Best optic?

All around really....want best of both worlds 😂...close and long distance....something overall to fit in both worlds...
 
Whats the budget? A lot easier to make suggestions if we known what it is.

Are you willing to buy stuff made in China? Do you care about size and weight?
 
If money truly was no object, I would have an ELCAN spectre or a Nightforce 1-8
 
When you say optic, are you leaning towards any specific type, i.e., red dot, lpvo, etc.?
 
svt159 said:
Yes sir...red dot lpvo...etc
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I hadn’t see the price revision , based on your price range and desire to stay with an American company - I would suggest a Leupold VX5HD 1-5x. This has their fire dot option in the reticle for a red dot, and the glass in these has always looked great
 
Big window to hit. Very subjective.
But the Steiner PX4i is a very good optic that is not super heavy. It would be snazzy on a 12.5". It excels in 1x and illuminated dot performance. JRHorne listed one for sale for a fair deal.
For closer to a grand I'd get a Razor 1-6 with the miculek reticle or maybe try the Trijicon CredoHX 1-6 with the red led and hunter BDC reticle. I heard green on them sucks.


If it were me, I'd set up each rifle differently. I'd put the low power variable optic on the 14.5" and set up the 12.5" as a lightweight with a Holosun 510c red dot.
 
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NKD said:
But the Steiner PX4i is a very good optic that is not super heavy. It would be snazzy on a 12.5". It excels in 1x and illuminated dot performance. JRHorne listed one for sale for a fair deal.

If it were me, I'd set up each rifle differently. I'd put the low power variable optic on the 14.5" and set up the 12.5" as a lightweight with a Holosun 510c red dot.
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My first suggestion would be @NKD suggestion of doing to separate rifles, one lvpo and the other Holosun red dot 510 or 515.

If 2 rifles is not an option then I would go with his first suggestion. The Steiner PX4i is a great optic, doesn’t break the bank, not too heavy, and great glass in this price point.
 

NC - FS 30% off Vortex at EuroOptic certificate

I have a 30% off MAP on any Vortex product at EuroOptic cert for sale. Doesn't expire until 7/17/24 so plenty of time to use it. Can save you a good amount of money depending on the product you want. Asking $150. No electronic payments. Check or money order. PM any questions.
carolinafirearmsforum.com carolinafirearmsforum.com

Buy that and get a Vortex Razor HD ii E for 1140.

Comes to 990 with the 30% off, plus the 150 for the coupon and you’re at 1140.
 
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Avery said:
Looks like @NKD and @Average Joe beat me to it. The Steiner px4i is an awesome lpvo with exceptionally clear glass for the price. I appreciate it’s simple and efficient reticle design with a dot illumination option. Not a bunch of busy geometry etched in.
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The PX4i (non-opmod variants) are also on sale right now from a number of places like Euro Optic.
 
NKD said:
maybe try the Trijicon CredoHX 1-6 with the red led and hunter BDC reticle. I heard green on them sucks.
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FWIW, my eyes usually prefer green. And on the Credo specifically, the green illuminated battery life is significant longer - 198 hours vs 68 hours.

For OP, if money was no object, my personal choice would be Nightforce ATACR 1-8. But if you’re new to the sport & can’t decide between a red dot or LPVO, you’d probably benefit more from getting a high-quality version of both to play with. Also, go find a LGS with some inventory you can put your own eyes on - everyone is different & reading reviews will only take you so far
 
QuadRail said:
FWIW, my eyes usually prefer green. And on the Credo specifically, the green illuminated battery life is significant longer - 198 hours vs 68 hours.

For OP, if money was no object, my personal choice would be Nightforce ATACR 1-8. But if you’re new to the sport & can’t decide between a red dot or LPVO, you’d probably benefit more from getting a high-quality version of both to play with. Also, go find a LGS with some inventory you can put your own eyes on - everyone is different & reading reviews will only take you so far
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I heard the reason it is longer is that the green is not daylight bright. Whereas the red is much brighter and is daylight bright. Daylight brightness is a requirement for me for competition use.

Only what I read, as I have not owned either. Would like to try one!
 
QuadRail said:
@NKD everyone’s eyes are different! I own one & it is daylight bright, imo
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I feel like it also depends on your environment. Red shows up better than green with certain surroundings, and vice versa.
 
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NKD said:
Nice.
Any other pros and/or cons?
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Pros: true 1x, Japan LOW glass, no edge distortion, huge eyebox & really comfortable to be behind

Cons: mine is just the 1-4 HX & it’s SFP - could be lighter. Trijicon made the Tenmile really lightweight for its class but Credos are heavy compared to similar - stiff mag ring

Overall, I like it okay but I wouldn’t repurchase
 
Really hard to say, a lot of it is going to come down to personal preference.

For your budget and preference for American made (or perhaps you really mean not chinese?) I think the top options are:

Red dots:
Eotech and magnifier
Aimpoint and magnifier (not American made tho)

Lpvo:
Steiner, trijicon, eotech, vortex razer, PA Plxc all good options

Prism:
Acog of some sort with offset or piggybacked rmr.

But you really have to narrow down the intended use, expected range, and then account for any personal preferences you may have. Probably best to decide on 1) optic type, 2) magnification range desired 3) reticule/features/weight

For me, I have a 13.7 (pretty close to your lengths) and I've settled on a 4x acog on a Kram spacer with a top dot after trying a bunch of different options. Again, personal preference and use case really drive the bus here.
 
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If keeping it under like $700, my vote also goes to the Steiner P4Xi.

im not a huge LPVO fan. an eotech with G33 or similar eotech magnifier to me is where it’s at for 0-400 yards.
 
If you wanna be lazy like me, you can get a 1-6 LPVO and a canted red dot. Leave the LPVO at 4x unless you’re shooting out to 500/600.
 
barf said:
If you wanna be lazy like me, you can get a 1-6 LPVO and a canted red dot. Leave the LPVO at 4x unless you’re shooting out to 500/600.
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Plus one for this setup. Vortex 1-10 or ATACR 1-8 with a red dot is pretty darn versatile.
If you just want a dot Aimpoint t231BA6A9E-F0E6-4B55-972C-3D344F48D4B2.png
 
Just use 1X on your LPVO like a True American. I think Che Guevara used offset dots. He stole them from dead rich capitalists!
 
NKD said:
Just use 1X on your LPVO like a True American. I think Che Guevara used offset dots. He stole them from dead rich capitalists!
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But it's too much effort to push the scope ring around!
And don't talk to me about the Bindon aiming concept, because there's no way that could possibly work!
 
I took my own advice from this thread and bought a P4Xi. Other than mushy turrets, the glass really can't be beat at this price point. And a huge thumbs up for Steiner customer service - realized I was missing the throw lever, submitted a ticket around 5PM on a Saturday, got feedback almost immediately to provide them a receipt to show I purchased through an authorized distributor, and by 7PM had tracking info. That's treading into Vortex territory for customer service.
 
maybe an unpopular/biased opinion but for a 5.56 i would simply run an EOTECH with a magnifier. It depends on what you want to do though. If you are going to do any speed based shooting, red dots are the way to go. to be honest, holo / RDS are just a lot faster in transitions and movement. Infinite eye relief is nice if you can have it. For further away stuff, you can use the magnifier. you can do decent out to 200-300yds with this setup. I personally think LPVOs are overrated. like everyone says though.....mission dependent. If i was going for straight accuracy with no time limit, I would go along with a lot of the LPVO advice here.

Balance of speed and accuracy = red dot (+ magnifier if you want it)
Accuracy only = scope with variable or fixed magnification
 
dsmarty386 said:
maybe an unpopular/biased opinion but for a 5.56 i would simply run an EOTECH with a magnifier. It depends on what you want to do though. If you are going to do any speed based shooting, red dots are the way to go. to be honest, holo / RDS are just a lot faster in transitions and movement. Infinite eye relief is nice if you can have it. For further away stuff, you can use the magnifier. you can do decent out to 200-300yds with this setup. I personally think LPVOs are overrated. like everyone says though.....mission dependent. If i was going for straight accuracy with no time limit, I would go along with a lot of the LPVO advice here.

Balance of speed and accuracy = red dot (+ magnifier if you want it)
Accuracy only = scope with variable or fixed magnification
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I have found neither of those to be any faster than a LPVO in anything, if it is a good one. Just my opinion.
 
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