Is there anything else like an ACOG out there? I would love to buy one, but boy are they pricey. I know the whole you only buy quality once spiel but i simply cannot (19 year old college student). Is there anything else i could use or if someone could point me in the direction of a good deal on a basic acog?

What exactly is it you'd like to do with your rifle/optic?  What distances do you shoot?  What are your accuracy (group size) requirements?  An ACOG may or may not be the best option for you.  Many people are better suited with a 1-4x variable, which can be had for considerably less than an ACOG.  

More details needed.

I know your pain. I'm a graduate student and don't make a whole lot of money. I didn't think I would ever own an ACOG (actually, I need to spend a lot of time with irons). However, I found a used––but in great shape––TA31 ACOG on the EE for $650. Yes, it's still a lot of money and probably money that I should have either not spent or spent elsewhere (e.g., ammo), but that is a great deal for a $1100 optic. If anything, I could turn it around and probably make a little cash or trade for a weapon or something.

Or, you can borrow to get it and justify it as us economists do: consumption smoothing. So, keep an eye out, you can find great deals on a good optic.

This.

If you're not shooting past 100 yards regularly, I would get an Aimpoint. Aimpoints have a good resale value, especially if you buy one used, so you can always sell it later to fund the ACOG if you end up really wanting it.

That said, I bought an ACOG with some of my enlistment bonus money, and it's a great optic, but I failed to realize that I most of my shooting is with in 100 yards, so I bought a T-1 too.

Not sure of the quality but there are ACOG clones to be had, Aimpoint clones for 89 bucks as well.

You should post in thw WANT TO BUY threads.  post what you are willing to pay, stick with a member with a good feed back score.  Either that or look for another quality brand.  Don't  go with a clone unless you only want the look and not the quality.  I hear the NCStarclones are good, but they are not ACOG quality.

http://www.ncstar-sales.com/products.asp?cat=11863

I think Vortex is comming out with an "ACOG style" product soon. I just ordered a Stikefire. I should have it by Friday.

Vortex Optics


They are suposed to be good. There is also Primary Arms they are also supposed to be good.

Primary Arms


Neither claim to be the quality of the high end optics but are supposed to be better than typical ebay clone products.

One bit of advice, those cheap scopes with that colored reflection on the front lense, dont get those. Looking through the glass is usually a blue tint. I had used a 3x9 like that and after a few times ditched it for a eo tech. My dad bought a $30 barska for his 22, its so clear it looks beautiful compared to mine. His has no colored glass or reflector on the lense and that makes a huge difference. So if you get a cheap one try not to get the colored front glass, get a clear one.

I tried, failed, and went back to ACOG with even more vigor

This was years ago of course.  First I tried a US Optics SN4, liked it well enough but liked my ACOGs better.  Then I went to the king of the hill, S&B Short Dot.  Still liked my 4x32 ACOGs better.  The SN4 and Short Dot are probably both more versatile than a 4x32 ACOG, but guess I'm just used to using ACOGs and found myself choosing the ACOG whenever I went to a course or range.

+1

I know they arent an ACOG and i wouldnt be expecting one, but are those Barska ACOG clone type things any good? Are they just a red dot made to look like an ACOG?

Aimpoint + 3X magnifier on a flip mount.

I think it is a better solution than the ACOG.  Use an Aimpoint for the dynamic short range stuff. Then, if you have a target ID problem or difficulty getting a sight picture, flip in the 3X magnifier.

It is the ideal setup.

Yes, its a cheapo dot sight ina housing that is styled like an ACOG and has nothing else similar to the ACOG other than a housing shape.  No part of the optics, illumination, housing material, etc. is even similar.  If yo uwant a cheapo dot sight there are better ones to be had.

I have an acog TA01 and just bought a IOR 3x25 cqb  and really like it.  I paid $500 for it which is not cheap, but it has great glass.  I am not sure if this is out of your price range, but you should definelty take a look at this scope.

The ACOG is a great combat scope.  It has a very easy to use reticle, it super tough and is illuminated.  I have owned a TA-31F, TA-11F, TA-01 and TA-33.  All have been excellent optics.  Unfortunately, I have sold or traded them all off.  Fortunately, the trades have included a NFA 9mm smg & Leupold MK4, so I am happy (life good).

But, I find that they don't quite fit my needs.  They are not great target scopes.  My Leupold 3-9x does a much better job of that.  I can turn it up to 9x when shooting distance.  The 3x works great for scanning around for targets or relatively close shots (100yds).  So I have a 3-9x Leupold on my SPR AR.  The 3 & 4x ACOGs are not so great for close up.  At less than 100yds, a red dot is hard to beat.  So I have an Aimpoint on my SBR.  My next build is going to be a 6.5 Grendel.  It will be my hunting and plinking rig.  So it is getting a 1-4x variable.  I have a Millet DMS-1 that I got cheap for now.  Hopefully, I will get either a Trijicon Accupoint or Meopta K-dot.

I put together a Saiga-308 and decided I wanted an ACOG style general purpose optic on it, but didn't want to really spend the cheese.  So I got a used IOR 4x M1.  While not an ACOG, it fits my needs.  It has a simple, easy to use reticle (Dragunov w/ .308 dials) and is illuminated.  It has a reputation of being pretty tough.  I spend around $350-400 for it which included Warne QD rings.  For the money, I am incredible pleased with it.  Not to mention an ACOG would mount way too high on the already high Krebs rail.  I have played with the idea of using this on my SPR AR and putting the 3-9x on my Grendel.  All in all, very nice dilemmas to have.

With that said, if I were going into combat, I would definitely get an ACOG.  But as a hobbyist shooter, it doesn't really fill my needs.  So while very cool, I say look else where if you don't have the cheese to spend now.  And also let me say, I am tempted every time I see one cheap on the EE.