AR Sponsor
Posted: 4/16/2013 5:56:58 AM EDT
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…..Do you prefer a magnifier/RDS or a scope ?
….let me start by saying this is my first AR…I built it from the ground up. I have been a firearms owner since my earliest memories and am an avid shooter/hunter. I am proficient with hunting scopes but have never owned a 1x4. Seems like a great option for an AR…..I currently have a red dot ….damn near putting them through the same hole at 50 yards , 3 inch groups at 100, and can get them in a 10 inch circle at 200 currently. I would love to retain the quickness of the red dot up close, yet be able to tighten up the 200 yard group. I don’t want to run any of my hunting scopes on it because I don’t want big magnification ……but since I have got to know my AR it deserves some kind of magnification to enhance its capabilities. I am considering a magnifier since I already possess a RDS….but that’s more parts and something possibly hanging off the side of the rifle some of the time……don’t know if that’s bothersome because I have never used one. What are the disadvantages of putting a 1x4 on an AR ?....I am having a hard time identifying any This is an all around rifle, I am finding it very fun for plinking , possible hunting rifle for brushy black tail hunts and will be my musket if the time comes Thanks |
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I recently bought an eotech g33sts to go with my 552.
It is an excellent addition. Well worth the $$ to me. It was Close to $600 and I like it for what it was made for. You don't hear much about it here because everyone is buying the cheap stuff. 1 and $200 magnifiers. I don't buy cheap, I don't look for the highest price, I look for the quality in the long run. The EO magnifier will outlive the 552 so that makes it a good plus also. Using it? The reticle is a lot cleaner and I can hit at 300 MUCH easier than before. That's what I was looking for. Medium range, quality, and a tough magnifier. Not knocking primary arms stuff, but I wanted the best quality. And it IS better. Yes a few hundred bucks better. |
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Having used both in competition, the red dots are lightweight and can be lightning fast.
However for my money, a good low powered variable gets the nod. Also very quick at close range, but also capable of 2" groups at 200y (off a bipod) and practical to 450y and beyond. Weight is the main downside of upgrading to a scope. Most red dots are lighter than your average scope + mount combo. |
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Thanks for the feedback guys
Weight is the main downside of upgrading to a scope. Most red dots are lighter than your average scope + mount combo.
.....I imagine the magnifier /RDS combo would weigh as much or more than a 1x4 with mount ? Not that a couple of oz’s matter to my needs….I see it in competition of course, and it would be nice to not gain any wieght but a couple oz's isnt a deal breaker for me |
| having used both, I prefer red dot + magnifier. You have to find out what your eyes prefer. There is no baseline right answer. Since you have tried red dot, give the scope a try. The knock off stuff is good for finding out, but once you've made a decision don't be cheap. |
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i tried to like the red dot magnifiers...but the eye relief is not good, and they are picky/non-forgiving with the positioning of your eye (eyebox).
It seems the best of the magnifiers is the aimpoint...and it is not cheap. it seems like you have pretty good eyes from what i read from your groupings. people with astigmatism will not have a fun time with the red dots at distance...as the reticle looks like a bunch of grapes grouped together. don't get me wrong, i love red dot optics for the simplicity and virtually no eyebox to worry about. but if you find a quality 1-4X, you will find you are just as fast @ 1X. A great example is the trijicon accupoint 1-4X with the triangle reticle. that scope has a super forgiving eyebox. |
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Which suits you best will largely be determined by how you shoot.
A 1x scope will never be as fast as an RDS, and I say this as a user of a 1-4x. No matter how close to 1x you can get, eye relief and parallax will always enter in to the equation. Which is not to say a 1-4x can't be fast, but with an equal amount of training on both, an RDS will be faster up close. IMHO, the 1-4x is still the better "all around" option, however, I would also venture to say that for most civilian shooters, particularly those that shoot at public ranges predominantly, an RDS with magnifier might be a better solution. If the majority of your shooting is done close in, with the occasional opportunity to shoot at further distances, the benefits up close will be more useful to you. Do an honest assessment of what ranges you normally shoot at, and what you do when you go shooting. If it's more weighted towards silhouette sized targets at 75m and in, an RDS will probably be more useful to you, while a removable magnifier will give you additional flexibility. On the other hand, if your targets are often at unknown ranges with the potential for 150m plus engagements being common, the 1-4x may be more flexible and much faster and easier to use for the longer ranged targets. Even the best of magnifiers will degrade optical clarity and light transmission, as well as be subject to eye relief and "eye box." I much prefer QD magnifiers to FTS magnifiers, though "get both" is your "best of both worlds" scenario. ~Augee |
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Thanks for everyone’s feedback, I would be thrilled with 200 yard head shots….
I am really just getting to know the AR…..grew up on a Mini 14 so I know the 223 ballistics well and I reload all my ammo. I am finding the AR shoots so nice and so accurate it just feels like it deserves some magnification….. The rifle I built has an 18 inch barrel, rifle length gas ,free float hand guard, Ace Skeleton… I was just so surprised what it was doing at 50 yards I instantly thought magnification would be sweet, then I discovered a lot of folks using 1x4 and here I am….I know this game though. I’ll need to buy one or find someone’s to try. I can accomplish about 28 out of 30 on 200 yard torso shots off hand as it stands now . I do shoot at a private 200 yard range…..but this is not a range rifle its becoming my everything rifle. I’ll probably just keep using the RDS for a while, get to know the rifle and see how many times in the near future I wish for something different For conversation sake though it sounds like a magnifier isn’t really in the same league as a scope, and the limiting factor being eye relief ?... ..hunting you pretty much shoot heads up all the time but if your gun fighting with an AR I can see you trying to see though an optic at all kinds of weird angles. |
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