another ar optic question

GenesisCoupe

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waiting on my first ar to be delivered (da 556)
now im looking for a scope

i will be only shooting it on a bench at 50-100-200 yds

budget is tight 300$ or less

im looking at

bushnell ar 3-12x around 180$
bushnell ar-4.5-18x 240$

are there better choices out there

pretty new to shooting and scopes
so any suggestions is welcome
 
It all depends what you want to do with the scope. If you're looking to do accurate shooting, go with the higher magnification. If you want versatility, something you could use close up, but still be able to shoot out further pretty accurately, go with the lower magnification.
 
1-4x seems really short in term of magnification... i have a bushnell banner 1-4 and even at 50 yds its not enough for me

dont need any versatility as i will always shoot from a bench at the range

any better options then the bushnell ar serie for the same price ?

thanks for your tips guys
 
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I picked up a nikon P223 3X recently and its perfect for those ranges. great close up too. while there are better scopes I just thought id mention it as an option ;)
 
The other question might be "do you own a spotting scope"? Are you trying to see your target hits at 200 yds through the rifle scope or a spotting scope. I have a cheap Simmonds 4-18 and seeing the paper holes at 200 is a bit difficult sometimes with it and my gently used eyes. I like lots of magnification, and always believe you can dial down a high mag scope if you want, but you can't get any more out of a low mag scope.

I'd be inclined to look for something used on the EE or if you can stretch the budget just a bit more to say maybe 400-500. I've got a few cheap scopes sitting around in drawers here cuz I was foolish to think they might work. Like any kind of glass (scope or camera lenses) there is no cheap way to make good glass, it costs money. The only cheap scope that I ever bought that I still like is a Bushnell Trophy XL 3-9X40 and it isn't enough mag for me at 200 yds.
 
dont own a spotting scope yet... still debating if i should get high magnification scope only or less magnification + spotting scope

18x enough to see 223 holes at 200yds ? or should i go higher ?
 
1-4x is enough out to 100 meter to see hits providing it is good glass. The new Bushnell AR optics glass is pretty great compared to the Bushnell banner I own as well. Not the quality of my Nightforce but still great glass for the money. Happy to answer more questions about it, though mine is now for sale in the EE.
 
Bushnell has 30$ rebate on their AR optics which I believe includes the TRS-25 making it very attractive at half the price ($100) of the vortex sparc 2 (which is already nice for the price).
 
If it was me I would try and stretch the budget. Low price optics, generally mean low quality glass. You should be fine with a Bushnell, the glass they use is usually excellent. Try and go 6-24x50 if you want to see little bullet holes far away, I have a hard time past 200 yards seeing .223 holes, but that's me, YMMV. The minimum I had on my AR was a 10x fixed Bushnell Elite. My AR is now more a short barrelled "CQB" type set up now with a Trijicon 1-4x. I'm not trying to see far away though. BTW, the Trijicon is SWEET!! Bright as the sun!

I would not try and get a less expensive scope and less expensive spotting scope, I think you would be disappointed on a grand scale. Cheap spotting scopes are even more frustrating than cheap Riflescopes. Again just my .02 cents, I have spent a lot of money on optics, and I only buy quality optics, buy once cry once.
 
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