Hi all. I have a new to me 9mm carbine on it's way and I need advice on an optic. Origionally I planned to mount a Tasco RDS on it that i had in the drawer, and find a magnifier of some sort. Now I've got to thinking perhaps a 1-4x scope or similar would be better. It's for 3gun matches and range fun times, most of the shots will be 50 yards or much less, but there will be a few longer shots out to a max of 100 yards. What route do you reccommend and why?
RDS with magnifier or low power scope?
- Thread starter ndb86
- Start date
I would go with a 1-4 scope for a bunch of reasons, including:
1) most well-funded 3-gunners have gone that route and they've probably worked out what's fastest for them
2) for the money, you can probably get a better setup in a 1-4 than buying a magnifier and a flip mount, and then pairing it with a Tasco red dot.
On the cheap end, I hear the MTAC and VX-R 1-4 scopes are pretty solid little units.
1) most well-funded 3-gunners have gone that route and they've probably worked out what's fastest for them
2) for the money, you can probably get a better setup in a 1-4 than buying a magnifier and a flip mount, and then pairing it with a Tasco red dot.
On the cheap end, I hear the MTAC and VX-R 1-4 scopes are pretty solid little units.
Let's pretend i don't have the tasco and went with a vortex sparc or strikefire?
I've used lots of scopes and am generally very accurate with them, but slow. I've used a few RDS and I'm pretty fast and accurate enough at closer distances.
I've never used a 1X scope though so that could speed me up at closer distance no?
Unless you already have the Vortex, that's another couple hundred bucks you have to spend...and still the setup would be borderline on the quality front IMO. A good magnifier is not cheap, and a good flip or twist mount is also pricey. It's a lot of money to lay out.
A 1x scope is pretty fast (although I will admit that most of the experience with 1x scopes that I have is on the S&B, which is the cream of the crop). Most of the shooters I know that have gone to 1-4s have found that the speed is pretty similar to a red dot, and that the only time they've found it to be a hindrance is when shooting in unconventional positions, which shouldn't be a big issue in 3-gun.
A 1x scope is pretty fast (although I will admit that most of the experience with 1x scopes that I have is on the S&B, which is the cream of the crop). Most of the shooters I know that have gone to 1-4s have found that the speed is pretty similar to a red dot, and that the only time they've found it to be a hindrance is when shooting in unconventional positions, which shouldn't be a big issue in 3-gun.
You haven's seen our matches lol
I looked at vortex website, nothing really jumped out at me. I have a fixed 4x bushnell banner on my savage mkII and I LOVE it. So i check out bushnell and found 2 contenders. What is your take on them? I think the 1st one may be discontinued though as I can't seem to find a price on it. the second is MSRP of $125. Will I notice the difference between 1x and 1.5x at closer distances?
Frankly I would not run either of those. I would consider the Nikon African 1-4 as a budget option, but the two I mentioned in post 3 would be better from my perspective.
Ideally I think the Trijicon TR-24 or a Nightforce NXS would be better but obviously they're pretty expensive.
I am not a fan of cheap optics and would avoid both the scopes you mentioned...sorry.
Ideally I think the Trijicon TR-24 or a Nightforce NXS would be better but obviously they're pretty expensive.
I am not a fan of cheap optics and would avoid both the scopes you mentioned...sorry.
My budget is under $200 and I'd rather keep it closer to $100. I've had MANY bushnell scopes and have always been happy with them. My 3-9 banner on my hunting rifle survived a 6 foot fall onto concrete and held zero and has helped me get every big game animal I've shot. the fixed 4x banner on my mKII is amazing. I know bushnell is medium quality at a medium to low price. And I'm fine with that.
I know you get what you pay for, but in my experience with bushnell you generally get more than you pay for (ina good way!).
I've tried the really cheapo NCstar and Fitco crap and will never waste my money on them again. (then again I saw a fitco 1.5-4.5 for 25 bucks...). My experience with bushnell however has only been good.
I looked at the Nikons and they're out of my pricerange by about $100. If i say, what's 100 more then i'm at $300. Then I could get a leuopold for Another $100 more.... and so on and so forth. I'm sticking to my $200 budget otherwise I run into the problem where I keep upselling myself.
Wow that was kinda long lol. All I meant was this: aside from their brand is there anything that would make them a bad choice? Also will I notice a difference at close range between 1x and 1.5x magnification.
I can't really comment...they are cheaply built and the optics will be a limiting factor. On a scope with good optics, I don't think 1.5 would bother me...on a scope with cheap optics, it might be a serious issue.
I would have to shoot each one for a few thousand rounds to feel confident in giving much of an opinion.
Cheap optics are not something I spend much time with. But I can tell you that if your budget is a hundred and fifty bucks, that's about what a quality magnifier MOUNT costs. So you might as well go with the scope.
I would have to shoot each one for a few thousand rounds to feel confident in giving much of an opinion.
Cheap optics are not something I spend much time with. But I can tell you that if your budget is a hundred and fifty bucks, that's about what a quality magnifier MOUNT costs. So you might as well go with the scope.
heavenIsAlie
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only 100m... do you really need magnification? assuming you are just having to make hits on ipsc size targets
I need to be able to hit bowling pins at 100 yards.
Misanthorpist I know what you mean. I know you get what you pay for. As for a magnify i was planning on getting a 10 mount off fleabay and perhaps a cheapo magnifer off there as well. My new rifle will be here tomorrow or friday so I'll mount the tasco on it and see what i can do with it. I've got it I may as well try it right? If i don't like it then I'll try the cheapo bushnell out. If you see a thread where I'm compaining about it feel free to say i told you so! Thanks for your advice I do appreciate it.
My pleasure, I hope whatever gear you end up with works out well.
Checking out the EE a local guy has a millet DMS 1-4 for sale at a price that's juuust outa my price range. I sent him PM. What do you think of the millets? I remember seeing a few threads bout them a while ago, but can't seem to find them now. I think it was mostly good things i read, but i can't quite remember now!
