

How about some of the Leupold ultralights? How are they?

Posted: 4/29/2008 4:57:23 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
How about some of the Leupold ultralights? How are they?

The VX-II's are not bad scopes, but IMO, the Bushnell 3200's are much the same as the VX-II's and cheaper to boot.

The Burris Fullfield II and Fullfield Tactical are not bad for the price either.

As always, YMMV.

Posted: 4/29/2008 6:36:29 PM EDT

[#21]

I'm really happy with my Burris Fullfield II. I didn't cheap out on the mount though. LaRue all the way.

Posted: 5/2/2008 11:53:36 AM EDT

[#22]

This is turning out to be a pretty tough choice...

I looked at the gigantic thread on the Millet DMS-1, and I'm definately interested in that, but the mixed reviews are keeping me at bay for the time being. Should I shell out a few extra hundred for something better?

Posted: 5/2/2008 12:19:11 PM EDT

[#23]

Here's another option:
Falcon Menace 1.5-5X30
Reticle Choices: German syle 4a with red/green illuminated floating central dot.
Tube Diameter: Menace 1.5-5x30 SIR30mm
Objective Lens Diameter: 30mm
Windage and Elevation: 1/4MOA per click. 15MOA per turret revolution.
Total elevation adjustment = 100MOA
Menace 1.5-5x30 SIR Length: 292mm (11.5")
Weight: 502g
5 year warranty with copy of original invoice

www.falconoptics.com/menace1.5-5x30.php

It's fairly new and there's only one or two reviews floating around here on this scope. The scope sells for around $275. I actually purchased one a couple months back, but I haven't mounted it and taken it to the range yet (I'm still in the process of completing my build).

There's also only a few US Vendors that sell Falcon scopes. Here's where I purchased my scope.

www.rwsnydergunsmithing.com/secure-rwsnydergunsmithing/Scripts/default.asp

Hope this helps.

-Hokie

Posted: 5/2/2008 12:57:36 PM EDT

[#24]

The falcon menace seems like a promising option. I was reading some reviews on their other products on sniper central, so I guess I can assume that this scope is of good quality. Too bad theres only a few vendors that sell them. I'd like to see a longer warranty though. Definitely gonna look into this one.

Anybody else with experience with falcon products?

Posted: 5/5/2008 7:39:37 PM EDT

[#25]

Anyone else out there know of any distributors of falcon optics?
How are they?

Posted: 5/5/2008 7:46:19 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
Anyone else out there know of any distributors of falcon optics?
How are they?

For your reading pleasure:

AR-15 » Optics, Mounts, and Sights » Falcon Optics Lots of pics

AR-15 » Optics, Mounts, and Sights » Falcon Menace 1.5-5....

AR-15 » Optics, Mounts, and Sights » Falcon Menace 1.5-5x30 Scope review with pictures

Posted: 5/22/2008 11:17:05 PM EDT

[#27]

Any other particular Ideas? How are the other brands, like bushnell, nikon, etc.?

Posted: 5/23/2008 7:32:31 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
Any other particular Ideas? How are the other brands, like bushnell, nikon, etc.?

Yes, but they are not Tacticool.

IMO, Bushnell and Nikon have too many lines. People must like the more choices because Leupold and Burris are now offering too many lines now as well.

There are many others out there that I have not used or owned.

For instance, Vortex is said to have some good products, but the only one I have seen is their Viper 3-9X40. It was nice, doubly so for its price range, but I did not buy it because I already have too many scopes in this size range.

Also, look at the Sightron SSII line, to include their Big Sky scopes.

Lastly, ATK has brought out two scope lines in the last year, Nitrex and Intensity. I would add the Nitrex 1.5-5x32 and 3-9x42 scopes to your search.

In your price range, these are not bad choices, go to a store and look though some so you can get a feel for features that you like.

Bushnell 3200 1.5-4.5x32
Bushnell 3200 2-7x32
Bushnell 3200 3-9x40
Burris Fullfield II 2-7x35
Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40
Leupold FX-II 4x33
Leupold FX-II 6x36
Leupold VX-II 1-4x20
Leupold VX-II 2-7x33
Leupold VX-II 3-9x33
Leupold VX-II 3-9x40
Nikon Buckmaster 3-9x40
Nikon Monarch UCC 1.5-4.5x20 (Discontinued, but can still be found)

Posted: 5/23/2008 7:40:56 AM EDT

[#29]

We also have some scopes in your price range. And we are a site sponsor, so you might want to check them out.

Vortex Optics

Vortex Industry Forum

Thanks!