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Looking for opinions on optics

2026 Views 18 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  locutus
I'm new to the AR world I recently bought a S&W in .556 I'm looking for a decent optic that can handle the caliber and also wondering about magnifiers and if they are even worth the time and money. Any thoughts would be great.
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A little more info.

What exactly is your definition of optics????

Magnifiers? Virtually all scopes are magnifiers. Are you referring to Red Dots???
locutus said:
A little more info.

What exactly is your definition of optics????

Magnifiers? Virtually all scopes are magnifiers. Are you referring to Red Dots???
Sorry I've been looking at so many of these things I'm just out right confused. I'm more of a range plinker I might do a little hunting with it but probably not much if any. I've been leaning towards red dot but also looking at something like an acog style scope also. Is it possible to do both and if so which one should be on a drop mount or should I even mess with the drop mount? Unfortunately I just don't have trijicon money though.
what are you looking to spend ? thats the big question . When you say ACOG style please dont buy a cheap chinese styled ACOG , you will get what you pay for . Vortec is high on the list , Lifetime no BS / no frills warranty and fabulous customer service
I would like a primer on tactical optics. Hunting scopes I know, but
Red Dots, Holo's and ACOGs I need to learn more about. Have some
AR's coming that need some optics.
Mine has a Bushnell Trophy XLT 1-4x24 4A reticle with a 1 MOA illuminated dot. Scope will still function if the battery goes dead. It gives me the choice of a 1x red dot or a 4x scope with red dot. No flip over mounts. Just dial in the power. You will need a forward offset mount.

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I would like to hear the pros and cons of what you all have tried as well. I have bought 2 red dots and don't really like either.
I got the Barska with the 3x mag... the mag won't line up correctly and the 32mm optic is too small. It looks cool and the illuminated cross hair is nice that's about it. Then I got some UTG red dot at a gun show... its a POS as well.

I've been waiting something that will work for long range (200-250) and close range for coyotes.

I'm thinking about getting the Eotech EXPS3-4...then eventually getting a mount for the Barska magnifier to see if that works
I have a Vortex strike fire and it works great for the range and Coyote hunting . They have an awesome lifetime warranty and it works great with the AR mount as an absolute co witness to your Iron sights or flip up sights like I have . The only thing to remember is that the dot is a 3 inch moa and at 100 yards the dot covers a 3 inch target . I have no problems hitting coyotes at 200 yards and I can hit an 8 inch metal plate 10 out of 10 times at 200 yards but the dot completely covers the plate . I want to get a magnifier next to see how they work and then I will probably save up for an eotech as they are a 1 inch moa .
Mine has a Bushnell Trophy XLT 1-4x24 4A reticle with a 1 MOA illuminated dot. Scope will still function if the battery goes dead. It gives me the choice of a 1x red dot or a 4x scope with red dot. No flip over mounts. Just dial in the power. You will need a forward offset mount.
This is the scope I have on my AR. $67 from midwayusa .

Good enough to hit steel at 400 yards.
For 250 to 300 yards, an Aimpoint PRO should serve you well.

www.swfa.com
Is the vortex strike fire worth it for the money?? Do they really stack up well against aimpoints
Is the vortex strike fire worth it for the money?? Do they really stack up well against aimpoints
Im sure some one will jump all over me on this one but its not apple to apples .
The aimpoint has a ridiculous battery life 30000-50000 yrs thats well over 3 yrs of continuous on the vortex Im not sure of battery life . I have left mine on for weeks and its still working . and your talking about 250-$350 difference between the 2 depending on the aimpoint model , the aimpoints have a water proof depth of 150 ft the vortex 49.7 ft . Yes the vortex is a fabulous sight for the $169 they cost , their customer service is top notch , no BS warranty whether your the first owner or the 100th owner of that optic. now you can get the aimpoints in a 2 moa dot and you cannot do that with the vortex your stuck with a 4 moa dot, both have NV mode . I would not be afraid to own another one .
purehavoc said:
Im sure some one will jump all over me on this one but its not apple to apples .
The aimpoint has a ridiculous battery life 30000-50000 yrs thats well over 3 yrs of continuous on the vortex Im not sure of battery life . I have left mine on for weeks and its still working . and your talking about 250-$350 difference between the 2 depending on the aimpoint model , the aimpoints have a water proof depth of 150 ft the vortex 49.7 ft . Yes the vortex is a fabulous sight for the $169 they cost , their customer service is top notch , no BS warranty whether your the first owner or the 100th owner of that optic. now you can get the aimpoints in a 2 moa dot and you cannot do that with the vortex your stuck with a 4 moa dot, both have NV mode . I would not be afraid to own another one .
Thanks man I just Ordered one from optic planet. It's on back Oder but I hope to have it soon. Do u know any thing about the vortex x3 magnifier??
Thanks man I just Ordered one from optic planet. It's on back Oder but I hope to have it soon. Do u know any thing about the vortex x3 magnifier??
Never messed with one but I hear they are pretty clear. If I need to get out farther than 200 yards I go get something with a scope on it ;)
Is the vortex strike fire worth it for the money?? Do they really stack up well against aimpoints
They are good for the price point. Aimpoint is worth the extra money. One of the issues with most lower end rds like the strikefire is they arent that durable so warranty is important. Batteries can be an issue as they are sometimes hard to find. If its a gun your life depends on get a aimpoint if itsca range toy strikefire or its kin is just fine.

I would like a primer on tactical optics. Hunting scopes I know, but
Red Dots, Holo's and ACOGs I need to learn more about. Have some
AR's coming that need some optics.
Red dots or rds and holos are pretty much the same thing, unmagnified optics and really just electronic versions of iron sights only not as accurate. I say not as accurate because pinpoint accuracy can be achieved with iron sights with proper dedication and training. With rds/holo sights the dot or image is anywhere from 1moa to 4 moa in size. So at 100 yards its covering 1-4 inches of target. At 300 yards its 3-12 inches.

Unless you center it perfectly each time which isnt possible due to the fuzziness of the dot or hologram itself, current light conditions or other factors in design your actual shotgroup when fired is much larger.

For accurate precision shooting at any real distance an rds or holo is worse than just using traditional iron sights.

What they DO excel at is very rapid target acquisition and landing hits on man sized targets at close range to about 100 yards. Magnifying them offsets the drawbacks only slightly.

With an acog, there is only one maker of acogs trijicon, you get a more traditional magnified optic with a quick target acquisition style reticle. This lends itself much better to longer range accurate shooting and still able to be used in close range rapid target acquisition with some training.

The thing that sets the acog apart from other optics and from rds and holos is the lack of need for batteries. The reticle is powered by tritium and in some models also by fiber optic for both day/night illumination without need for manual adjustment of brightness. The dual illumination models simply are amazing in their ability to self adjust reticle brightness from ambient lighting conditions. They are also more rugged than the famed aimpoints.

My favorite choice are the acogs with dual illumination and the trijicon accupoint scopes with dual illumination for hunting. Used my accupoint for the first time this year deer hunting and sitting behind the scope not having to adjust brightness as the sky went from night to dawn to day and keeping the green dot visible but able to see the animals in all lighting is amazing.
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They are good for the price point. Aimpoint is worth the extra money. One of the issues with most lower end rds like the strikefire is they arent that durable so warranty is important. Batteries can be an issue as they are sometimes hard to find. If its a gun your life depends on get a aimpoint if itsca range toy strikefire or its kin is just fine.

Red dots or rds and holos are pretty much the same thing, unmagnified optics and really just electronic versions of iron sights only not as accurate. I say not as accurate because pinpoint accuracy can be achieved with iron sights with proper dedication and training. With rds/holo sights the dot or image is anywhere from 1moa to 4 moa in size. So at 100 yards its covering 1-4 inches of target. At 300 yards its 3-12 inches.

Unless you center it perfectly each time which isnt possible due to the fuzziness of the dot or hologram itself, current light conditions or other factors in design your actual shotgroup when fired is much larger.

For accurate precision shooting at any real distance an rds or holo is worse than just using traditional iron sights.

What they DO excel at is very rapid target acquisition and landing hits on man sized targets at close range to about 100 yards. Magnifying them offsets the drawbacks only slightly.

With an acog, there is only one maker of acogs trijicon, you get a more traditional magnified optic with a quick target acquisition style reticle. This lends itself much better to longer range accurate shooting and still able to be used in close range rapid target acquisition with some training.

The thing that sets the acog apart from other optics and from rds and holos is the lack of need for batteries. The reticle is powered by tritium and in some models also by fiber optic for both day/night illumination without need for manual adjustment of brightness. The dual illumination models simply are amazing in their ability to self adjust reticle brightness from ambient lighting conditions. They are also more rugged than the famed aimpoints.

My favorite choice are the acogs with dual illumination and the trijicon accupoint scopes with dual illumination for hunting. Used my accupoint for the first time this year deer hunting and sitting behind the scope not having to adjust brightness as the sky went from night to dawn to day and keeping the green dot visible but able to see the animals in all lighting is amazing.
Very good info.
IMO red dots are a waste of ammo much past 100 yards. To bring out the inherent accuracy of an AR 15 you should be looking at a magnified optic. As other have said the ACOG is an excellent choice. I have 4 different ones but my favorite is the dual illumination TA31F. Only thing that might be a problem is the short eye relief, 1.5" which is not problem for me. If you intend to shoot at range more than 300 yards then I would suggest the Vortex Viper 4-16X50 FFP scope.
Vortex sparc red dot. It comes with a detachable magnifier, 199.99 anywhere you look. I run this dot on my daniel defense and it holds zero perfectly, nice and small.
Is the vortex strike fire worth it for the money?? Do they really stack up well against aimpoints
Is it worth the money?? I dunno

Does it stack up well against the Aimpoint?? Well......NO
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