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Rifle Scopes Sub $500 LVPO recommendations

sam4886

sam4886

Stunt Cock
Full Member
Minuteman
May 15, 2019
1,149
756
Eastern WA
#1
I've been seeing a few lvpo threads come up and I'm thinking about swapping my 16" 5.56 truck gun over. Its is a PSA rifle kit on an 80% lower, so I'm trying to stay within reason for a new scope. I'd buy used too, but I'm not wanting to spend more than $500. $400 would be better.

1-6x is fine, considering the budget.
As close to true 1x as possiblebb
Illumination a plus, but not a deal breaker.
I'd prefer FFP
Capped turrets

So far I've looked at the strike eagle and the primary arms. I think I like the reticle better on the primary arms, but I'm conserned about glass quality.

What's the go-to for a beater these days?
 
#6
That just proves what I've been saying for some time now (since my first endeavor with a Gen 1 PST): one man's "daylight bright" is another's "not so much..."
You and I will have to agree to disagree on the Burris... Respectfully, of course ?!
 
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#7
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#10
Not to hijack, but if there's something else highly recommend for 7.62 rifles(PTR91) I'd be interested in thoughts on that too. I know I could just learn the distances the 5.56 reticle is applicable with my rounds, Just curious what is out there.
 
#11
Birddog6424 said:
Technically, it doesn't matter if the reticle is designed around the 5.56 or 7.62. On the civilian side of the shooting world, those BDCs rarely line up with your ammunition choice in 100 yard increments.

But that doesnt matter. Because they all line up somewhere.

With your ammunition choice it may not be 200, 300, and 400 yards. But it may be 210 yards, 320 yards, and 420 yards. And so long as you know that, they work exactly as intended.
Click to expand...

You could have saved your breath.

"I know I could just learn the distances the 5.56 reticle is applicable with my rounds"

Appreciate it though.
 
#12
Birddog6424 said:
You would think so..

But then why would you have asked. ;)
Click to expand...

Because the people here know of a lot more LPVO models than I do? Doesn't mean my conceptualizing of reticle holdovers is flawed (I actually included that sentence to try and avoid this exact "lecture"). Just means I want more data points before spending money.
 
#13
308ftWIN said:
Because the people here know of a lot more LPVO models than I do? Doesn't mean my conceptualizing of reticle holdovers is flawed (I actually included that sentence to try and avoid this exact "lecture"). Just means I want more data points before spending money.
Click to expand...
Empirical knowledge and conceptual knowledge functions at something like 100 to 1. Take the lecture and move on.
 
#15
I have no experience with the Burris RT6. But there certainly $500 deals, sometimes even slightly less, for the vortex PST Gen 2 1-6 if you need six power.

If 4x is enough look no further than the Steiner P4xi. Deals can definitely be found for this for 500 or less.
 
#17
Out of everything listed, what has the closest to true 1x on the bottom end? They all advertise that way, but in a few videos I've seen the strike eagle looks closer to 1x than the primary arms. Haven't seen anything on the Burris, PST, or Steiner yet.

The steiner is probably the lowest on the list just because I'd like to get a little more magnification than 4x.
 
#24
Birddog6424 said:
An XTR3 in 1-8 with a mil grid reticle!!!1!!11!1

Haha, I wish.. that's a very distant horizon... Illuminated models are next, along with the SCR2 in MOA for those twisted individuals. Then who knows..

Maybe it will have a daylight bright reticle @plong. :)
Click to expand...
Well... Make sure I'm one of the first to know then! I'm in, definitely in!?
 
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#26
plong said:
Daylight bright at sub$500 in a LPVO ... Nope not gonna find that... That's called a Red Dot...
Ask how I know ?
Click to expand...

I got a Steiner P4Xi 1-4X last year from Optics Planet for $469 brand new in the box.

I can assure you it is most definitely daylight bright compared to an Aimpoint PRO, Aimpoint Comp C and SIG Romeo 5.
 
#28
i run a vortex strike eagle 1-6 as my lvpo it is second focl plane but i have never seen this as an issue as if a target is far enough away that i am going to be compensating for my shot with the reticle i am going to be on 6x anyway
 
#30
Oh, first focal plane in a scope with a max magnification ratio of 6 is typically dumb.

If you need to use any stadia lines on the reticle, dial the fucker to max and go to it. In which case the focal plane location doesn't matter. Except when it does matter at 1X where the SFP reticle is still perfectly usable but the FFP reticle is damn near useless unless it's a daylight bright red dot.

Good luck finding a 1-6X FFP scope with acceptable clarity, a reticle usable at 1X, daylight bright reticle illumination all for under 500 bucks.
 
#32
Well there was a comparison in fact. Reading small print at around 50 yards. Not in all lighting conditions, etc, but it told me all I needed to know. At least with the examples I had, I think the RT6 was just a c-hair clearer. I was able to read a line that I couldn't with the Razor. It also had slightly less fisheye. Of course these were just two scopes and quality can vary quite a bit from one scope to the next so maybe I got a great RT6 and a bad Razor. They really shouldn't even be close though given the price disparity. I have no doubt the Razor is more durable, but then again it weighs significantly more, which is the main reason I kept it and not the Razor. A 24 oz optic on a lightweight carbine isn't worth a fuck. YMMV. Thanks for the well thought out reply though. Have you compared them side by side on the same day and had a different experience?

-Dan
 
#33
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#35
Birddog6424 said:
I actually have a similar comparison. A buddy of mine bought the first RT6 that I got to look at for his back up 3 Gun rifle. He was running a Kahles K16i on his primary that he bought on my recommendation. It's one of my favorite 6x LPVs.

We broke them both out after a match and were comparing them side by side. A half dozen guys or so. Everyone was pretty impressed with the RT6. My buddy said he would never drop that much money on a 6x or 8x again. Because if the RT6 is worth $350, then the Kahles shouldn't sell for over $1k. Because there was no way the Kahles was $1600 nicer.

His words. Lots of folks there agreed.

I think where LPVOs are concerned there's a good argument to be made for less disparity between good and great.
Click to expand...


Pretty much how I feel about it. Just about any scope made these days including Wal-Mart garbage can hold zero if you aren't going to be dialing it. I have no interest in dialing with a 1-6. Much prefer a decent fast reticle. So it really comes down to durability from abuse, and glass. How good do you think the glass needs to be in a scope that goes to 6 power? I mean at the very bottom of the barrel such as the 1-4 Bushnell's in the $100 range sure the glass isn't great, but scopes in the $300 range are a huge step up in glass quality. So what are you getting for the extra $1k? Good turrets, but I don't dial, and glass that's MAYBE a few percentage points better. More durable? I would hope so. Fuckin Simmons could make a 24 oz scope durable if they went full retard and just made everything twice as thick.
 
#38
I have very minimal experience with LPVOs.
But I have recently picked up a Viper PST 1-6 and thinks it's fantastic.

The illumination is definitely daylight bright, reticle is moa/mill based and the glass is good with a true 1x magnification.
 
#39
Birddog6424 said:
I actually have a similar comparison. A buddy of mine bought the first RT6 that I got to look at for his back up 3 Gun rifle. He was running a Kahles K16i on his primary that he bought on my recommendation. It's one of my favorite 6x LPVs.

We broke them both out after a match and were comparing them side by side. A half dozen guys or so. Everyone was pretty impressed with the RT6. My buddy said he would never drop that much money on a 6x or 8x again. Because if the RT6 is worth $350, then the Kahles shouldn't sell for over $1k. Because there was no way the Kahles was $1600 nicer.

His words. Lots of folks there agreed.

I think where LPVOs are concerned there's a good argument to be made for less disparity between good and great.
Click to expand...
Standing around in broad daylight comparing scopes is about the worst method possible. Most scopes look good under that scenario.
 
#40
Ive got a Tango4 1-4 thats an extra. I might even have an Aero SPR mount for it. It might even come in under your $500 with the mount...
 
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