Mounting Vortex 1-6 on AR-15

[The Patriot 0178]

I have a vortex 1-6 and mount that I would like to place on one of my ARs. I watched some instructional videos on YouTube and such. How necessary is a gun vice and small levels to do this or if I just torque to spec will that work. Dumb question from a red dot guy trying something new. Pic for attention.

 

[TwinTurbskis]

Guess it depends on how perfectly level you want your reticle. I've mounted probably a dozen scopes at this point and I just eyeball it. They all seem pretty level to me. Just take your time and I think you can get a good result without a vise etc.

 

[smokey]

The upper is square on the bottom, just yank it and rest it on something flat(a book perhaps), supporting the handguard up front. You can use something vertical (street pole, edge of a wall... etc) for a pretty good eyeballing of the y axis reticle.

For boresighting, yank the bolt and telescope down the bore at a small object against a contrasting background 25/50 yds away. I typically rest the upper until the bore is aligned with a road reflector down the street or a license plate. Make sure the object is centered in the opening of the bore and the bore is centered in the chamber when looking down it. Like the picture below, only your object would be visible in the center of the muzzle end of the bore.

Next, make sure the upper doesn't move and adjust the scope to the same object you're viewing down the bore.

You'll probably like the strike eagle. It's just about as fast as the red dot up close, but gives you waaaaay more capability far away for target identification, ballistic adjustments, and precision. If shooting fast up close, especially in odd positions, it may take a bit more time getting a sight picture, but we're talking fractions of a second for the first shot and not much difference for the followup shots.

 

[The Patriot 0178]

Guess it depends on how perfectly level you want your reticle. I've mounted probably a dozen scopes at this point and I just eyeball it. They all seem pretty level to me. Just take your time and I think you can get a good result without a vise etc.

Great, that’s what I was thinking but didn’t want to mess it up either

 

[The Patriot 0178]

The upper is square on the bottom, just yank it and rest it on something flat(a book perhaps), supporting the handguard up front. You can use something vertical (street pole, edge of a wall... etc) for a pretty good eyeballing of the y axis reticle.

For boresighting, yank the bolt and telescope down the bore at a small object against a contrasting background 25/50 yds away. I typically rest the upper until the bore is aligned with a road reflector down the street or a license plate. Make sure the object is centered in the opening of the bore and the bore is centered in the chamber when looking down it. Like the picture below, only your object would be visible in the center of the muzzle end of the bore. View attachment 420516

Next, make sure the upper doesn't move and adjust the scope to the same object you're viewing down the bore.

View attachment 420517

You'll probably like the strike eagle. It's just about as fast as the red dot up close, but gives you waaaaay more capability far away for target identification, ballistic adjustments, and precision. If shooting fast up close, especially in odd positions, it may take a bit more time getting a sight picture, but we're talking fractions of a second for the first shot and not much difference for the followup shots.

Thank you for the post. Much appreciated.

 

[outrider58]

You will want the ocular end of the scope to end somewhere even with the end of the receiver.

I noticed, in your picture, your Eotech looks like it is half mounted to the receiver and half mounted to the hand guard. You don't want to do that. If I were you, I'd move it back so it is only mounted to your receiver. I understand that the red dot is being replaced by the LPVO, but if you have this going on on other rifles, you might consider the placement I recommended.

Proper LPVO placement. ^^^

 

[TwinTurbskis]

Great, that’s what I was thinking but didn’t want to mess it up either

Sure thing, let us know how it turns out. The only way you can really mess anything up is if you way overtighten and start damaging things. But you already mentioned torqueing to spec so you'll be fine - the literature that comes with the package should have the torque specs on it. You can always backtrack and make adjustments if you get it on there and aren't happy with its positioning. I also agree with what outrider said, mine is in the same position and gives perfect eye relief.

I have the 1-8 strike eagle and its great for the price point. Enjoy!

 

[ken792]

I tape a flashlight to the objective lens to project the image of the reticle against the wall next to a plumb line.

The surface holding the rifle doesn’t even need to be level since I can spin the rifle around 180 degrees to another plumb line to make sure the reticle is off the same amount in the opposite direction.

 

[smokey]

You will want the ocular end of the scope to end somewhere even with the end of the receiver.

I noticed, in your picture, your Eotech looks like it is half mounted to the receiver and half mounted to the hand guard. You don't want to do that. If I were you, I'd move it back so it is only mounted to your receiver. I understand that the red dot is being replaced by the LPVO, but if you have this going on on other rifles, you might consider the placement I recommended.

View attachment 420529

Proper LPVO placement. ^^^

Yup. You want to keep the base fully on the upper without bridging to the handguard. Where the rear of thr scope is depends a little on how you fit to the gun. My arms are somewhat short, and I usually have the stock out to the second click when shooting. For me, just a smidgen in front of the charging handle works.

Tighten the rings just enough to allow the scope to slide against friction. Put it where you think it needs to be and then mount the gun with your eyes closed in a natural position. Open your eyes and see if you see the whole sight picture. If you're getting any tunneling or shadow, adjust the scope forward or back until it's at the proper eye relief for you when mounted naturally to the gun.

Once you have the eye relief figured, just adjust level until the y axis is aligned with something vertical like I mentioned before and tighten everything down.

 

[Sirex]

The upper is square on the bottom, just yank it and rest it on something flat(a book perhaps), supporting the handguard up front. You can use something vertical (street pole, edge of a wall... etc) for a pretty good eyeballing of the y axis reticle.

For boresighting, yank the bolt and telescope down the bore at a small object against a contrasting background 25/50 yds away. I typically rest the upper until the bore is aligned with a road reflector down the street or a license plate. Make sure the object is centered in the opening of the bore and the bore is centered in the chamber when looking down it. Like the picture below, only your object would be visible in the center of the muzzle end of the bore. View attachment 420516

Next, make sure the upper doesn't move and adjust the scope to the same object you're viewing down the bore.

View attachment 420517

You'll probably like the strike eagle. It's just about as fast as the red dot up close, but gives you waaaaay more capability far away for target identification, ballistic adjustments, and precision. If shooting fast up close, especially in odd positions, it may take a bit more time getting a sight picture, but we're talking fractions of a second for the first shot and not much difference for the followup shots.

How do you like the Strike Eagle at distance? Is the glass clear? I was considering one. Thanks

 

[alucard0822]

Torqueing the mounting hardware is a requirement, most other tools and procedures just eliminate problems and ease mounting.

I do want the scope to be level relative to the receiver, and sometimes mounts aren't entirely level, a pair of bubble levels makes that really easy, especially given it can shift a little as you torque everything down.

I lap rings or bases. For rings, I align them with pointer tools, then use a lapping bar and compound to check the base/rings. If the finish gets knocked down to an even matte then perfect, it will be nice and clean, if there are high/low spots it's easy to see them and smooth them out before they apply unequal pressure when clamping an expensive scope.

I use a little loc tite on most bases, unless the hardware already has it, or the manufacturer says not to use it.

Mounting the base is relatively easy, the base should be mounted on the receiver rail only, not the handguard. Ideally you want the mount positioned so the scope has proper eye relief with the turrets in the middle of the base, leaving room for small adjustments. Problem is, AR15s have a short receiver and short stock for the proper LOP, so sometimes you have to mount the scope forward in the base, and use mounts with a long offset just to mount in the room you have. Good mounts should sit securely on the rail with lots of contact in the horizontal lugs and clamps on the side.

After mounting the base, I add the rings and lap it, clean it, then add the scope and make sure the ring gaps are equal as the scope is held loose enough to move. I'll set eye relief and level it. That is the point I start torquing the screws slowly, and criss crossing till the wrench clicks, and level/eye relief is verified. A vise block makes this a lot easier than setting it on a flat surface. From there boresight, print out a trajectory chart, and off to the range to sight in, chrono, and verify drop at a few ranges to check my chart and adjust if needed.

As far as scopes go, I do like the Vortex Strike eagle 1-6, and have a few of them. It has decent glass, useable adjustments and reticle for the cost. I don't care for the 1-8 as distortion gets bad above 6X, and for $100 more you can get the excellent PST2 1-6. I have a 1-8 strike Eagle, and can actually hit easier and faster at all ranges with the PST2's slightly less magnification because the image is so much clearer, flatter, better contrast, better field of view, and better illumination/reticle. Where the Strike Eagle 1-6 is a good scope for $400, the PST is excellent for $600, and worth the $200 in most every case. The same could be said for scopes better than that, but Over $1000 budget gets to be a big consideration.

 

[smokey]

How do you like the Strike Eagle at distance? Is the glass clear? I was considering one. Thanks

It's a good value for the money, but it is still largely an entry level optic. The illumination is not true "daylight bright", although it doesn't matter as much since the black reticle is still there when the red is overpowered. There's also some chromatic aberration when cranked fully to 6 and slight fishbowl at 1.

Here's a couple shots comparing it to my much cleaner, and waaay lighter leupold vxr 1.25-4 w/firedot. The leupold has much cleaner glass, and the firedot IS daylight bright. The big drawback there is the 1.25x magnification dicks with me for up-close targets. I find myself just rolling the rifle and point shooting along the 9 and 3 o'clock rail sections for stuff inside of 25 yards if I need to shoot quick. An offset micro red dot would alleviate that, but then price goes up and you give back the weight savings.

The strike fire is a true 1x(or as much as a lpvo becomes a 1x), so it's more natural to find and shoot targets in close once you've got a solid cheekweld to find the eyebox. While 6x has more distortion, at 4x things clean up. I probably wouldn't get the 8x, as I can imagine the distortion just getting worse.

Having looked through alucard's PSTs, I'd likely bump up to a PST if getting another LPVO. The glass is cleaner and the illumination IS daylight bright on the PST line.

Vortex Viper PST Gen II 1-6x24 VMR-2 MRAD Like New Demo Scope PST-1607

Like New Demo Vortex Viper PST Gen II 1-6x24 at Eurooptic.com. Vortex Viper PST riflescope offers top-tier performance in a riflescope designed and built to the standards precision tactical shooters request. Shop Vortex rifle Scope online. SHIPS FREE!

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Primary arms is also an option, but I have zero in-person experience with them and can't give an informed comparison.

 

[ToolAA]

I have a vortex 1-6 and mount that I would like to place on one of my ARs. I watched some instructional videos on YouTube and such. How necessary is a gun vice and small levels to do this or if I just torque to spec will that work. Dumb question from a red dot guy trying something new. Pic for attention.

When you say “Level” do you mean your want the vertical axis of your reticle to align with the vertical axis of the Rifle?

I had this very same question many years ago. Probably one of my earliest posts.

A knowledgeable member suggested using a very low tech method that was actually quite effective.

Special Scope Level or Machinest Level

I noticed my scope reticle is not perfectly aligned. Do I really need to buy one of those fancy scope levels. If it would work I would rather get a nice machines level that I can use for other things. Would something like this work well? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

www.mdshooters.com

Scroll to the bottom and there is a photo of my rifle just clamped into a regular bench vice and I’m using a simple plumb bob to align the projected image of the reticle.

I did use a small machinist level to make sure my actual bench and vice were level beforehand. I still use this method today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sirex]

It's a good value for the money, but it is still largely an entry level optic. The illumination is not true "daylight bright", although it doesn't matter as much since the black reticle is still there when the red is overpowered. There's also some chromatic aberration when cranked fully to 6 and slight fishbowl at 1.

Here's a couple shots comparing it to my much cleaner, and waaay lighter leupold vxr 1.25-4 w/firedot. The leupold has much cleaner glass, and the firedot IS daylight bright. The big drawback there is the 1.25x magnification dicks with me for up-close targets. I find myself just rolling the rifle and point shooting along the 9 and 3 o'clock rail sections for stuff inside of 25 yards if I need to shoot quick. An offset micro red dot would alleviate that, but then price goes up and you give back the weight savings.

The strike fire is a true 1x(or as much as a lpvo becomes a 1x), so it's more natural to find and shoot targets in close once you've got a solid cheekweld to find the eyebox. While 6x has more distortion, at 4x things clean up. I probably wouldn't get the 8x, as I can imagine the distortion just getting worse.

Having looked through alucard's PSTs, I'd likely bump up to a PST if getting another LPVO. The glass is cleaner and the illumination IS daylight bright on the PST line.

Vortex Viper PST Gen II 1-6x24 VMR-2 MRAD Like New Demo Scope PST-1607

Like New Demo Vortex Viper PST Gen II 1-6x24 at Eurooptic.com. Vortex Viper PST riflescope offers top-tier performance in a riflescope designed and built to the standards precision tactical shooters request. Shop Vortex rifle Scope online. SHIPS FREE!

www.eurooptic.com

Primary arms is also an option, but I have zero in-person experience with them and can't give an informed comparison.
View attachment 420776 View attachment 420777 View attachment 420778

I am at the entry level price range. It was the Vortex Strike Eagle, or the Sig Saur Tango. Was debating between 1-6x or 1-8x, but I think 1-6x is adequate for my use

 

[smokey]

I am at the entry level price range. It was the Vortex Strike Eagle, or the Sig Saur Tango. Was debating between 1-6x or 1-8x, but I think 1-6x is adequate for my use

I'm tempted to try out the tango. They do some cool things that just make sense on it, like adding a laser-etched stripe along the side that lines up with the split in rings to make vertical alignment easy. Why don't all manufacturers do that? From reading around, the tango and strike eagle are close enough to not matter one way or the other. The sig does have longer eye relief though at 3 3/4-3.9" compared to the strike eagle's 3.5... so that more forgiving eyebox might tip things in the sig's favor.

 

[alucard0822]

Ideally you want to look through a few, include the Sig Tango MSR and Burris RT-6, they are good too, and a lot of shops stock them. Gun shows with Europtic and Kinseys should have them and more. I stick to Vortex just being I have a lot of their stuff, and their warranty is awesome having dealt with them in the past, Shydas also stocks them well below MAP pricing in the store.

IMO, comparing the 1-6 Strike eagle

The Sig Tango has slightly less distortion at 6x, but similar fish bowl at 1X

The Burris has less fishbowl at 1X, similar distortion at 6X to the SE.

all 3 and the Primary arms are very similar in features and optics quality, have to step up to $600-$1K territory to get a significant and useable improvement, which is in the form of a flatter 1X, cleaner 6X, and all around better image with more detail. Even so, the size / weight and other features can be considered too.