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bamaranger · February 11, 2020, 10:30 AM

What type of AR will the scope go on, fixed butt, rifle size, 20" barrel, or telestock 16" carbine? For me that will have a bearing on what scope is mounted. On a rifle size AR, I might go as big as 3x9x40, but a carbine will get something smaller. I don't think I want a dot on either. Dots and battery life have come a long way, but a good one is costly, and I can get a scope that serves my needs as well or better, at about half the cost of a top end dot.

I like to keep my carbines and correspondingly, my scopes, light and trim. I only run one 30mm tubed scope, and it is on a heavy bolt match rifle that (used to) only goes from the tailgate to the firing line. All my field/hunting rifles and carbines wear 1" scopes in an effort to reduce size and weight. Burdening a tidy carbine of any type with a big scope is one those things with me, ....I don't get it. The trend seems to be 30mm tubes on AR carbines, but that is not the way I do it.

As I'm not doing entries or assaults or timed competition, the AR carbine is a general purpose arm for me, which means I'll be carrying it outdoors, in daylight and likely shooting at varmints or plinking targets of opportunity like stumps, rocks and so on. I don't need a light, or a laser, and a dot does not offer enough precision on smaller targets. For this type of shooting, a scope w/ some type of crosshairs works just fine. That said one of the newer "Fire Dot" arrangements might be the best of both worlds, but I do not think any come with 1" tube, and we're back to the battery issue as well.

I believe Leupold's 1-4x has been discontinued, and replaced in the Leupold Freedom line with a 1.5-5x at about the same dimensions and price range. Watch out for import fakes. Used Leupold 1-4x's do not last long on the market. It appears that Weaver has discontinued their tidy 1-3x. Nikon is out of the scope businesss so their 1-4x is gone, and service on a used one is up in the air as well. Vortex and Primary Arms have 1-4x, but 30mm tubes and illumination add weight and size, and I do not want to go there. I don't see anything in the Burris line that measures up at all, though I like their stuff as a rule.

February 11, 2020, 10:30 AM	#9
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,313	scopes What type of AR will the scope go on, fixed butt, rifle size, 20" barrel, or telestock 16" carbine? For me that will have a bearing on what scope is mounted. On a rifle size AR, I might go as big as 3x9x40, but a carbine will get something smaller. I don't think I want a dot on either. Dots and battery life have come a long way, but a good one is costly, and I can get a scope that serves my needs as well or better, at about half the cost of a top end dot. I like to keep my carbines and correspondingly, my scopes, light and trim. I only run one 30mm tubed scope, and it is on a heavy bolt match rifle that (used to) only goes from the tailgate to the firing line. All my field/hunting rifles and carbines wear 1" scopes in an effort to reduce size and weight. Burdening a tidy carbine of any type with a big scope is one those things with me, ....I don't get it. The trend seems to be 30mm tubes on AR carbines, but that is not the way I do it. As I'm not doing entries or assaults or timed competition, the AR carbine is a general purpose arm for me, which means I'll be carrying it outdoors, in daylight and likely shooting at varmints or plinking targets of opportunity like stumps, rocks and so on. I don't need a light, or a laser, and a dot does not offer enough precision on smaller targets. For this type of shooting, a scope w/ some type of crosshairs works just fine. That said one of the newer "Fire Dot" arrangements might be the best of both worlds, but I do not think any come with 1" tube, and we're back to the battery issue as well. I believe Leupold's 1-4x has been discontinued, and replaced in the Leupold Freedom line with a 1.5-5x at about the same dimensions and price range. Watch out for import fakes. Used Leupold 1-4x's do not last long on the market. It appears that Weaver has discontinued their tidy 1-3x. Nikon is out of the scope businesss so their 1-4x is gone, and service on a used one is up in the air as well. Vortex and Primary Arms have 1-4x, but 30mm tubes and illumination add weight and size, and I do not want to go there. I don't see anything in the Burris line that measures up at all, though I like their stuff as a rule.