Lost in the land of budget LVPOs

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  • jayhawk

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    Lost in the land of budget LPVOs

    I'm mostly a bolt and handgun guy, but I'm getting back into ARs and I love the idea of what these 1-6, 1-8 LPVOs. I'm putting together a build that is an all-rounder 16" shtf/plinker gun, and I'd like to play at 500-600yds. So, I guess I'm looking for a generalist LVPO that is actually fun to shoot at some distance.

    I'm immediately drawn to to Viper PST gen II 1-6. Love the reticles (simple MRAD or MOA hash marks), I've owned Vortex in the past, price seems to be reasonable. My only hesitance with Vortex is durability. I previously used them on bolt guns that didn't see tons of rounds through them and I'm thinking I'll probably will put a few more through an AR.
    The interesting thing about the Viper PST 1-6 is it seems to be kind of an outlier. It looks like the lower priced Abital, Strike Eagle, Primary Arms offerings are probably the same (or nearly the same) Chinese scope with different reticles and throw levers or whatever. In general I'm not a huge fan of BDC reticles, but the Primary Arms ACSS and the Abital 1-8 FFP "tree" reticle both look pretty nice.

    Are there other scopes like the Viper 1-6 that seem to have an optical difference between the $300-$400 Chinese options and the $1200 plus range? Or is the Viper PST 1-6 kind of the ticket? I'm just curious what LPVOs folks that like to occasionally punch into the longer ranges are enjoying (sub-$1000 if that's a thing).
     
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    BR8818

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    I know you said 1-6 or 8 but the steiner p4xi is a great optic. The Bushnell elite tactical smrs 1-6.5 is also a good optic sometimes you can find them around $700. If your not in a hurry last year I got a Vortex Razor 1-6 gen2e refurbished for $900, but you have to wait for them to pop up for sale and they go fast.

    Nothing wrong with the 1-6 pst though just giving you more options.
     

    avboiler11

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    I had a Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6x...then I got the 1-8x and it is a significantly upgrade optic in terms of clarity and ability to use on 1x as a RDS. Sold the 1-6 and never looked back.

    There are videos/pics/text floating around the interwebs of a 1-6 Strike Eagle being used against ISIL in Iraq by Peshmerga fighters, so I think they've generally got a fair amount of reliability.

    That said, the PST II 1-6x should be a very solid optic and better than the Strike Eagle line. As mentioned, the Bushnell Tactical SMRS is also very good and definitely if you can spring for a Razor, don't hesitate.
     

    mmpsteve

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    I have the Vortex PST II 1-6x, and it is indeed a high quality optic, at least for my modest budget. With my old eyes, I don't think 6x is going to be enough at 500 yards. Also keep in mind that it weighs 24 oz. I bought it for a 10mm AR pistol, but it was just too darned heavy for that particular project goal. I tried it on 3 different rifles before it landed on a Magnum Research 22mag carbon-fiber-barreled rifle, where it's perfect because of the light weight of that rifle, at the ranges I'll be shooting it. Good luck on your quest, but LPVOs and old eyes is a non-starter, for me, for long range shooting.

    .
     
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    Ggreen

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    Is there an optical difference, yes. Will you know it if you don't have extensive time behind good to better glass, probably not.

    Define budget first. Then you can buy what fits best financially.

    I would take an american or Japanese 1-4 over a 1-8 Chinese lpvo. With the exception of the Burris xtr.

    Atibal is interesting in that you can probably talk to the owner if you try for about 5 minutes. He is a good guy and interested in growing and putting pretty decent glass on the market. If I had to have 1-8 on a tight budget I'd get Atibal again. He sponsors a few 3 gunners who beat the hell out of his optics.
     

    jayhawk

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    Thanks for the advice all! I'm not sure how I overlooked the RT-6, but that looks like it checks a lot of boxes for me. But dang, the Primary Arms 1-8 FFP with the ACSS Raptor reticle looks really great. I guess I'll have time to obsess over youtube reviews for awhile since nothing is in stock right now.
     

    Kirk Freeman

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    I love my budget Swampfoxes, Tomahawks 1-4X. Calibrated for M193 which I have a metric ton of.

    Bought 2 at NRAAM 2019 for $500 flat. Even got a hug from the owner.

    I installed them on 2 Colt M6721s which I use as short range DRMs in my C battery. Very happy to date.

    Here is the 1-8 that you cited: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mofzxPdYLLA

    Far too powerful for me but more X is better seller in the market now.
     

    Kirk Freeman

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    This is the Swampfox Tomahawk on a Colt M6721, AR-15A3.

    91865459_10222462976028805_5311708212423032832_o.jpg
     
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    I love my budget Swampfoxes, Tomahawks 1-4X. Calibrated for M193 which I have a metric ton of.

    Bought 2 at NRAAM 2019 for $500 flat. Even got a hug from the owner.

    I installed them on 2 Colt M6721s which I use as short range DRMs in my C battery. Very happy to date.

    Here is the 1-8 that you cited: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mofzxPdYLLA

    Far too powerful for me but more X is better seller in the market now.

    I've never heard of those but I really like what I see. I'll have to get my hands on one some time soon.
     

    bwframe

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    IMHO the best real value in these optics is buying previously used models a generation old.

    Lotta folks just have to have the latest and greatest, so they'll upgrade quickly. The frugal among us can take real advantage of that, if we must not have the highest cool kid magnification.

    FYI - there is a fantastic deal in the classy's right now, hidden a couple pages back.

    The killer part of buying used is that often folks keep their spendy QD mounts for the new glass. Real sticker shock when buying a quality name brand QD mount. :n00b:


    Very good point made above about the weight of these things with mount. Pushing a couple of pounds extra will add up quick if you have to carry rather than shoot much.
     
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    gmcttr

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    ...But dang, the Primary Arms 1-8 FFP with the ACSS Raptor reticle looks really great...

    I personally would not get a LPVO with FFP without looking through one for myself. Take this with a grain of salt as I have no experience with FFP LVPO's.

    But, with FFP scopes, the reticle gets very small and fine at the lower powers. I have FFP scopes and like them for accuracy but the lower powers can be difficult to use.

    I'm guessing the ACSS reticle may become a weak red dot at 1X. It might work out perfectly but I would want to see it for myself.
     

    Ggreen

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    I personally would not get a LPVO with FFP without looking through one for myself. Take this with a grain of salt as I have no experience with FFP LVPO's.

    But, with FFP scopes, the reticle gets very small and fine at the lower powers. I have FFP scopes and like them for accuracy but the lower powers can be difficult to use.

    I'm guessing the ACSS reticle may become a weak red dot at 1X. It might work out perfectly but I would want to see it for myself.

    At 1x it is a red dot with an eye box. Ffp lpvo are super useful
     

    jayhawk

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    Great discussion. I probably wouldn't be interested in FFP in a low power optic except that particular ACSS Raptor reticle really does look like it would work well. It just seems very well thought out. That and I think a lot of the other BDC reticles in sub-$1k LVPOs don't seem amazing.

    To me, a big part of the appeal of the Viper PST is the stupid simple reticle, just an illuminated dot in the center of a MOA/MRAD crosshair.

    The Swampfox Arrowhead 1-10 is super intriguing with the discount codes available. Would be fun to play with a 1-10, that's some crazy range.
     

    sheepdog697

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    I had a strike eagle before. It was okay, and did what it was supposed to do for the money. I have since upgraded to the trijicon accupoint 1-8 and I’m a big fan. It sits on an 18” JP rifles build that is strictly a range gun. It’s a pleasure to shoot and the optical clarity is definitely better than the budget scopes.

    The vortex viper pst gen 2 you posted would be a nice meet in the middle scope.
     

    sheepdog697

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    I personally would not get a LPVO with FFP without looking through one for myself. Take this with a grain of salt as I have no experience with FFP LVPO's.

    But, with FFP scopes, the reticle gets very small and fine at the lower powers. I have FFP scopes and like them for accuracy but the lower powers can be difficult to use.

    I'm guessing the ACSS reticle may become a weak red dot at 1X. It might work out perfectly but I would want to see it for myself.


    The 1x on my trijicon 1-8 is very usable. The illumination sucks and that is about my only gripe.
     

    Kirk Freeman

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    I've never heard of those but I really like what I see. I'll have to get my hands on one some time soon.

    Great optic for the money. Are there better? Sure are, S&B short dot anyone? Always trade offs, like guns, like guitars, like cars.

    But for my contingency triad, I went Swampfox. They are chunky monkeys but for $250, going to be a con or two. I accept this and Charlie Mike and all that.

    I do not understand the goofy drive for more magnification. I want a shorter tube and lighter weight. However, I understand that SF is responding to the market.
     
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