Shopping optics

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MartyK2500

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Hi, i have been shopping quite a bit for optics for my rifle lately. I have narowed it down to 3 choices, please tell me which one you would buy, and why would you chose this one. This is going on a 20 inch national match 5.56 rifle, and my intention is to practice at 200m (only thing i have available at the moment) . Maybe next year go out and try a few service rifle events.

1st choice : Trijicon ACOG 4x32 , fastened directly on carry handle

2nd choice : Trijicon ACOG 4x32 with intergrated rail mount

3rd choice : ELCAN - M145 3.4x
 
Id go for a hilux cmr. Though one of your options would be neat, I cant justify buying one of those! Plus these types of scopes look nice on ARs!
 
Acog but the TA11 (35mm) model. 3" of eye relief is real nice compared to the 1.5" of the 4X32. There's a reason the USMC chose it for their IAR M27.
 
The fact that a military buys something does not mean that something is good.

The only people I would recommend the Elcan C79 to are soldiers wishing to train with what they are issued.
There are better options for $800ish dollars.

I am trying to think who I would recommend ACOGs to.
 
For a 20" NM gun, I would get a 3.5-10, even something in the 3-18x range.

For <14.5" guns I generally like T1 Aimpoints, or EO's if your that way.
14.5" -16" 5.56mm, I like magnification in the 1-4, or 1-6x range. I'm happy with the Leupy Mk6 1-6x, but there are other more budget choices.
ACOG's well in 2004 it was a good option, but the combat variables have replaced them in terms of effective usage
Longer than 16" and your running into the SPR/DMR range, and a the resultant magnification you want for that...
 
I agree with Kevin's reasoning and just picked up a Leupold Mark 6 3-18x44 for that particular reason and flexibility in my rifles.

gadegt
 
I get what you guys are saying regarding the Acog but for keeping it small and light on a service rifle (non-DMR) I still like them. They are robust and there are no knobs to turn you can shoot at 200 then immediately go for a target at 400. Very simple and easy to use. With mine I can hit out to 600 yards prone consistently or hit a baseball standing up close no problem. Yes there is newer stuff out there but they still work.

I completely agree that the C79 is junk.
 
I have no issues with my C79 and updated mount. I use it for SR matches and punching papers at the range.
 
KevinB said:
For a 20" NM gun, I would get a 3.5-10, even something in the 3-18x range.

For <14.5" guns I generally like T1 Aimpoints, or EO's if your that way.
14.5" -16" 5.56mm, I like magnification in the 1-4, or 1-6x range. I'm happy with the Leupy Mk6 1-6x, but there are other more budget choices.
ACOG's well in 2004 it was a good option, but the combat variables have replaced them in terms of effective usage
Longer than 16" and your running into the SPR/DMR range, and a the resultant magnification you want for that...
Click to expand...

Thank you for the details. At this point i need to check the service rifle match rules, and reasess my needs. I was under the impression that the scopes i had mentionned we're the only ones used in service rifle, i am completely new to this and will spend a bit more time researching.

Thanks all for the comments, so i get the C79 isn't worth what they are asking for.
 
MartyK2500 said:
Hi, i have been shopping quite a bit for optics for my rifle lately. I have narowed it down to 3 choices, please tell me which one you would buy, and why would you chose this one. This is going on a 20 inch national match 5.56 rifle, and my intention is to practice at 200m (only thing i have available at the moment) . Maybe next year go out and try a few service rifle events.

1st choice : Trijicon ACOG 4x32 , fastened directly on carry handle

2nd choice : Trijicon ACOG 4x32 with intergrated rail mount

3rd choice : ELCAN - M145 3.4x
Click to expand...
NSN Acog
S&B 1-8
Or an elcan 1-6 model
Other than that I would stick to a red dot with a magnifier.
 
The C79 still has great glass and the mounts are much better than the ones introduced 20 years ago and abused since introduction.

They are not perfect but they are not total junk.
 
4x32 ACOGs are light and compact. They are very simple to use. That is pretty much the pros of the ACOG. An ACOG is typically about half of the weight of a good vari power scope + mount.

There is a parade of 1-4 and 1-6 vari power scopes out there with different recticles. Vortex, leupold, nightforce all have something to offer. A scope is useful only when you know the ballistic to take advantage of the adjustments available to you.

One thing for sure, there is no reason to buy the elcan 145. You will be better served by an Acog if you wants a combat sight.
 
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MartyK2500 said:
Hi, i have been shopping quite a bit for optics for my rifle lately. I have narowed it down to 3 choices, please tell me which one you would buy, and why would you chose this one. This is going on a 20 inch national match 5.56 rifle, and my intention is to practice at 200m (only thing i have available at the moment) . Maybe next year go out and try a few service rifle events.

1st choice : Trijicon ACOG 4x32 , fastened directly on carry handle

2nd choice : Trijicon ACOG 4x32 with intergrated rail mount

3rd choice : ELCAN - M145 3.4x
Click to expand...

Take a look at the Vortex Viper PST 2.5x10x32 FFP. It's new for Spring 2013, so if you can wait a few months, it may be worth it. I'm looking at getting one for my Swiss Arms, but may opt for something like a Leupold Mark 4/Mark 6 if funds allow. Nightforce also has some good options too. As for the ACOG, I've owned several ACOG's, they're lightweight and simple to use, but as others have mentioned, there are better options based on what you intend to use the rifle for. What sort of price range are you looking at? The optics you mentioned are around the $1200 mark. Could you spend a bit more?
 
Thanks guys this is sure a big amount of information to read on and process. The budget has been set to 1500$ limit.
And magnification, anything higher than 4x would be gaming against SR competitors that are really using their service setup (in my opinion i need to read on that too).
I'm in a rush right now, as soon as i have the time tomorow morning, i will read on everything posted here and post back with what i have made out of it.
Thanks again for the large influx of posts with proposals to help me make the bet decision for my dollars
 
Understood.

Service Rifle as a discipline is what it is, it will eventually evolve ;)

While the C79 is fine for Service Rifle comps -- I would argue probably better than the ACOG's in that respect (I know not expected from me).

ACOG's are rugged scopes - thought they have terrible parallax issues. While in the 2000-2005 frame they where great - they got supplanted by Combat Variables - specifically the S&B Short Dot. Now the Combat Variables are growing from 1-4 to 1-6 and 1-8.
 
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