Suggestions for a scope for my daughter

Crankbait

Crankbait

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Built my daughter an AR to hunt and shoot with. Daughter is 6. I currently have a Vortex Spitfire AR Prism on it. I can hardly see the dot in the middle. It’s dual ring with a very small dot. Not ideal for hunting. I’m thinking about a Burris Fullfield IV 2.5-10 or maybe a 1-6 or 1-8.

Any other suggestions? Here’s the gun. Aero upper/lower with an 11” BCM barrel. 2035715D-26AF-4208-A68D-E090F8E3E9DA.jpeg
 
At 6 years old I would have to say K.I.S.S. and light … as few knobs to turn as possible mainly. I‘d be thinking a simple inexpensive 4X scope is light and simple crosshair reticle instead of say some mil-dot or BDC reticle means aim and fire is less complicated. When she gets more experience and that fixed down … and a little older and stronger … move up the the variable power model. As far as that goes for an AR to me a 1-6 is hard to beat … I usually run between 3x and 4X with that 6X being there just in case.
 
The lower power 1-4, 1-6 , etc optics will most likely have a small reticle that will also be difficult to see. A lesser expensive Burris or Leupold 3-9, 2.5-10 with a easier to see reticle would be my vote. Leupold has a basic reticle with thick horizontal and vertical lines near the outer edges, and finer towards the center.

Given the fact that she is 6, is there a chance she just can't get her eyes lined up ccorrectly due to her size?
 
Yep that dot is really high and really close.

Just me I would go with a LPVO and mount it with medium rings or low for her to get a good cheek weld.
Something in a 1x5 or 1x6 range
 
Throwing out a curve ball here.

What about one of the new PA 3x micro prisms or the small-ish 2x prism? Super light weight with a relatively simple reticle and enough magnification.

Even a light weight lpvo will be significantly heavier than something like a micro prism and that weight savings could be big for a little one.
 
Fred said:
That's a very high mounted optic to get a cheekweld with. Probably even more so for a 6 year old.
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I have a low mount for that optic but still can’t see the dot and the circle does no good and farther distances
 
Cole_McD said:
Throwing out a curve ball here.

What about one of the new PA 3x micro prisms or the small-ish 2x prism? Super light weight with a relatively simple reticle and enough magnification.
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I’m not sure how that reticle would do. I think @BowWow has a point with small reticles and cross hairs


Cole_McD said:
Even a light weight lpvo will be significantly heavier than something like a micro prism and that weight savings could be big for a little one.
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Weight really isn’t an issue as she’ll be shooting off a rest or bench and I’ll be helping her hold it upright. No free hand quite yet. She’s skinny and tall. Taller than your average 6 year. She’s the tallest in her class out of 26 kids.
 
Mr.Gadget said:
Yep that dot is really high and really close.
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It’s as close as it is because it’s not a dot…it’s a prism. If you put it up at the junction of the upper and rail where I normally mount red dots, it would be useless.

(I have 7 of the prisms mentioned here, and had to remove all my rear MBUS because of how far back they need to be mounted…or at least that’s my experience)
 
This type of reticle or something similar to it is easy to see for most people. It's a common style reticle among many manufacturers. Leupold and Burris call it "something" plex. For what most hunting applications in the Carolinas (150 yards ish or less), this will do just fine. I took this pic from the Burris website. The thicker lines make a difference.

1657840671491.png
 
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BigWaylon said:
It’s as close as it is because it’s not a dot…it’s a prism. If you put it up at the junction of the upper and rail where I normally mount red dots, it would be useless.

(I have 7 of the prisms mentioned here, and had to remove all my rear MBUS because of how far back they need to be mounted…or at least that’s my experience)
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Just going off my experience and that the fact the MFG classes them as a red dot. I know that optic. I never said or suggested to mount it at the forward part of the receiver at the handguard.
They fit everyone different but I could never use one that far back. Tried them and run with the same optic. I was given one to demo. They require about 4 inches of eye relief for me. But thats just me.
 
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BowWow said:
This type of reticle or something similar to it is easy to see for most people. It's a common style reticle among many manufacturers. Leupold and Burris call it "something" plex. For what most hunting applications in the Carolinas (150 yards ish or less), this will do just fine. I took this pic from the Burris website. The thicker lines make a difference.

View attachment 497479
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I have a few scopes with those crosshairs. One is a Leupold. I have one Burris Fullfield IV with the Ballistic E3 illuminated reticle I like but not sure how it would work for her. It’s on a 6.8 spc. I like the fact of the center crosshair is the only thing that turns red. I wonder if that would be helpful to her. If ammo wasn’t so high I’d take it off and mount it to the 556. I may end up anyway to see. That or just order a 2.5-10 Plex like you mentioned.
 
Snal~ said:
I have a few cheepos laying around if you wanna try one, Simmons mostly I think. I'd donate to the cause.
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I appreciate the offer. I’m looking at options now. I have a could cheapy scopes but would only put them on a 22 haha, mostly tascos
 
Crankbait said:
I have a few scopes with those crosshairs. One is a Leupold. I have one Burris Fullfield IV with the Ballistic E3 illuminated reticle I like but not sure how it would work for her. It’s on a 6.8 spc. I like the fact of the center crosshair is the only thing that turns red. I wonder if that would be helpful to her. If ammo wasn’t so high I’d take it off and mount it to the 556. I may end up anyway to see. That or just order a 2.5-10 Plex like you mentioned.
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I think the Burris Ballistic E3 reticle would work out good for her. I would suggest something in 2x10 magnification range. 3x9 magnification range would work as well.
 
I have a vortex optics LPVO on my Ruger .556. So far its one of my favorite scopes, just because its 1-6x power, and adjustable on the fly. I would be careful with going anything over 1-6x, because the picture can start to get blurry the farther you zoom in. I've got the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6x, which has been working great for me shooting at around 400-500 yards. If you want something a little heftier, the Arken scopes are pretty good too. A good mount for the scope is just as important, so you can maintain your zero.

I once made the mistake of getting a sig red dot and a 6x magnifier; it was terrible. It was super blurry, terrible eye relief, but it did look cool. It was nice to have a little flip up magnifier, but its a route I will never go again. Having a clear, reliable sight picture is one of the most important things you could have, and I think having a scope with clear glass would be the best.

Of course my previous options listed are for outdoor shooting mainly, but you can never go wrong with a Holosun reflex sight or just a regular red dot with a large field of view. It all kind of depends what type of shooting you plan on doing. If you're thing of long range, maybe getting an 8-24x scope might be the way to go. Optics Planet is a great website to get rifle scopes for a pretty good price.
 
Cole_McD said:
Throwing out a curve ball here.

What about one of the new PA 3x micro prisms or the small-ish 2x prism? Super light weight with a relatively simple reticle and enough magnification.

Even a light weight lpvo will be significantly heavier than something like a micro prism and that weight savings could be big for a little one.
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Boom. Exactly what I was going to say.

The small 3x prisms from PA are freaking amazing.
 
Cole_McD said:
Throwing out a curve ball here.

What about one of the new PA 3x micro prisms or the small-ish 2x prism? Super light weight with a relatively simple reticle and enough magnification.

Even a light weight lpvo will be significantly heavier than something like a micro prism and that weight savings could be big for a little one.
Click to expand...
I bought a Burris 1-6. We’ll see how it goes. If needed, I’ll change over to one of those. I may try to order one during the next time they go on sale just to have one. I appreciate it
 
Doh, a day late. PSA has a Sig Tango 1-6 with cantilever mount on sale for $279 today.
 
You’re building a rifle for your 6 y/o daughter to hunt with, and by that you mean that you’ll be holding the gun upright while she sights and pulls the trigger. I’m all for daddy & daughter time, but I hope you’re hunting tin cans.
 
JimB said:
You’re building a rifle for your 6 y/o daughter to hunt with, and by that you mean that you’ll be holding the gun upright while she sights and pulls the trigger. I’m all for daddy & daughter time, but I hope you’re hunting tin cans.
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Whatever you say boss!
 
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