Bought a S&W M&P 15 Sport II .... Options for optics?

Given that this is a range gun and most ranges don't have the luxury of building rifle ranges over 200M, aside from the DND and the odd rural or well-monetized club, you don't need a lot of magnification. If you plan on shooting 3-Gun, you're probably much better off going with a quality red dot optic like the Aimpoint PRO. You get Aimpoint quality at an affordable, entry-level price without sacrificing too much performance advantage compared to the COMP M3/M4/Micro lines. You can also shoot out to 200M with it reasonably accurate, but it shines in the 50-100M range. For longer ranges you can pick up the optional 3X magnifier when your budget permits.
 
X-man said:
Given that this is a range gun and most ranges don't have the luxury of building rifle ranges over 200M, aside from the DND and the odd rural or well-monetized club, you don't need a lot of magnification. If you plan on shooting 3-Gun, you're probably much better off going with a quality red dot optic like the Aimpoint PRO. You get Aimpoint quality at an affordable, entry-level price without sacrificing too much performance advantage compared to the COMP M3/M4/Micro lines. You can also shoot out to 200M with it reasonably accurate, but it shines in the 50-100M range. For longer ranges you can pick up the optional 3X magnifier when your budget permits.
Click to expand...

There were a lot of guys at the match with red dots, but you will need a flip magnifier for the longer ranges. Buy a 1 or 2 MOA dot, otherwise your dot will potentially be bigger than the target you're shooting at. If you're doing CQB type shoots though, red dot is definitely the way to go. I have 2 uppers, one scoped and one with a red dot for those reasons.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I think I might go down the aimpoint road but I want to check out the cheaper options and see the difference actually looking through the different styles of scopes.

A reddot seems to be exactly what I want.
 
A word of caution, if you don't have the eyes of a 20 year old, the red dot on a red dot or a holographic sight will look like a star due astigmatism associated with aging.
 
My Bushnell AR 3-12X40 scope from Amazon arrived today. Some quick notes:

- First thought when taking it out of the box was that it was heavier than I expected, but that is something I didn't really care that much about. Specs say 21.3 oz. Hopefully heavier means beefier for durability. It comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty to the original owner, so at $173 what's not to like.

- Exterior finish is very nice and it comes with loose fitting plastic lens caps with plastic retaining straps that I suspect will stretch in the heat and require replacement with braided elastic straps or something down the road. Adjustment rings are a tad stiff but it's new so will likely loosen up a bit with time. The objective lens cowl extends about 5/8 inch for a bit of shading at least. I like the scalloped style of the adjustment rings.

- Initial look-through seems bright and clear in the sunny afternoon, but I'll have another look at dusk. I like the size of the BDC dots but suspect the whole reticle will be difficult in very low light, so if that's important to you consider an illuminated reticle model.

- Just holding it up to my old eyes, the eye relief seemed a bit touchy at max magnification, but this is why I opted for the 12X max for a 40mm objective (3.3 exit pupil). It may not be as bad once securely mounted, I'll have to see, but my Burris Fullfield II 4.5-14x42 is ok for me so I expect this to be ok too. The BDC is calibrated for max magnification as normal.

- Elevation and windage adjustments have a tactile and audible click, but since I expect to use the BDC rather than the target turret to dial-in, I don't put a lot of onus on this. I recall some saying the tactile click could be better, so maybe they are dial-in preference shooters. It's nice to have the target turrets though.

- I have it loosely sitting on an 14.5" AR15, and the 12 inch length is well suited.

bushnell%20on%20DA556%20002_zpsszoeglup.jpg



- I'm going to mount it first on a Dominion Arms DA556 and shoot some Norc surplus as well as some .223 reloads (that I get .6-.7 MOA with on a Savage Axis) mostly to gauge the ability of the DA556 to provide precision. After that, I'll move it to another AR15 for final mounting and zeroing. Hopefully I'll get to that next week.

All in all, for $173 I'm thrilled with the features of this scope. I'll be tempted to buy another after a successful range trip if there are any still available.

edit: FYI, found this old thread "http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1071846-DA-556-Range-Report-Update-sub-MOA-Accuracy/page2" discussing DA556 'precision', so I guess I'll use that as a comparison when I get it to the range.
 
Last edited:
very nice looking rifle, congrats
i have a scoped AR as well, but i decided to go for a 10x max, i get just slightly under 1 moa with it, which is what i expected
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the intro canthitathing, very informative.

Aiwa,

I do see items like that but the people here make it seem like anything less then an aimpoint or trijon or whatever the name is, your gonna get crap. I see a Burris Mtac on the EE for $530 and new is $525 plus tax. I also saw an aimpoint for $550 shipped. So it's hard to decide. I wish I could try them out first but thats not really possible. I will go to the store tomorrow and atleast look through some of them to see how they work.
 
When you talk to the experts, they know quality. Real quality is high-end, though. I would sooner have many decent things rather than one or two of the best thing. Even most of these high-end guys won't argue against Burris, or Leopold, or Vortex.

The Burris is a nice, compact package. It's a quality optic, comes in 3x or 5x, looks good, and it's affordable.
 
redshooter said:
Those with bottomless wallets will tell you that you must spend big, what you need is a scope with decent glass that tracks reliably and has a reticule you like. There's more than a few scopes in the $500 range that will serve you well.

I'm needing to get some glass also. Since it'll be mostly for working up loads I'm leaning towards a Bushnell 10X, simple, cheap, and reliable by most accounts. That or it will be a 1-4X24 probably a Bushnell but there are several to choose from in the $300-$500 range.
Click to expand...

I will agree with this above. I have had a bushnell 1 to 4 power change lever (PCL) ar optic and had to return for warranty twice now. They do replace for free but I have a hard time recommending them now. I have had a 10x bushnell lrs on various guns without issue. Good optic for the money. Even the ORA runs them.on their into day guns.
 
mikethebike said:
very nice looking rifle, congrats.........
Click to expand...

Lol, thanks Mikethebike, but the pic was just for dimensional proportion representation and is just a plain DA556 ( I couldn't pass it up when they got so inexpensive). The final destination for the scope will be a DPMS Oracle (some might say that's not much of a move up, lol, but I think DPMS is fine for the amount of shooting I'll ever do on either AR).
 
For an affordable new scope, this would be my first choice. I got mine through Irunguns, for a reasonable price. I really like mine. Under a grand, though, you should also be able to pick up a used Elcan OS4 or OS3 on the EE, both of which are better quality, but fixed magnification. Otherwise, the AR332 fixed-magnification scope is also a good value, especially on the EE

Aprilia Man said:
This?

http://www.burrisoptics.com/scopes/...es-series/fullfield-tac30-riflescope-1-4x24mm

:)
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I went to 3-4 stores today and I looked at Vortex's, Bushnells, Burris's, Leupolds and Hosun Redots (I think the name was). I wanted something around $300 but I am worried about quality and I didn't want to have to worry about sending the scope back for warranty work. I liked the Burris and after reading reviews and watching videos, I was pretty much gonna decide on that but when i got there and touched it, it was heavy which isn't too big of a deal but it was also $839.99 plus tax.

So for $30 more, I got a Leupold VX-R Patrol which is 1.25-4x20mm with some Leupold rings. It's so nice I am scared to touch it. The store even offered to mount it for me which is nice of them. I am excited. It has an illuminated dot which I can turn off for those long range precision shots. Overall I spent alot but I am sure it will be years of worry free issues.
 
cereal83 said:
I went to 3-4 stores today and I looked at Vortex's, Bushnells, Burris's, Leupolds and Hosun Redots (I think the name was). I wanted something around $300 but I am worried about quality and I didn't want to have to worry about sending the scope back for warranty work. I liked the Burris and after reading reviews and watching videos, I was pretty much gonna decide on that but when i got there and touched it, it was heavy which isn't too big of a deal but it was also $839.99 plus tax.

So for $30 more, I got a Leupold VX-R Patrol which is 1.25-4x20mm with some Leupold rings. It's so nice I am scared to touch it. The store even offered to mount it for me which is nice of them. I am excited. It has an illuminated dot which I can turn off for those long range precision shots. Overall I spent alot but I am sure it will be years of worry free issues.
Click to expand...



nice, haven't owned any Leupold optics, but I've heard good things about them. Hope it works well for you! :)
 
Thanks Cobra, It's my first Leupold so I am excited. My old scopes are all Elite 3200's so this is a step up I'd assume.

Nice bsand, how much did it cost you? How far are you shooting? 3-16 is massive magnification compared to my x4 lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom