Best scope for AR 15

[shotgunner]

I have a Bushmaster 24" HB AR. I just bought a short upper and will use a red dot on it. I am going to go to a high power scope on the 24" gun and am wondering what might work best. Is there a scope designed to work with this platform. I like the idea of a reticule with aiming points, like a balistic-plex. I want to sight in at maybe 200 yards and have an aiming point, or points out to 500, with a 1 in 9 twist I would be shooting heavy bullets. Shotgunner

[Lloyd Smale]

most real snipers will not use a scope like that. they will use a mildot and use the dots to dope range and windage but will make the ajustments with there turnents not use the dots. To me ive allways like a scope with just duplex and then get to know the trajectory of your gun and keep something taped on the gun to let me know what changes are need at differnt yardages. In all reality a .223 doesnt need any more then 10x. A good 3x9 might be ideal with maybe a 4x12 as an option. Personaly i like leupold scopes but nikon and bushnell make good scopes too. Lots of guys are really talking up the new vortex scopes too. there suppose to be a real good bang for the buck

[Varmintnut260]

My father and I went in together to buy a ar15 and he order a 6-24x50 scope with a range finding reticule. It's a 16in barrel I think it's over kill but I guess I can't complain because I didn't pay for it.

[mcwoodduck]

Leupold 3-9X40 LRD.
3-9 power will give you a good field of view and allow you to shoot under 100 yards off hand as well as out to 500 yards.
The 40MM objective gives you a low mounted scope to keep your cheek welded to the stock.  It is also a fixed objective and the adjustables are clearer you also have to monkey with a dial to go from 50 yards to 200 in a match.
The LRD has a mill dot type of configuration in the lower verticle plex only allowing for a wide clear view.  It is graduated but you will need to shoot it to see what line works for the load you are shooting.
The scope is bout $300 -350.

If you are looking to make this a Varmint rig and not a tactical then any of the varmint scopes will work for you.

[shotgunner]

I went to an auction yesterday and got a very good deal on a Nikon 4X14 Buckmaster, $130. I just mounted it and sighted it in. I got one group with Federal 62 soft point factory ammo that went into a half inch. The short upper is not here yet, but I am ready to put a red dot on it. I need to order a large lot of ammo. Shotgunner

[demented]

 Too much scope does nothing but outperform the bullet.  IMO, the 5.56 loses too much past 300 yards to be a truly effective long range weapon.  I use a 2X7 on my scoped AR, if I could find an affordable 1.5X5 thats reliable, that would be even better.  My intent is to use my AR's for ranges up to 200 yards in most cases, going to one of my FAL's past this.

[Dances with Geoducks]

Shotgunner, My Bud has an Eotech reddot with the 4x magifier, thats a $1000 military system.
Its deadly inside of 150 yards. 250 yards is the outside accurate range.

This scope in standard 10x power will do you just find. You will our see your bullets

http://www.gunblast.com/SWFA_Super_Sniper.htm

http://swfa.com/SWFA-SS-10x42-Tactical-Riflescope-P499.aspx

Ive sold these to several long distance shooters, I have the 20x on my bolt gun.

[shotgunner]

Demented

This AR is not a woodchuck gun, but I did have a bolt action in 223 for a while. It was effective well past 200 yards. A woodchuck is a small target. I want to be able to hit a man sized target at 500 yards, or so. It is about that far across the field behind my barn and I will give it a try if this snow storm misses us. I am not sure i needed the 14X, but it was a good deal, and I can always set it to a lower setting. I does make bullet holes easier to see in a target. This 24" HB gun is not real light and handy, which is why I bought the 16" upper. At some point I might decide to set up a M14, and I agree that the bigger bullets are better at long range, especially in the wind. I will let you guys know how this rig shoots. Shotgunner

[SharonAnne]

Shotgunner, since the M16/AR15 now dominates the Camp Perry high power matches at 600 yds. I disagree about it being a short range firearm. In the sand box our guys are making head shots at 300 yds. with scoped M4s which certainly are considered a short range weapon.

Your 24" barreled AR15 most certainly IS a woodchuck gun. With proper load development you should be able to find a load that will go under 1moa at 600 yds. I have an older Leupold 3.5-10X50 mildot on my standard barrel AR. Funny how well it hits when you can see what you are shooting at.

For a regular flat top 20" AR15 I doubt you can beat the new Bushnell 6500 1.25-8X32.

For your 24" top end you might look at the Bushnell 6500 2.5-16X42 DOA 600. It has ranging 'hashmarks' to 600 yds and you should be able to keep all your rounds under 6" at that range.

[shotgunner]

What I was thinking is that the AR was built for more serious uses then woodchucks. The one I have is more then accurate enough. I got the shot upper yesterday, and with a red dot it shot quite well also. I am going to shoot the 24" gun, with the 4X14 scope and see what I think. If I can use the point of the duplex at 500 yards or so I will be happy with it. I have found that once you need to hold higher then that the have cross hair blocks your view. Has anyone tried the Burris balistaplex? Shotgunner

[teddy12b]

I have a burris fullfield II 2-7x with ballistic plex on my 16" AR.  It's the second AR that scope has been on and I really love the setup.  The Colt I have it on now is not nearly as accurate as the DPMS Sweet 16 I used to have.  With the sweet 16 I would zero at 200 and after some practice, knew where to hold the reticle for consistant hits out to 500 yards.  The colt that scope is on now isn't as accurate or meant to be as accurate as what you're talking about shooting.  Is yours the predator model?

As long as you understand that the ballistic plex or BDC reticles are not going to perfectly match up at distances you should be happy with the purchase.  You also have to understand that the ammo you use will make a difference.  I use everything from 55gr JSP ammo up to 69gr match ammo in AR's so the reticle doesn't match up perfectly for me especially with the shorter barrels.

If your rifle is the predator model I think you should be able to shoot out to 700 yards accurately, maybe 800 depending on ammo & weather if you're lucky.  If you're heart is set on a ballistic plex or BDC type reticle, then by all means go for it and you'll be happy.  The burris doesn't have as much internal adjustment as the nikon so if you think you may want to try cranking it up further you may want the nikon buckmaster series.  If you're open to a different scope, I'd suggest a Bushnell 10x mildot.  I bought one brand new for $160 on my doorstep and use it on a savage 223 predator 22" barrel.  With 69gr matchking handloads the rifle will make hits out to 700 yards. 

I have to agree with what was mentioned above also.  The 223 past 300 yards is still a great target shooting cartidge, but not so much of an effective round for anything else.  Let us know what you go with.

[Silvertp]

Ive been reading up on a new Nikon scope model  M-223.  It is described as being comparable to their Monarch series in terms of quality.  It comes in (I think) 2 x 8; 3 x 9; and I believe one higher power variable.  I think the 2 x 8 would be a great AR scope.

There are 3 reticules: nikoplex (duplex) with drop compensating turrets, point blank range (cross hair w/dot) and a bullet drop compensator reticule which is specific to the .223 cartridge w/ a 55gr bullet at (?) 3200 fps.  If you go to the Nikon web site they have an interesting video demonstrating the 3 reticules out to 400 yards.

They have 4 guys speed shooting the nikoplex and bdc reticules for time after checking their impact at 100 yards they then proceed to shoot out to 200, 300 and 400 yards.


Silvertp

[shotgunner]

I am going to stick with the Nikon 4X14 for a while, at least until the warm weather allows me to shoot it some. I just put together the DPMS lower with a 16" upper by Bushmaster. I sighted in the long barreled gun with 63 grain bullets and the short gun with 55s. I am amazed at how accurate these guns are, even the 16" gun with a red dot is impressive. I will look at this new Nikon scope. Shotgunner

[LEO]

A little late into this discussion but I use 3 different sighting systems on my ARs, my varmint rifle, 24" flat top has a 3x9 Leupold Mark AR mil dot on it.  My walking around rifle 16" flat top has a 1x4 Leupold VXII duplex on it and my work rifle 16" carry handle has an Aimpoint in a co witness cantilever mount on it.  They all work well for their intended purpose.

[cankiller]

Leupold makes a Mark AR in several diferant sizes that would be worth lookin in to.