NEA 15 and ????

Sniffer

Sniffer

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Super GunNutz
Rating - 100%
44   0   0
Location
Okanagan
So I`ve got an NEA 15 7.5" in 7.62 x 39 and am using a cheap scope on it right now that I sometimes use on my 10/22 (tend to use the Vortex Spitfire 1X mostly)

I`m thinking of buying something dedicated to the NEA but I don't have a clue what I need - how far can this gun realistically shoot and what type of optic will I need to get me there?

I know one other person with the same gun and he has a Vortex Strike Eagle, seems happy with it. It has 1 x 6 magnification and the reticle is illuminated (a feature I would like) - would this be a good bet?

I would like this optic mainly for this gun but then I also wonder if I should get something more powerful (can't hurt the NEA - I imagine it could only make things even better - or is this not the case?) so I can use it on more powerful weapons if I decide to go that direction in the future?

Just to be clear - I`m pretty clueless on all this so any help is greatly appreciated
 
Ummm - anyone?

I looked at a Vortex Strike Eagle yesterday. Seemed nice but I`m still worried that it won't have enough magnification

I looked closer at the cheapo scope I am using on the gun right now (3-9x32) and I felt it was underpowered. I had some issues with the gun it was on after about 20 rounds so didn't get a fair chance to use it properly (its still miles off and needs sighted in)
 
Really depends on the style of shooting and distance your range allows. If you gonna bench shoot, get something neither heavy magnification. If your going to "combat shoot" then go with a red dot or seomthing with low magnification like a 1-4 or 1-6. Your choice really.
 
Yeah its a tough one for sure

I went to the range yesterday and used a pretty cheap/basic 3-9x I have for my Rimfire, went out to 100 yards or so and it wasn't horrible but I`d like to go further.

Upper limit of the Strike Eagle is 6x which is obviously less than the 9x I was using yesterday or does the higher quality of the scope (Vortex vs cheapo) compensate that much?
 
Have you looked at the Primary Arms dedicated 7.62x39 optic? The reticle is very slick.

It's only a fixed 3x, but that's the sort of magnification I like to have on my black guns & ARs.

26485960785_a575db62ca_b.jpg
 
TV-PressPass said:
Have you looked at the Primary Arms dedicated 7.62x39 optic? The reticle is very slick.

It's only a fixed 3x, but that's the sort of magnification I like to have on my black guns & ARs.

26485960785_a575db62ca_b.jpg
Click to expand...

I have looked at PA scopes - namely their 1-6 Strike Eagle equivalent which is built specifically for 7.62 x39, I wanna try to shoot as far as possible so these optics would in theory give me the best of both worlds.

From what I can tell people have used those out to 600 yards so I`m guessing 7.62 x39 is good for that distance?
 
Can easily shoot out past 300 with a 4 or 6 power sight. Its not like you are using a precision round.
 
Available optics specific to x39 would be primary arms an Hi Lux. I wouldn't go his route unless you were dedicated to the calibre.

The type of optic you use will be heavily dependent on your shooting style and needs. There are pros and cons to pretty much every option and we don't have enough info to make any recommendations really.

Either a fixed 3 or 4 power or variable 1-5 or 6 ... pick your scope features and reticle based on need. Those ranges should do you well for x39 from 10 to 400 meters.
 
There really is no right answer until you decide on how you will be using the optic and firearm. A shortie AR in 7.62x39 is less than ideal as a bench-rest shooter even if the round will travel much further than 300 yards (even a 22 LR will do that). I'd say 200 yards is a reasonable working max effective range for 4" to 6" targets.

Then you have to decide how you're going to use your rifle. Your setup sounds great as a CQB rig which could be paired with a red-dot or a 1-6, etc. variable zoom but if you aren't going to be competing in that type of competition and/or you don't have a range that will let you run rifle run-and-gun drills, the low power optics make target shooting less satisfying. Hate to say it but if you are stuck shooting at fixed-distance ranges you'd be better off with a different rifle (DMR AR or a dedicated target rifle) with a long distance scope.

If you insist on using your shortie for fixed-distance benchrest or offhand plinking a Bushnell 3-12 AR scope is quite a good alternative - inexpensive (since the joy of shooting 3" groups will fade soon), and with lots of good features (for the next rifle you put it on).
 
Pr589 said:
There really is no right answer until you decide on how you will be using the optic and firearm. A shortie AR in 7.62x39 is less than ideal as a bench-rest shooter even if the round will travel much further than 300 yards (even a 22 LR will do that). I'd say 200 yards is a reasonable working max effective range for 4" to 6" targets.

Then you have to decide how you're going to use your rifle. Your setup sounds great as a CQB rig which could be paired with a red-dot or a 1-6, etc. variable zoom but if you aren't going to be competing in that type of competition and/or you don't have a range that will let you run rifle run-and-gun drills, the low power optics make target shooting less satisfying. Hate to say it but if you are stuck shooting at fixed-distance ranges you'd be better off with a different rifle (DMR AR or a dedicated target rifle) with a long distance scope.

If you insist on using your shortie for fixed-distance benchrest or offhand plinking a Bushnell 3-12 AR scope is quite a good alternative - inexpensive (since the joy of shooting 3" groups will fade soon), and with lots of good features (for the next rifle you put it on).
Click to expand...

Hmmm, ok, thanks for the pointers

I currently have a cheap 3-9x (which seems ok and gets good reviews) but I`d like something with more magnification so in a perverse way that eliminates the 1-6x Strike Eagle that I though would be a perfect fit

I already have 2 red dots (Vortex Spitfire and Bushnell TRS-25) so I`m covered pretty good that way

Looking to the future if I purchased, say a XCR-L (like the look of those guns and non restricted) in 7.62x39 (cheap ammo) would the longer barrel make the difference to where I could take advantage of a higher power scope? I don't know how much magnification I`d like but are there any scenarios where you could have too much?

I`m thinking of getting an AR500 gong setup and this would be to enable me challenge longer distances

Thoughts?
 
tiriaq said:
Probably about the velocity of a .32-20. Think a high looping trajectory. Maybe go with a red dot and forget longer ranges.
Click to expand...


If thats the case I`m good to go (already have two) but I have a cheap 3-9x and while I like it I feel its a little underpowered (it was purchased primarily for the .22)

I`m still waiting on my lower to come back from NEA (warranty repair) so when it does I think I`ll hit the range and experiment a little more but what little range time I`ve had so far leads me to think I`d like a scope with decent magnification
 
xdmer said:
Available optics specific to x39 would be primary arms an Hi Lux. I wouldn't go his route unless you were dedicated to the calibre.

The type of optic you use will be heavily dependent on your shooting style and needs. There are pros and cons to pretty much every option and we don't have enough info to make any recommendations really.

Either a fixed 3 or 4 power or variable 1-5 or 6 ... pick your scope features and reticle based on need. Those ranges should do you well for x39 from 10 to 400 meters.[/B
Click to expand...


Thats the weird thing - I have a cheap 3-9x scope and used it at the range recently to ~100 yards and truthfully I couldn't really see what was going on - at 400 metres I definitely wouldn't have a clue

Maybe its the cheapo scope?
 
Sniffer said:
Looking to the future if I purchased, say a XCR-L (like the look of those guns and non restricted) in 7.62x39 (cheap ammo) would the longer barrel make the difference to where I could take advantage of a higher power scope?....
I`m thinking of getting an AR500 gong setup and this would be to enable me challenge longer distances

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

The problem is that 7.62 x 39 is a big slow cartridge (~2300 fps) and cheap ammo is...well inaccurate ammo (usually). By 200 yards the 123 grain 7.62 bullet has dropped almost 6" from its peak at 100 yards. By 300 yards, its dropped almost 24"....over twice what a 55 grain 5.56 bullet will drop..and at 400 yards the drop is about 65". A 7.5" barrel is likely going to be lucky to achieve 2000 fps at the muzzle so the drops are going to be even more extreme and wind will be more of a factor.

While a powerful scope will let you spot your hits, I think the big limitation will be ammo's ability to be accurate and consistent past 200. For informal bench or prone target use I can't see a downside of more power other than cost (as long as you don't give up clarity for magnification). For a semi-auto in 7.62x39 with decent ammo think minimum 6" groups at 200, min. 10" groups at 300, 16"+ at 400 (while many of the bolt-gun shooters in better calibres are shooting 3" groups at this distance). A gong or paper doesn't matter but its nice to get aural feedback when you hit - just get a big gong.

12X will let you see 7.62 holes at 200 yards while I have a hard time with 18X at 300 yards. Depending on the mirage, even 30X+ can be a challenge (to see bullet holes) at 300 yards and greater.
 
Last edited:
Pr589 said:
The problem is that 7.62 x 39 is a big slow cartridge (~2300 fps) and cheap ammo is...well inaccurate ammo (usually). By 200 yards the 123 grain 7.62 bullet has dropped almost 6" from its peak at 100 yards. By 300 yards, its dropped almost 24"....over twice what a 55 grain 5.56 bullet will drop..and at 400 yards the drop is about 65". A 7.5" barrel is likely going to be lucky to achieve 2000 fps at the muzzle so the drops are going to be even more extreme and wind will be more of a factor.

While a powerful scope will let you spot your hits, I think the big limitation will be ammo's ability to be accurate and consistent past 200. For informal bench or prone target use I can't see a downside of more power other than cost (as long as you don't give up clarity for magnification). For a semi-auto in 7.62x39 with decent ammo think minimum 6" groups at 200, min. 10" groups at 300, 16"+ at 400 (while many of the bolt-gun shooters in better calibres are shooting 3" groups at this distance). A gong or paper doesn't matter but its nice to get aural feedback when you hit - just get a big gong.

12X will let you see 7.62 holes at 200 yards while I have a hard time with 18X at 300 yards. Depending on the mirage, even 30X+ can be a challenge (to see bullet holes) at 300 yards and greater.
Click to expand...

I hear ya - I know 7.62x39 is cheap ammo (that was the attraction) but it has its limitations. I`m thinking beyond this to when I have firearm capable of longer distance and want to ensure I have a scope with enough headroom to handle that scenario even if it is a little overkill until that happens (I can use it as a spotting scope in the meantime)

So I assume optic clarity is dependant on quality which no doubt means higher price? What brands should I be looking at for higher power scopes and which are to be avoided?

You mention mirage - can you elaborate on this? Is this a product of good quality vs bad quality too?
 
How much are you willing to spend? At the upper end its hard to go wrong with S&B, Nightforce, Trijicon, Kahles, March, etc. Sightron offers great value and Zeiss, Meopta, US Optics are also worth a look. To be honest there are lots of great brands, even Bushnell is offering some high end scopes. European and Japanese glass seem to consistently be some of the best.

At the higher end it's worth deciding what you're primarily going to use the scope for (I.e. Known distance or not, dynamic or static shooting, etc.). Some of the reticles and features cost more (a lot more in some cases) and are clearly better for some uses than others (and can detract in the wrong situations - like First focal plane).

In terms of mirage, hotter air rising will cause the atmosphere to act like a lense, distorting the image downrange and causing it to waver. Higher magnification often makes things worse as smaller features are more distorted and seem to waver more than larger objects at lower mag. While its worst in the summer I've seen it in fairly cool conditions as well. The net effect is that often higher mag (past say 35X) won't be usable.
 
Pr589 said:
How much are you willing to spend? At the upper end its hard to go wrong with S&B, Nightforce, Trijicon, Kahles, March, etc. Sightron offers great value and Zeiss, Meopta, US Optics are also worth a look. To be honest there are lots of great brands, even Bushnell is offering some high end scopes. European and Japanese glass seem to consistently be some of the best.

At the higher end it's worth deciding what you're primarily going to use the scope for (I.e. Known distance or not, dynamic or static shooting, etc.). Some of the reticles and features cost more (a lot more in some cases) and are clearly better for some uses than others (and can detract in the wrong situations - like First focal plane).

In terms of mirage, hotter air rising will cause the atmosphere to act like a lense, distorting the image downrange and causing it to waver. Higher magnification often makes things worse as smaller features are more distorted and seem to waver more than larger objects at lower mag. While its worst in the summer I've seen it in fairly cool conditions as well. The net effect is that often higher mag (past say 35X) won't be usable.
Click to expand...

Thats a good question - I`m open to suggestion on how much I need to spend - basically my mindset is that cheap probably aint gonna cut it in this instance so there is no point in going that direction, mid range is fine and would be my preferred option but ONLY if it is adequate in every respect - I`d hate to spend a decent amount of cash to find that it doesn't tick all the boxes.

Basically my first step is to determine what is the least I need/want - once I know this I can then figure out what scopes tick all the boxes and keep an eye on the optics section here for a deal

To answer your questions on use I`m gonna say:

Not known distance (as that may change as I get better firearms capable of longer distances) but leaning towards longer for sure

Static (I`ve got a couple of red dots I can use for any dynamic)

I`m not gonna lie - I don't really understand scopes and all the terminology but I have looked at Parallax and how I might be better getting something with the capability to adjust this out at various distances (as I understand it not all scopes can) - I imagine this means higher end/more expensive

Your explanation on mirage makes sense. With this in mind is it fair to say that I should rule out scopes above 35x (don't know what the upper limit is but I`ve seen some 50x)?

Thanks for your help with all this BTW
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom