I've been researching, and I've found a lot of different brands and different specs that I'm losing track. To sum it up I'm looking for a 1x4x30(maybe 24... I hear 30 is like a standard) optic. I'm still not decided for mil or bdc... id like an illuminated flash dot for when I go 1x... I've looked at burris, vortex, Leupold, nf, us optics, bushnell elite, nikon, and more... I can't always find which ones are illuminated and which are not. Also, I'd like to have enough room to fit buis.. With my 16" barrel

So far the scopes that stand out to be are as follows...

Leupold patrol 1.25x4....500$
Leupold mark ar 1.5x4....400$
Burris tac30 1x4... 300
Primary arms 1x6 acss... 260$
Vortex viper pst 1x4.... 500/550


Anyone have any particular suggestions or maybe others I could have missed?

Thanks for reading.

Leupold VX-R Patrol in 1.25x4.

This.  I have the 3-9x40mm version which is identical in quality and most features, but with a different reticle and magnification range.  You get glass better than VX-2 and almost VX-3.  You get low profile true milrad turrets that are accurate and repeatable, along with milrad subtensions on a great reticle for close up rapid target acquition.  The turrets are 6 mils per rotation, which should get you all the way out to 600 yards without passing zero, with the typical 50/250 zero.  Milrad ranging can be used with any load and any zero, unlike BDC reticles.  One thing it has no one else offers is the fabulous motion activated Firedot illuminated dot.  It automatically comes on when you pick up the rifle and shuts off when motionless for five minutes.  Pick it up again and it returns to the last intensity setting.  It works flawlessly.  It extends battery life for years, giving the scope Aimpoint like immediate 24/7 use and battery life.  I'm still on the original battery for over two years now without ever turning it off, except for transport.  There is a manual "off" for that purpose.

It is about $550-600 shipped from most vendors.  Extremely rugged design.  Worth its price.

https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary_Arms_4_14X44_FFP_Scope_with_308_p/pa4-14xffp308.htm

The new scope from Primary Arms. It's FFP and the reticle reminds me of the reticle on my springfield scopes. It has preset measurements in the reticle to determine yardage in an instant, no math. It's illuminated too. But the downfall, for me anyway, the horseshoe is the only part of the reticle that illuminates but if you're okay with that then it looks like a sweet scope.

Because of the illumination issue, I went with their mildot scope instead.

Primary Arms has a great rep with ARF for quality stuff. I ordered to scopes Monday and had them Friday (yesterday) They had me a tracking # before the end of the day.

I've heard a lot about leupold being to expensive for their own quality, so I went to my local gun shop and was able to hold dummy rifles with various scopes attached, given the whole store was lit.... I still thought the leupold was the clearest of them all, I did notice the "fine adjustment" was hard to move. Thank you for your input.... definitely considering one...

I've heard a lot about pa, no one around here had their scopes so it's hard to decide on one I can't see, but I haven't heard anything but good about them so far... another one to consider, half the price, but 80% of the time with glass, you get what you pay for.


And for me 14x is "overkill". Thanks for the suggestion!

So far on the patrol, I've read reviews with the most frequent complaints being of the non locking turrets and edge blur at 4x...

Anyone have any experience with this?

https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary_Arms_1_6X_Scope_with_Patented_ACSS_Reticle_p/paps1-6x.htm

I think it's illuminated too. Not sure

I ordered 2 scopes....the 4-16 mildot and the straight 6x for my son. The 6x has the same reticle as the 1-6. The glass is really clear. The knob for the illumination is a little tight on the 6x. The only negative comment I've ever read on PA scopes is that some report black specs showing up in the field of view with some units. Nothing to affect use but a small annoyance. The 1-6 is showing out of stock when I just looked at the website.

Yeah they will be back in stock within a month. I'm torn because I want a Good scope but I really don't need the luxury of spending 5 600 on one. I was also looking at weaver and the burris tac30 .. I got a while to decide because I still have to save up for it.

Then again I think, I spend 500 once and never have to worry because it will be a lifetime scope, which pa only offers 3 year warranty. I've been favoring the leupold mark ar/patrol if I decide to spend it... just waiting for more feedback.

Agree...I don't have the $ to sink into a $1500 gun and $2000 optic. Palmetto had a special on the Weaver Kaspa 1.5-6x32 a while back. Combo deal with a PEPR QD mount that ended up at $150 delivered. I couldn't pass, it fit what I was looking for and had the Weaver name to back it up but I'm not sure if it is a lifetime warranty. I just read another comment about the Redfield Battlezone, illuminated with some AUTO_off features, PA sells them too.

Meanwhile, while you are waiting, check this SCOPE thread out....tons of reviews.....

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_18/421244_The_variable__low_power_multipurpose_scope_review_thread.html

Thanks a lot. I'm tempted to get the vortex.... good name good warranty good scope decent price

I was going to us the PA 1-6 on my 308, but I wanted a longer range option.

I still have another 1-6 on my Noveske.  For the money, it is a great scope.

I also have it for sale in EE.

The reticle is awesome, no real need to turn illumination on.  The glass is very clear.  The clips are pretty crisp.  The overall benefit of the scope is the reticle, the ACSS takes any guessing out when you have a range estimator built right in to the glass.

If pa came with a lifetime I wouldn't hesitate.