Optics Recommendation for two different AR-15 rifles

[1time]

Yeah, I have no idea if the Fastfire atop the M332 is going to work, but I am going to give it a try. Anybody ever mount the reflex site on the left side of a prism or other type of scope? Wondering if mounting it on the left side, instead of the top, would work.

I am also going to build a .300 BLK SBR with a 10.5" barrel, and that will definitely be suited for an Aimpoint red dot. Maybe a COMPM4S. Same could be said for the .458 SOCOM SBR I am going to build with a 12" barrel.

I have never seen it mounted on the left side but mounting a small red dot on a 45 degree mount on the right side of the gun is a common set up. To use the red dot you just turn the gun a little and the red dot is there. If I wanted a red dot and a magnified optic on the same gun, that is how I would do it. It is a common "Open Division" set up for a rifle.

 

[mopar92]

If you've decided on the Burris but haven't bought it yet. That's the exact same optic on my trunk gun. I can swing by and let you check it out.

 

[fabsroman]

If you've decided on the Burris but haven't bought it yet. That's the exact same optic on my trunk gun. I can swing by and let you check it out.

All I have to do is enter the credit card info on the jet.com screen. Think I am going to pull the trigger. If you are using it on one of your guns, it should be good enough for me for quite a while. Plus, these AR rifles will probably be some of the guns I shoot the least. Once I have it zeroed in, I would be shocked if I shoot it more than once a year.

I really do appreciate the offer, but with a vet appointment at 6 tonight in Eldersburg and a crapton of work, I think I am just going to order it and see how it works out. If I hate it, then off to e-bay it goes. Granted, the e-bay pile continues to grow and I can never find the time to list stuff, but such is life.

 

[schnauzr]

I'm happy too. Even happier that you gave me that info on the Burris M332. It comes out to something like $222 on Jet.com and I will be getting the free Fastfire with it once I send in the paperwork. Spending that amount of money makes it a lot easier to try a prism site to see what it is like. I'll have to figure out if the Fastfire atop the M332 will work for me. I have my doubts, but we shall see.

glad it was useful info! Enjoy

 

[fabsroman]

I have never seen it mounted on the left side but mounting a small red dot on a 45 degree mount on the right side of the gun is a common set up. To use the red dot you just turn the gun a little and the red dot is there. If I wanted a red dot and a magnified optic on the same gun, that is how I would do it. It is a common "Open Division" set up for a rifle.

I was thinking about going with some MBUS offset sights on the right side of the gun. Now that I think about it, they actually fold down, so I could probably run the Fastfire on the 45 degree mount with a QR mount and then have the MBUS as a backup. Don't know if I could do a co-witness setup on the 45 degree mounts. Maybe that will be a reason to start a new thread. lol

 

[BenL]

I have a 1-4X US Optics and a new 1-8X Trijicon. Both are excellent and I would highly recommend either.

Another consideration for an all-around scope is the 1.8-10X US Optics. I have one on my Heavy Metal rifle, and it's surprisingly handy for a 10X scope.

 

[Pinecone]

Let's throw a wrench in this entire thing. Personally, I like Burris. That is pretty much the only scope brand I have been using for the past 25 years, with the exception of one Aimpoint. I was actually thinking about going with a 3x Burris prism scope on the SBR with a Fastfire on top of it, and then an XTR II 1-8x on the 16" gun. Just took a look at Steiner's website, and it also has a 3x prism scope and a reflex site that I could use, the MRS. I'll have to look more closely at the 1-?x scopes over the weekend.

I also have a Burris MTAC 1-4x with FastFire mounted on top.

VERY nice combo.

I would not complain if I had to have used that for my carbine course (that combo was on my backup AR).

 

[fabsroman]

Just to update this thread, the Burris AR-332 arrived and "meh". Not terrible, but not great. The eye relief requires me to be so close to the scope that about the only natural way for that to happen is with the stock one or two spots away from fully extended. If the eye relief was a little longer, I would be alright with it. Cannot really see me using this scope for anything beyond 200 yards, so it is going to end up on one of the SBR builds, probably the .223, with a red dot going on the .300 BLK and .458 SOCOM as the main optic. Going to put the Fastfire on the .223 SBR build too at a 45 degree offset. With the stock fully collapsed, the scope is great. I can mount the gun easily and get a full sight picture. With the stock fully extended, I mount the gun and I am trying to find the proper eye relief from the scope, which requires me to have my head a lot more forward on the stock than I am used to. Also, trying to see the range dots on the reticle isn't easy.

I am neither overjoyed with the purchase nor disappointed with it. Guess I will have to shoot with it a little to see how I really feel about it.

 

[Elgan]

I know I'm a bit late to the game, but I tend to run Aimpoints for any guns that would be a go-to for home defense, mainly due to the years of battery life in an "always on" configuration (I have an Aimpoint PRO with a Vortex magnifier on one of my carbines and a Micro T-1 on my 300 BLK SBR). For my other guns, I've got an ACOG on my 16", which you can still use like a red dot (both eyes open), you just need to get used to the 4x (and your brain tends to dismiss the magnification anyway). RMR secondary on that one as well, in a 45 degree offset mount. Also have an MRO on a fun little AR pistol build I did, but think I would have preferred to get another Micro T-1 (wanted to check out the MRO and see how it felt). My 9mm Vector SBR has a Vortex SPARC 2 on it, and from what I can tell, that will be rock solid on that platform. A .22 pistol plinker and a home defense shotgun setup also have Fastfires on them, and they're great for what they are.

Besides running out of money on optics, lest the wife castrate me, I still really want to get an EXPS3, but L3's dealings with the military contracts and that whole "thermal shift" issue kind of soured me on wanting to give them my money.

 

[fabsroman]

I know I'm a bit late to the game, but I tend to run Aimpoints for any guns that would be a go-to for home defense, mainly due to the years of battery life in an "always on" configuration (I have an Aimpoint PRO with a Vortex magnifier on one of my carbines and a Micro T-1 on my 300 BLK SBR). For my other guns, I've got an ACOG on my 16", which you can still use like a red dot (both eyes open), you just need to get used to the 4x (and your brain tends to dismiss the magnification anyway). RMR secondary on that one as well, in a 45 degree offset mount. Also have an MRO on a fun little AR pistol build I did, but think I would have preferred to get another Micro T-1 (wanted to check out the MRO and see how it felt). My 9mm Vector SBR has a Vortex SPARC 2 on it, and from what I can tell, that will be rock solid on that platform. A .22 pistol plinker and a home defense shotgun setup also have Fastfires on them, and they're great for what they are.

Besides running out of money on optics, lest the wife castrate me, I still really want to get an EXPS3, but L3's dealings with the military contracts and that whole "thermal shift" issue kind of soured me on wanting to give them my money.

Not late at all. Your post made me think some more about the Aimpoint for this .223 SBR build. I just looked at a review of the Aimpoint COMPM4S and the 3x and 6x magnifier. Think that is the route I am going to go. Going to go with Mike's advice and sell both the Burris AR-332 and the Fastfire that I am getting with it, and move to the COMPM4S with both power magnifiers as options. Watching guys run the Aimpoint way out in front of them on the rifle is nice. I won't have to worry about eye relief or changing the way I would normally mount the gun. I am too old to change my gun mounting process based upon which gun I happen to be shooting.

Any reason I should choose an Aimpoint Micro over the COMPM4S?

How far out could I realistically shoot with some modicum of precision using the 2 MOA dot with a 6x magnifier? Wouldn't the 6x magnifier make it a 12 MOA dot? Guess I could just cover the entire target with the dot and expect the bullet to hit in the middle of the dot.

Alright, just watched this video:



While I have that rifle on my wish list, no way am I going to accept missing that many times at 400 yards with that rifle. So, red dots might be limited to 200 yards or less for me and only with a 3x magnifier on them.

For "long range" stuff with the 16" .223, I'm still going to go with the Burris XTR II 1-8x24. Probably going to go with a higher magnification XTR II scope on the large frame AR's that I am planning on building. The more I read and watch about the Aimpoints and the Burris XTR scopes, the more I think they will be the right choice for every rifle I set up based upon the desired use of the rifles. This prism scope just isn't doing anything for me.

Now, I just need to figure out mounts. lol

 

[MikeTF]

I went with an Aimpoint Pro (new, for not that much more than used at the time) and a Burris 3X magnifier (used). I need a rifle that my wife can aim with. At the range, scopes and iron sights don't work for her on long guns, yet she's deadly accurate with a pistol. That's how her eyes work. The Aimpoint Pro is for her (defense), the magnifier is for me (hunting). I have another varmint hunting AR that has a Primary Arms 1-6 w/ACSS reticle.

 

[rockstarr]

im about to pick up a 3x prism scope myself fabs. (probably the Vortex Spitfire3x).

I have astigmatism that isn't hateful but is just enough to annoy me with concern to red dots and acogs, so I am pretty limited in my choices for optics.

the 1x spitfire I have is pretty nice and for the price, the quality is nice, not to mention vortex warranty.

I figure a 3x will be perfect for 16inch barrel LWRC DI.

 

[fabsroman]

im about to pick up a 3x prism scope myself fabs. (probably the Vortex Spitfire3x).

I have astigmatism that isn't hateful but is just enough to annoy me with concern to red dots and acogs, so I am pretty limited in my choices for optics.

the 1x spitfire I have is pretty nice and for the price, the quality is nice, not to mention vortex warranty.

I figure a 3x will be perfect for 16inch barrel LWRC DI.

Yeah, Burris has a forever warranty with no questions asked and no receipt required. Only thing needed, is the item needs to say Burris on it.

To quote the pamphlet:

We will repair or replace your Burris optic if it is damaged or defective. The warranty is automatically transferred to future owners.

- No repair or replacement charge
- No warranty card needed
- No receipt needed
- No questions asked

I have only ever needed to send a single scope back to Burris for repair, and that was because the rubber seals were coming undone under the adjustment caps.

If I like this XTR, I might replace the scopes on my hunting rifles with XTR scopes. They are all over 15 years old and I really like the new FFP on the XTR scopes.

As far as prism scopes are concerned, I just don't think a fixed power scope does anything for me. Yeah, I can probably use this thing pretty well out to 100 yards, maybe even 200 yards, but the markings for 300, 400, 500, and 600 yards are really lost to me on the reticle. I can barely see the markings. I'm just too used to a 4-12x on my .300 Win Mag, a 8-32x on my .220 Swift, and 3-9x on pretty much everything else except the red dot on my Mini 30 and I have never shot the Mini 30 out beyond 100 yards.

Oh yeah, the eye relief isn't helping things either. After looking into the Aimpoint red dots and figuring out that eye relief is almost infinite, I like that a lot better for 100 yards or less and the XTR just seems like what I am looking for for anything 200+ yards down range.