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 greatYes sir...red dot lpvo...etc
My first suggestion would be @NKD suggestion of doing to separate rifles, one lvpo and the other Holosun red dot 510 or 515.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.
The PX4i (non-opmod variants) are also on sale right now from a number of places like Euro Optic.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.
FWIW, my eyes usually prefer green. And on the Credo specifically, the green illuminated battery life is significant longer - 198 hours vs 68 hours.maybe try the Trijicon CredoHX 1-6 with the red led and hunter BDC reticle. I heard green on them sucks.
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
@NKD everyone’s eyes are different! I own one & it is daylight bright, imo
I feel like it also depends on your environment. Red shows up better than green with certain surroundings, and vice versa.@NKD everyone’s eyes are different! I own one & it is daylight bright, imo
Pros: true 1x, Japan LOW glass, no edge distortion, huge eyebox & really comfortable to be behindNice.
Any other pros and/or cons?
I like the illuminated lvpo’s. I like the Trijicon Credo 1-6x24.Curious to recommendations for beat red dot or scope for 12.5 or 14.5 upper? Suggestions ??
Yes. Aimpoint T2 4lyfe.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 t2View attachment 690183
But it's too much effort to push the scope ring around!Just use 1X on your LPVO like a True American. I think Che Guevara used offset dots. He stole them from dead rich capitalists!
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!
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