Optics/iron sight recommendations for AR-10?

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  • Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,889
    Pasadena
    My thoughts are, I would not want to under scope a .307 rifle.

    The round is good for hits to 1000 yards. You put a 1-6x on it, and decide to do a long range course, and you are buying another scope.

    And the .308 is not really the round of choice for close quarter use.

    IMO, save the 1-6x for .223, and put a scope that goes to a minimum of 10x or more on a .308 for longer ranges.

    1-8X on my AR10 .308. Good in close if needed and good to 300yds easy.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    They're made in Philippines, Chinas, and Japan! At least the PSTs. I think the Razors are made in the USA hence the price bump.
    Razors are made in Japan. The AMG optics are made in the USA.

    There's always a decreasing dollar to performing curve with scopes. But, sometimes, you just need a certain level of performance.
     

    steves1911

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 2, 2011
    3,026
    On a hill in Wv
    There are some Bushnell nitro ffp scopes floating around on sale for great prices. I just picked up a 2.5-10x from Natchez for $250 for a ar15 build. Excellent glass for the money.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Let me counterpoint this: .308 is a much harder hitting round than .223, especially closer in. While this is obviously counterbalanced by increased recoil, some people may be willing to accept this in return for increased penetration against hard cover, vehicles, and so on. I've got a 10.5" AR-308, and believe it or not, the recoil and blast really aren't as bad as you'd think they'd be. You could absolutely do some rapid-fire work from that platform, especially outdoors. (Probably not my first choice for indoor home defense!)

    Once you accept that maybe a .308 does have some use cases compared to a 5.56 gun even at 200yds and in, I think an LPVO could be an acceptable choice on one of those platforms.

    Oh, I agree they have use in close. But they shine when you increase the range.

    And my point was, not to under scope a .308 and lose the ability to reach out.
     

    SCARCQB

    Get Opp my rawn, Plick!
    Jun 25, 2008
    13,614
    Undisclosed location
    For a good budget friendly optic for the 308.

    Primary arms ACSS-HUD DMR OPMOD.

    It’s an excellent scope for the price point. Plus, it’s easy to use with minimal math.
     

    Johnny5k

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 24, 2020
    1,021
    Let me preface by saying I am a bit of a Vortex fan. I have a bunch of their optics.

    Let me counterpoint this: .308 is a much harder hitting round than .223, especially closer in. While this is obviously counterbalanced by increased recoil, some people may be willing to accept this in return for increased penetration against hard cover, vehicles, and so on. I've got a 10.5" AR-308, and believe it or not, the recoil and blast really aren't as bad as you'd think they'd be. You could absolutely do some rapid-fire work from that platform, especially outdoors. (Probably not my first choice for indoor home defense!)

    Once you accept that maybe a .308 does have some use cases compared to a 5.56 gun even at 200yds and in, I think an LPVO could be an acceptable choice on one of those platforms.

    I agree with all of this. The 308 can get a little big and heavy though, especially for us skinny guys. Still, I like the LPVO on the 556, and more mag, 3-15x on the 308. I can't imaging the situation that would have me reaching for a 308 in my daily life, I want the option to reach out further.

    There are still noticeable improvements in the Razor, larger eye box, sharper/cleaner/brighter image, better click feel, brighter illimination, and a couple other reticle options. Might or might not be worth it, and of course it cost a LOT more to get a smaller improvement as you go up in price. For the vast majority, you will see a big difference in the PST2 vs Strike Eagle, and most can at least understand it is at least twice the scope at twice the cost. The Razor takes a bit more time and a shooter familiar with better optics to see where it is worth it, it's twice the cost, and depending on the shooter may be worth it or not.

    Razors are made in Japan. The AMG optics are made in the USA.

    There's always a decreasing dollar to performing curve with scopes. But, sometimes, you just need a certain level of performance.

    The Strike Eagles are made China, The Vipers in the Philippines, and the Razors in Japan. I think most of the accessories are made in China, which is why you get more accessories with the strike eagle line, generally.

    The Razors are very nice. I don't have any, yet, but I have handled and looked through a few. I can speak more to the other models.

    The strike eagle LPVO is a decent scope if you like the horshoe BDC reticle. The illumination is bright enough, but may get washed out in some conditions. For something like 280 bucks, it comes with the throw lever and lens caps included. If you need a budget optic, you could do much worse. I've had no issues going out to 500yds or so with it.
    The viper pst gen 2 at 6-700 dollars does not come with those accessories, raising the cost further. The viper has a single illuminated dot and a hash lined (Mil or MOA) reticle etched into the glass. Daylight bright dot, no washout, and is incredibly fast at acquisition. Smoked the competition mostly running eotechs on a simple timed CoF, during a class. This is my favorite 556 optic. The quality difference between the LPVOs is noticeable. Less clutter gives me better accuracy and consistency out to 500 as well.
    The Strike Eagle 5-25 seems to be somewhat unique. It has gotten very favorable reviews, and it looks to me to be an incredible value in a scope. I can barely tell the difference in quality between the SE 5-25 and the Viper 3-15. Both have about the same clarity, brightness, illumination, etc. The strike eagle has a good eye box and field of view. When I got the 5-25, I said that it has to be the nicest optic coming out of China that there is. Both of these are FFP scopes, so at low power, the reticle and hash marks are quite small, and scale up as you zoom in.


    Overall, I vote for the Viper 3-15 for the AR308 type rifle.
     

    jmb122mp

    Member
    Nov 2, 2016
    37
    I was in a similar but different situation last year with my AR-15 in that I wanted both iron sights and an optic. I got Troy Industry BUIS first which got me out shooting while I figured out what I wanted for an optic.

    If you decide on a Vortex scope, refurbished is an option as you still get the Vortex guarantee. Looks like aaoptics.com recently got a fresh batch of refurbished Vortex in stock.
     

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