Posted: 7/25/2007 12:18:00 PM EDT
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Well, it's time to tackle the difficult task of selecting a good General Purpose riflescope. Choosing a scope is a very personal choice. Opinions will be as diverse as if you'd asked the question "What's the best caliber or what's the best gun." So let's start off by realizing that there is no "best." There is not one scope on the market that does everything. There are always going to be tradeoffs. With this in mind....here we go. Scopes break down into two primary categories. Electronic (Aimpoint, EOTech, etc.) and Optical (regular scopes.) Furthermore, the optical's have two primary sub-categories, fixed power (ACOG, Elcan, etc.) and magnified (variable powered.) Beyond these categories are a myriad of features like reticle design, adjustable objectives, target dials, variable focus, etc. There is a third component to consider when selecting a scope and, depending on your situation, quite important, cost. We'll get into cost later. Let's start by identifying which of the two primary categories we want to select. Before we can effectively select, we must first consider our intended use. One of the previously mentioned requirements of the GP rifle is the ability to effectively engage targets from contact distance out to a range of 500 yards. Electronic scopes rule the day in close quarters and are quite effective out to 300 yards. A really good marksman may be able to stretch that out to 400 yards, but at this distance and further it becomes increasingly difficult to make consistent hits. (There are several reasons for this, but that is a topic for another time.) This inconsistency rules out all non-magnified electronic scopes as a good selection for a GP rifle. This brings us to Optical scope choices with their two sub-categories, fixed-powered and magnified. In order to narrow down our choice we must again look at the requirements for our GP rifle, contact distance to 500 yards. If you stop and think about that requirement, what's the overriding thought that comes into mind? For me it's variables. A lot can happen in between 0 and 500 yards. Quite simply, this means we need options and fixed power scopes like the ACOG's and Elcan's do give us some options, but not enough. Fixed power scopes are quite effective from 30 yards to 500 yards, but their inherent weakness is the inability to perform at the level needed inside 30 yards. A quick look at all the accessories available for the ACOG's clearly show industry attempts to make it a more effective close quarters scope. Everything from mounts for the tiny Doctor and JP scopes to quick-deploy lens covers to allow occluded ocular shooting. Even the Army recognized the problem back in 1995 with the original SOPMOD kit that contained an ACOG scope and a Trijicon Reflex scope, one for distance and one for CQB. While there have been many successful attempts to increase the performance of these scopes in close quarters, I don't know of many people who when given a close combat environment would select an ACOG over any of the electronic scopes. They just don't have the close quarter performance of the electronic scopes. For this reason, they are also not the best selection for a GP riflescope. This leaves us with quite a quandary. A good GP riflescope needs to have the close quarters speed of an electronic dot scope and the precision of a magnified scope. Does such a scope even exist? The answer is a resounding, "yes." By process of elimination we are left with variable-powered scopes. Right now you're probably thinking, "Great! I'll take the 1x-16x-power scope. It'll do anything I want!" Unfortunately....No. For reasons too long to discuss here, variable scope magnification ranges work on powers of 3 or 4. Think about the options you generally see, 1-4, 2-8, 3-9, 4-12, 4-16, 8-32, etc., you get the idea. There are some others, but these are what you'll generally find. Okay at this point we've settled on a variable-powered scope, but now comes the question, "What power range?" Once again, lets consider our GP rifle distance requirements, 0-500 yards. At this point most of you are thinking, "500 yards, I'd better start looking at that 3-9 or 4-12." Quite directly, you'd be wrong. While our performance envelope extends from 0-500, our actual "expected" engagement envelope is primarily less than 100 yards. Additionally, remember our fixed power scopes like the ACOG and Elcan. Both of those have 3x-4x power magnifications (depending on the model) and they have no real trouble reaching out to 500 yards. Considering our GP rifle requirement of "effective torso" hits at 500, the most magnification that is "needed" is about 5X. Now that the high end of the spectrum is covered, this leaves us with the low end. At this point you may be asking, "How is any variable scope going to be as fast in a close quarters environment as an electronic scope?" This is a very good question, but one that is easily solved with three little words, "True One-Power." Most low-end variable scopes are advertised as 1-4, but in actuality, they are 1.5x power. The only way to know for sure is to check the scope specifications at the manufacturers website. A true one-power scope is exactly what it says. At 1x, there is no magnification (I know, that's kind of confusing, shouldn't it be 0x then?) How important is this? ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL! At this point I'll let you in on a little secret. The reason the Aimpoints and EOTechs are so fast up close is because they have no magnification. The simply project a dot into space and you superimpose that dot on your target and fire. There is no need to shift your focus between a front sight and the target. A true 1x scope has the exact same feature. The only difference is that instead of a blurry dot, you get a nice crisp reticle. You shoot the scope with both eyes open and simply superimpose the reticle on the target, just like an electronic scope and fire. I used one for many years in 3-gun competition and I lose nothing in terms of speed or accuracy to any of the electronic scopes. At this point we're almost finished, but there is one other requirement of our GP rifle that needs to be discussed. The GP rifle needs to have the capability to operate in low-light or no-light conditions. Obviously, that means the rifle must have the capability to attach some sort of light to it for illumination purposes. It also means that if you are using something other than an electronic scope, that you must have an illuminated reticle. A black reticle in a low-light environment is impossible to use with any speed or accuracy. An illuminated reticle is a necessity. Earlier, I spoke briefly about cost. Cost is a very personal issue and depends entirely upon your individual situation. Having said that, cost works both ways. Prepare yourself for sticker shock when shopping for scopes. Don't skimp on the scope expense, but conversely, don't buy it because is has a fancy German name. Buy quality and features, don't buy brand. So what do we have so far? We've concluded that a low-powered, variable scope, that possesses a true 1x power low-end magnfication, and a minimum of 3x on the high end, with an illuminated reticle, has all the features needed to satisfy the requirements for a good GP rifle scope. Time to offer up some recommendations. My choices? NightForce 1-4 Meopta K-dot 1-4 Leupold CQT 1-3 (Maybe, scope is limited by reticle design) The new GRSC 1-4 (Conditional upon actually seeing it, but it is a promising design.) Good Shooting, VSP |
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Man VSP, That is a long article, don't you have some shooting or training to do?! Just kidding, I know you are super busy and I personally thank you for what you are doing. We need more trainers like you and your buddies to do what you are doing.  Any chance of another local class in the upcoming months? |
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On the 1x scopes, does eye relief still come in to play? The Aimpoint and Eotech don't have a minimum eye relief, so head position is moot. I wonder about the scopes, if you move your head around, does the POA change? What about the IOR 1.1-4? IS the 1.1x enough to throw your eyes off that it's magnified? |
On my USO SN4, eye relief isn't an issue at all and the POA doesn't change. I'm at work, so I'll comment on the rest later.... |
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I do like the idea of a two setting optic. ELCAN has made an optic that is one power and can be put on 4x with the turn of a knob. I also played around with the Aimpoint magnifier and Aimpoint and EOTech sights. This was also pretty nice and made long range practical accuracy much easier. This is when we hit that price issue. I would like to see other manufacturers further explore this line of reasoning in development of an optic that is one power for close, quick work with one more setting for magnification in the mid power range (3x, 4x or 6x-ish). It should have an illuminated reticle as well. A Trijicon that could go imediately from 1x to 4x with a single flip would be about perfect. That magnification can aid in target I.D. and diferentiation as well. Pick up a cheap 4x scope with a decent objective size and you will see that hits and target i.d. are much better than a 1x optic. Think about it, if you are looking at 500yds through a 4x it appears as if it was at 125yds. |
I love mine. I was seeking Eric's opinion since he's way more high speed than a short bus operator like me. :) |
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Glockspeed31, Thank you. It's alway nice to have your work appreciated, as you well know.
I do have some things in the planning process, but I'm waiting to hear back from Mr. Kiser.
Ha! I knew someone would ask about this one. I've shot the IOR and to answer your question, not really, but there is a very slight distortion between your vision in the scope and your peripheral vision (.1 to be exact.) It wasn't enough to slow down my shooting, but at the end of an extended training session, I noticed I was getting headaches. As soon as I stopped and went to another scope, my headaches went away. I can only assume it was the eye strain resulting from my eyes trying to bring both images in focus. To be fair, I know several other shooters who use the IOR and don't have any issues with it. If it works for you, use it. It's a very high quality product. I do get some shading occasionally, but I've never really tested to see if there was a significant problem. At the close distances and the speed with which it's being used, I've never had a problem. SSN_Doc, Yep, I've seen the Elcan 1-4 with the throw lever, although I can't remember what they call it. I like it a lot! I got to play with a T&E sample out at USSA for a weekend. It was an extremely fast and capable scope. The only issue I had was cost. It's on the very upper limit of what I'm willing to pay for a scope, even with the brother-in-law discount at USSA. If money was no object, I'd probably have several.
Absolutely, I apparently forget to mention this point during my rant. Thanks for reminding me.
I have not seen the scope, but I have seen the reticle. I didn't include the scope on my selection because of my dislike for the reticle. I don't understand why Millett included the three large stadia lines at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. I don't see any purpose other than to clutter up the scope. They have no hash marks, no calibration marks, no range finding capabilities. The don't even taper down to help direct your eyes to the center of the scope. At this point, that is the main reason for my omission, but it's purely a personal preference. I like the concept and I hope the Millitt lives up to all the expectations. They could really cut themselves a nice chunck of the market if the scope delivers. From what I've heard and read, the glass seems to be very clear with no shading or distortion around the edges. This is a very good sign. If a company takes the time and money to use high quality glass, they usually take the time to make sure the internals are well built also. I'd be interested in hearing how well the scope returns to zero during some "box" adjustment drills.
I'm with ya on that one brother! Same reason here. It's a great scope. I like the reticle, but it's just out of my price range. VSP |
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I agree a variable that can work like an Aimpoint @ CQB, and better than an ACOG [ > 4x ] at distance would be ideal. I sorta liked the ELCAN 1x/4x, but it's heavy, expensive, and the dealer/enduser support sucks. I liked the S-B scopes, but 4x max power wasn't enough for me. The coolest scope I saw at SHOT Show was the US Optics 1.1-10x SN3 SlimLine. Much less bulky than a full tactical rifle scope, it was a perfect fit on an AR. As usual, you can get a miriad on reticles and options from USO. It doesn't have a true 1.0x, and I don't have any time behind this scope, so I don't know if eyestrain would result during CQB. "Speed's just a question of money, how fast do ya wanna go?" |
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Good info! I am still trying to digest it all. I have looked through the GRSC scope and was not impressed with it. The glass was yellow/brown and distorted around the edges. Mike Miller has one and he says the glass is great. So maybe the one I looked through was dirty or something as it had been shot all day at a match in a very dusty environment. The ret. was OK and for me going from an eotech to this would be a major adjustment for me. The illumination was OK in the bright AL sun against IPSC targets with dirt backgrounds. The donut seemed a little to big for me, but I come from a precision rifle background and like very fine cross hairs in my optics that would not be practical in this application, so take that for what you paid for it  The guy running the scope won the match - BUT, he missed the two closest targets and it was not that accurate shooting targets at 175 and 275yds. It did great on everything from 15yds on out to 45yds.Meopta, I have never looked at one of those. I need to get my little fingers on one of them. NF: Its getting up there in price. Now I am a huge NF fan, but the 1-4 scope I played with the other day just did not warrant the $1200 price tag. Everything was good except the adjustments. They just felt cheap to me and killed the deal for that much coin. Bottom line: I am still torn as to what to get...... |
Wow! I missed that one. That could have some real potential.
I hear ya. The NF is at the upper limit of what I want to pay for a good GP scope. It helps that I can get some good pricing through USSA, but I still haven't bought one yet. I'm waiting to see the GRSC before I do. I like the GRSC reticle better than the NF. |
I would think making shots at 500 yds with either the Eotech or Aimpoint magnifiers would be problematic due to the fact that they don't have any form of BDC leaving you to rely on holdovers. |
Two things. First, as Bradd noted, the EOTech reticle get difficult to use over 400 yds as the dot must be "suspended" in air above the target. It can be done, but it's not quick or effective. There's a lot of H&H (Hold & Hope.) This is also why I listed the Leupold CQT as a potential scope. I know the reticle is the same but see the next paragraph. Second, while the magnifier will help in getting you out to 500 yards, the actual reticle itself becomes a problem. I'm not talking about the design, I mean the actual electronic projection. The dot is not a crisp, glass etched reticle (like the CQT.) The edges are fuzzy. This makes precise aiming by means of the edge of the dot very difficult. Remember, the EOTech was designed for CBQ. The magnifier is a way of enhancing its performance envelope in the 100-300 yard window, not extending its range. That is just a byproduct of the magnifier. VSP |
First impressions: Bright clear glass, the reticle is easily seen and when turned on - the doughnut and dot illuminate brightly. So far so good - the price was great! I like it. |