Can anyone explain the difference between a "shotgun" scope and a "rifle" scope.  I'm looking for a fixed power setup in the 4x-6x range and noticed that the shotgun scopes seem to have identical specs, with the exception that their objectives tend to be a bit smaller (i.e. 32mm vs. 40mm).

Anyways, is there anything about a "shotgun" scope that would make it unsuitable for use on an AR?  The reason I ask is because the shotgun scopes tend to be a bit more compact and better sized for mounting on a carry handle mount.

Shotgun scopes are generally parallax free at 50 or 75 yards and rifle scopes at 100 yards.

Recoil aslo has something to do with the differences of these two scopes.

I had a Simmons 4x32mm shotgun scope in a set of ARMS #22h rings on mine for awhile, and it worked great! With the parallax adjusted for 50yds, everything was in perfect focus, from about 14 yds to infinity. The downside to this is the increased aiming error at distance, but wtf, if you need pin-point accuracy at long range, a shotgun scope should be way down on your list.

I've used a Simmons 2.5x20 shotgun scope on a couple of different rifles and it was worked very well.  In addition to the closer-in paralax adjustment they also tend to have more eye relief.  I think my Simmons has an eye relief of something like 9 inches vs. the 3 or 4 that most scopes have.  That could be an issue on a carry handle mount.

I'm very happy with a Leupold VX2  1-4 Riflescope on my AR.