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Old December 20, 2018, 02:39 AM   #1
TimW77
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Low Powered Scopes

I am looking for several low powered scopes such as 1-6X, 1-8X. Power on low end should be no more than 1.5X. Rifles used are "AR types" in .223 Wylde, 6.5 Grendel, .308 Win and .260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmore...

Currently looking at Millett 1-6X, Shepherd 1-6X and Vortex 1-8X Strike Eagle and several others.

Do you have any actual experience with these scopes or have other recommendations for similar scopes?

TW
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Old December 20, 2018, 08:07 AM   #2
hounddog409
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I have a BCM Rifle in 5.56.

I have the Leupold Mark AR MOD 1 1.5-4x20mm Firedot reticle mounted on it.

It has an illuminated green dot center of reticle.

great scope. The green dot is a tremendous help in low light conditions.

I have heard varying reports on the Millet, some not so good. I have a vortex scope on a bolt rifle and have never had an issue with it.

Vortex is a good scope, but have not experience with the other brand.
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Old December 20, 2018, 08:53 AM   #3
TBM900
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The Primary Arms LPVO line have been getting stellar performance reviews and have a lifetime warranty.
Ive been running their fixed power on some of my AKs for several years with no issues even after much abuse. I recently picked up a Raptor that seems rock solid, going to start pushing it soon to see if its as tuff & reliable.
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Old December 20, 2018, 09:14 AM   #4
Drm50
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My Bro has the Millet on a Contender Carbine in 375Win. He likes it and that is on his primary Ohio legal deer gun. Clear optics and must be tuff the recoil of 375W is pretty stiff
on TC carbine.
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Old December 20, 2018, 09:46 AM   #5
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Burris RT6 is excellent. The Nightforce, Trijicon and SWFA are also really good options, as are the higher end Vortex, but you are into the $1K range.

The Strike Eagles have not held up well and have some parallax out past 200 and I would not suggest the Millet either. I have not used a Shepherd. I have tested and shot with all of the rest, as well as several others. I took a XTRII 1-5 off of my .223 Match gun to put on the RT6 and it just punches well above its price point. My .308 pattern ARs all have XTRIIs on them.
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Old December 20, 2018, 11:47 AM   #6
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It all comes down to the glass. The higher the power the better glass you need, the better glass costs more money.
Look at where it's made: Chinese is the worst. Philippines is much better. Japan, USA, and European are the best.
When I buy optics, I will not purchase Chinese glass, and it must have a lifetime warranty, which means most of my scopes are Vortex Viper or Leupold.
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Old December 20, 2018, 12:55 PM   #7
Django11
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I own the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6x. I generally only use that rifle as a plinker and works just fine for that,but it's by no means the greatest scope ever. I own a Sightron S-tac 1-7x and I love it. It has a single center dot that can be illuminated. I have it on a rifle I use mainly for hunting. Its clear and perfect for shooting animals. Last I checked they run around $800. Only downfall is the dot could be brighter if one would want it on during daylight.
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Old December 21, 2018, 02:41 AM   #8
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I have the Vortex in a 1-6X. The image near the edges isn't as sharp and clear as some of the more expensive scopes. But for the money it serves my needs. When sighting a rifle you only look through the middle of the scope anyway. That is more of a concern with binoculars.

These scopes get a lot of positive comments. My Brother has a fixed 6X that is a great scope. I considered the 1-4X but really wanted a bit more than 4X on the top end. Their 1-6X was priced at $1000 and over my budget.

https://www.swfa.com/optics/riflesco...rand=SWFA%20SS
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Old December 21, 2018, 09:19 AM   #9
Doyle
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I know you said 1.5, but if you expand your search to go up to 2X on the low end it will open up lots more opportunities. I love my Leupold VX2 2-7. If I were searching for a replacement, I'd also look seriously at a Vortex 2-7.
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Old December 21, 2018, 12:43 PM   #10
reynolds357
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Quote:
When I buy optics, I will not purchase Chinese glass, and it must have a lifetime warranty, which means most of my scopes are Vortex Viper or Leupold.
Leupold does its fair share of manufacturing in China.
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Old December 21, 2018, 01:50 PM   #11
Doyle
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Quote:
Leupold does its fair share of manufacturing in China.
I thought it's Asian stuff came from the Philippines.
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Old December 21, 2018, 02:05 PM   #12
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My first question would be what have you designed the rifle to do? If the rifle is strictly short range tactical then go with a red dot and maybe an 3x behind it. Target acquisition will be much faster if that's what you're after.

If what you're really doing is trying to get accurate shot placement at 100 yards on a limited budget then take a look at the Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44mm. It has probably the largest field of view in it's price range. I have one and like it.
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Old December 21, 2018, 05:31 PM   #13
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Leupold® is issuing a consumer alert to purchasers of Leupold riflescope products, particularly via internet sales, in regards to counterfeit Leupold products that are illegally imported from the People’s Republic of China. These fake products bear many of the trademarks and trade dress of current Leupold & Stevens riflescopes, and are sometimes difficult to distinguish externally from authentic Leupold products.

Common counterfeit scopes purport to be Mark 4 riflescopes, VX-III riflescopes, Prismatic riflescopes, CQ/T riflescopes, LCO sights, and Deltapoint Pro sights. These counterfeits are regularly returned to us for service due to failures; however, counterfeit products are not manufactured by Leupold and are not covered by the Leupold Full Lifetime Guarantee. We do not provide service for counterfeit products.


That is from the Leupold website.
......sorry Leupolds are not made in China.
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Old December 21, 2018, 05:34 PM   #14
hounddog409
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More from the counterfeit message.


Leupold riflescopes are all designed, machined, and assembled in our Beaverton Oregon manufacturing facility. We do not have any other riflescope manufacturing facilities or offices anywhere in the world. So if you come across a Leupold riflescope being shipped into the United States from China, it is a very likely a counterfeit.
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Old December 21, 2018, 05:40 PM   #15
hounddog409
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This is important info as well......


We strongly recommend against purchasing optics purporting to be Leupold products from www.wish.com, www.ioffer.com, www.aliexpress.com, and www.alibaba.com, among many others.
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Old December 21, 2018, 08:12 PM   #16
reynolds357
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Quote:
.....sorry Leupolds are not made in China.
Really? Their scopes may be U.S. assembled either in whole or in part but some "Leupolds" are indeed made in China. I have a pair of their binoculars that unless my eyes deceive me has the words "made in China" displayed in tiny print on their box. They are NOT counterfeit. They were purchased from a very large, very reputable Leupold dealer.
As a side note, I have a pair of Chinese made Zeiss Binos that are nothing short of spectacular.

Last edited by reynolds357; December 21, 2018 at 08:19 PM.
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Old December 21, 2018, 10:12 PM   #17
TBM900
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hounddog409 View Post
......sorry Leupolds are not made in China.
Sorry.....but much of their glass, tubes, bodies, rings, dials, etc, are in fact made in china.

There is a huge difference between 'made in' and 'assembled in'. And even then 'made in U.S.' often still can legally qualify using foreign components.

I hate to say it but China is producing some very nice glass.
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Old December 22, 2018, 07:24 PM   #18
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i found a nice balance of quality v. cost with Weaver on the upper end of their line. I have several Super Slams that i caught on sale; they are Japanese glass and I have no complaints so far.

The next notch down is their Grand Slam products, I have a pair of binoculars in that line. Nice clear optics, but minor complaints with the objective covers that won't stay on and the twist up eye cups (fragile, stripped one right away and I'm not rough on equipment much).
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Old December 27, 2018, 08:46 PM   #19
TimW77
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Have been looking at 1-6X and 1-8X and similar scopes...

Seems to be a lot of scopes nowadays in these ranges so I'm going to expand my search beyond the 3 I mentioned...

Tim
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Old January 3, 2019, 10:56 PM   #20
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Old January 4, 2019, 02:30 PM   #21
PlatinumCore16
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I will give a vote for Vortex and Primary Arms. I have used PA and my buddy has a Vortex Strike Eagle that he has let me borrow. The Vortex glass is good and the PA stuff is on par.
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Old February 2, 2019, 06:01 AM   #22
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So, I've been doing a little research into optics. Between the basic 1x RDO’s, fixed magnification combat optics like the ACOG, and Low Power Variable Optics (LPVOs) from 1-4x to 1-8x, I’m trying to figure out the best compromise.

Most agree that RDO’s excel in target acquisition from point blank out to about 200 meters. No argument there. My goal is to have better precision out to about 500 meters...which requires some magnification.

The ACOGs (2x to 6x) use the BAC, which works well at closer distances, but does require more focused training. Their field of view on their optics are the listed as some of the best, but they’re not as precise as LPVOs (although most LPVOs aren’t marketed as precision optics either). The biggest upside is their weight and simplicity. While they have the dual Tritium and Fiber Optic illuminated reticles, they now have LED powered versions that weight a couple ounces more, but offer much better illumination when transitioning light to dark environments and vice versa.

LPVOs are all the rage and popular for 3-gun competitions. The more common are the 1-6x LPVOs and there are tons of them. The biggest detractor is weight. Most weigh about a pound and half to almost two pounds without a mount. That’s a lot of weight on your rifle (ala the Sig TANGO 6 on my Revolution). You can get some 1-6x LPVOs down to about 17oz, just over a pound, but the price penalties push them to $2000+ (Nightforce, Kahles, Schmidt and Bender, etc.)!

For a general purpose rifle, how much range and accuracy do you really need? While the ACOGs are built as a fixed power (with BAC capability) combat optic for fast target acquisition at further distances than RDO’s, will they provide enough precision and accuracy out to 500 meters (which is my goal)?

From everything I've read, your best options in reasonable price ranges are Primary Arms and Vortex. Steiner also has a newer 1-4x scope on the market that gets great reviews as well. Yes, good glass costs, but I just can't see the difference between a $1000 Vortex Razor and a $3000 NightForce. Sure, quality and glass are better, but are they $2K better?

As much as I want to try another LPVO (1-6x), I want to see the weight come down to about a pound (or less) sans mount; and hopefully not more than a grand. Even the lower 1-4x scopes are pretty heavy, but I love their versatility. For a bench gun or limited competition, they're probably okay, but for long range patrolling, scouting, or hunting on foot...those ounces add up quick!

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Old February 2, 2019, 07:17 AM   #23
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I used low power variables (1-4x, 1.5-4.5x, 1.5-5x) for several years because these were more compact in size. I found that aiming at critters at longer ranges was handicapped by the 4-5x top end and shifted to a 2-7x32 which solved most of those issues. I NEVER found the 1x to have any advantage in my business.
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Old February 2, 2019, 04:53 PM   #24
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I don't know how long this will be available, but $410 for a Vortex Razor 1.5-8 is a deal:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019ZUE18W
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