Man, I'm an Iron Sight kinda guy. Building an AR for a buddy and bought this upper off the EE:



http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=119&t=850785



I know DICK about scopes these days. The shooter wants a "target" rifle. Can you guys recommend a scope for this upper? I scoped a 40X in .22 for smallbore competition, a Unertl 20X. Man, you can see every damned heartbeat in that thing. C'mon, guys. Help out a highpower rifle iron sight shooter with recommendations. Thanx, H.

Define "target" rifle.



Prairie dogs?



Benchrest?



Tactical sniper rig of dooom?

got an idea on price range, and what magnification he wants?

Well, the guy likes the "finer" things in life and I too have learned that (as one of my best friend's old dad sez) if you want economy, ya gotta pay for it. No cheap scopes please and are we freakin' DONE buying Chinese crap?!? I know I am.


OK, so "target" shooting, to me, means accurate to 200-300 yards. Tactical Sniper Rig of Doooom absolutely. Paper shooting probably. Last scope I had besides the Unertl was a Weaver 4 power on a Ruger M77 '06 and it shot deer like it had radar. That was in the early 80's. Like I said, I got no reference these days. I also hate scopes cuz they're fragile and I don't like fragile on any damned thing. Gotta work at screwing up iron sights, and I shoot Master scores out to 600 with 'em unless the wind is howling....


Whats a good scope cost these days? Who makes them in the USA for real? No he ain't gonna want a Leica or a Swarovski on an RRA AR. What do YOU guys have out there? Thanx again, H.

 

Nightforce will make him happy from the sounds of it.



Maybe US Optics.



We are talking big bucks though.

if i had the money right now to buy a "nice" scope without breaking the bank too much, i would give a hard look at the Vortex Viper PST's

i have a regular Vortex viper, and its a hell of scope.

perhaps the vortex pst 4-16  MSRP is $800 for the Second focal plane http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-pst-4-16x50-riflescope-with-ebr-1-moa-reticle


have him pair that with a larue mount and it will be one hell of a setup


if he doesnt want to spend that much, maybe a Super Sniper




eta: fri where is the thread where you did the review on the ?GSRC? scope, cant search for shit anymore

Looks like it is gone... Not even in the archives.



That scope is not for target shooting really. It is more for a cross between an eotech and a acog.



I have a Burris Black Diamond mounted on my precision rifle. 8-24x can be had for around $800 that I think is just fine for whatever you may want to do.
 

 I'm old school.....my retro AR has an org, Colt 3x ART on it. Have the org factory box and paperwork. I have the org 4x Hensodlt on my HK 91.

But if I ever get another "elk" magnum or heavy barrel .308 I will put some state ot the art variable on them. Where the "other" place is in NM we own, an open sight AK or AR is just fine due to the brush and trees. I have to find a 300meter shot on purpose.

I don't think you could go wrong with a Burris. I think they are made in Colorado my man!

Edit: Vortex optics are nice, I have a Vortex red dot on my AR, but they are made in China and Japan. Burris is 100% made in the USA.

Some light reading on Burris
http://www.chuckhawks.com/overview_burris_optics.htm

I've got a super sniper 16x and a viper vortex 6.5-20. They all work good. I have a 4x ACOG on my 16" build that works. It is really what you want. I used LaRue AR mounts for both I have taken them off and re mounted them with no issues.

It is up to the builder it is what he wants and is willing to spend.

MAHA

the cheaper vortex scopes (crossfire) are made in china

but the pst's are japanese glass and assembled in the Philippines

An Acog is not a target rifle scope IMO.



An Acog is a battle site.



 

At least with a 1:8 twist barrel he can shoot the heavier bullets, which apparently is a requirement for accuracy past say 300 yards (roughly).

I can tell you what scope to NOT get: a Sheperd PE-1.  I bought one secondhand a few years ago, and have never been able to really use it.  The bullet drop scale is all wrong for .223, so holdover is largely a matter of guesswork.  The reticle, while innovative in concept and easy to zero, is crap in practice.  It moves with every shot, which is especially noticeable at high magnification.

Other than that the Sheperd isn't too bad - no terrible chromatic aberration or obvious distortion, fairly bright.  But, due to the above factors, it is totally unsuitable for slinging .223.

A lot of the Precision Tactical Rifle guys at Zia seem to favor Nightforce scopes.  As previously stated - not cheap!