Rifle Scopes USO 1.8 -10x vs Nightforce 2.5-10x for Scar 17s

[MJ2936]

Re-doing (and rethinking) my optics for my ARs and Scar 17. A background, have 2 ARs, one has a RDS, and the other a 1-6x variable. My scar 17 currently needs an optic. I'm deciding whether to go a dedicated long range optic (something in the 3 or 5-x) or looking at something like the USO BT10 1.8-10x or NF NXS 2.5-10x just so I have the option of reaching longer but keeping the weight down.

Any thoughts? Also, any reviews of the USO 1.8-10s or the NF? I know USO is FFP and the NF is SFP in those particular models.

 

[blbennett1288]

If you can get over the tight eye box, I absolutely love the 2.5-10x24. Small and compact scope. People either love them or hate them. Mile High Shooting and EuroOptic both have them in stock

 

[SRPowah]

On my Recce, I went to the NF 2.5-10x24 and loving it. If I need more than 10x, I am probably shooting past both my round's capability and my shooting ability.

 

[TheOE800]

I liked having my NXS 2.5-10x42 on my SCAR 17.

 

[MJ2936]

If you can get over the tight eye box, I absolutely love the 2.5-10x24. Small and compact scope. People either love them or hate them. Mile High Shooting and EuroOptic both have them in stock

Any other suggestions for a similar magnification range scope?

 

[krt22]

I had a similar debate for my SCAR, first through 2-10x but ended up with the bushnell SMRS 1-8.5X. FFP, 34mm tube, the outer ring at 1x functions like a red dot.

 

[JayOpticspecialist]

the 2.5-10 nightforce is my favorite optic for a scar 17. a lot of my customer also mount an rmr at a 45. I just feel it's a good match, the weight, the magnification, and the aesthetic are all perfect.

 

[MJ2936]

So sounding like nay on the USO? I guess I'm a little skeptical of a FFP reticle at 1.8x. Which also makes me look at the 3-x magnification like the B17, NF ATACR etc, but then you are making the scar 17 a bigger brick than it already is and I'm not sure I'd get the benefit of such high power magnification with this weapons system at my skill.

 

[TheOE800]

Brick? It's a reasonably svelte rifle. The 2.5-10x in either 24mm or 42mm flavor isn't particularly heavy, though I will say the height over bore does make the gun a bit top heavy. A larger/heavier optic will only make that feeling worse.

It's really about how you want to use it. I stuck that 2.5-10x42 on top and ended up wanting more magnification like I was pressing the 17 into a DMR/precision-type role - added a bipod and all that junk. All that really impacted the usefulness of the carbine and made me fall out of love with it; I sold it and picked up a precision rifle to use for that type of role instead. However, my 16 wears a 3x ACOG and is my favorite little carbine. I'm sure I'd still have my 17 if I hadn't tried to press it into a role it was only marginally suitable for.

 

[MJ2936]

Brick? It's a reasonably svelte rifle. The 2.5-10x in either 24mm or 42mm flavor isn't particularly heavy, though I will say the height over bore does make the gun a bit top heavy. A larger/heavier optic will only make that feeling worse.

It's really about how you want to use it. I stuck that 2.5-10x42 on top and ended up wanting more magnification like I was pressing the 17 into a DMR/precision-type role - added a bipod and all that junk. All that really impacted the usefulness of the carbine and made me fall out of love with it; I sold it and picked up a precision rifle to use for that type of role instead. However, my 16 wears a 3x ACOG and is my favorite little carbine. I'm sure I'd still have my 17 if I hadn't tried to press it into a role it was only marginally suitable for.

This exactly. Maybe "brick" was a hurtful term. I personally love the way my "brick" looks. I don't really think that 17x top end is really what the scar was intended for and for that role, we are talking swapping out barrels and making this a dedicated benchrest gun for precision long distance shooting, which for most civilians a nice bolt action is probably better suited for. Which once again makes me go back to the 2.5-10x (NF) or 1.8-10x (USO) or anything similar there.

 

[blbennett1288]

Any other suggestions for a similar magnification range scope?

In the 2-10 range there isn't much I would buy besides the NF. It has been around forever, bomb-proof, is light and compact. The x24 also has a novelty quality to it because of the limited production runs every so often and not being available to the public.

You could venture into 1-8 optics, as there are more great options, but it left me wanting more magnification at that point. I owned the Burris XTRII 1.5-8 and really liked the optic but wanted more power. The 34mm tube was also heavy and cumbersome in comparison to the 2.5-10x24.

Or you could go higher into the 3-12, but I think you talked yourself out of that

 

[MrPaul]

My experience with scopes on my SCAR 17 has not been good. The scar has a large bolt that slams forward with a lot of scope eating force. My SCAR has eaten a Leupold mark 4 twice and a vortex razor gen 2. The leupold just quit tracking and the vortex wouldn't hold a zero anymore after about 500 rounds. Both companies have excellent customer service and repaired the scopes. That being said nightforce and uso may be a bit tougher but I'm not going to give my SCAR a chance to eat my nsx. Its now a safe queen with an eotech on it. Very unfortunate because the SCAR heavy is a tack driver. I know a few people who have had the same issue.

 

[MJ2936]

In the 2-10 range there isn't much I would buy besides the NF. It has been around forever, bomb-proof, is light and compact. The x24 also has a novelty quality to it because of the limited production runs every so often and not being available to the public.

You could venture into 1-8 optics, as there are more great options, but it left me wanting more magnification at that point. I owned the Burris XTRII 1.5-8 and really liked the optic but wanted more power. The 34mm tube was also heavy and cumbersome in comparison to the 2.5-10x24.

Or you could go higher into the 3-12, but I think you talked yourself out of that

I'm just trying to get a feel for what people who used the scar thinks works. I'm definitely open to a 3-12, but if its going to be too much power for the round in the scar platform, and limit the scar to basically prone or benchrest shooting, then maybe not so much. Then again, I can swap that with my AR and put the 1-6 kahles K16i I have on it on the scar and vice versa.

 

[Tonsofguns]

I've run a ton of optics on the 17. Started with a mark 6 1-6, and wasn't super impressed with it. Its best feature was its lightweight and 1-6 ability. The glass was ok, the locking turrets annoying, the red dot would dissapear if you weren't directly behind it.

Decided to test the scar as a Dmr since Its a 1moa rifle. Mounted the vortex razor gen 2 3.5-15. While it's a great optic, it's way too heavy for the scar. I decided that I wanted my scar to stay light and mobile, and be able to hit man size targets in the rolling hills of West Virginia, where the longest shot is 500 yards.

I then went with a Schmidt and bender 1-8. That ended up staying on the scar for a while. high quality optic, excellent glass and turrets. My issue was the tiny reticle at one power, since it's first focal plane, it's also super expensive, and not great in low light. Also I wanted to be able to transition faster from low to high power.

My solution was the acog ta11 and rmr. Cheaper than most 1-8 optics. Works better in low light, simple and fast with no need to change power. The glass is 3.5 which is fine for man size targets up to 500 yards. The rmr is piggybacked on top, which means that you need to use a check weld. Not a big deal at all.

my only concern is my rmr breaking from the recoil impulse if the scar. In the meantime, I think I've settled on my optic set up.

 

[MJ2936]

I guess with myself having a kahles k16i on one of my ARs and an aimpoint micro on another, I'm looking for something different for the 17s. I've heard of Tangent theta, but I feel like that is jesus scope money, and not sure it will be better than a NF atacr that would justify nearly twice the cost

 

[JSTARSZ]

The new Trijicon 1-8 Mil is also a scope that may be worth your time to look at. I have one on a 5.56 and I really like it.

 

[MrPaul]

I know there is a lot of back and forth as to whether the gun is hard on optics but after my experience I would say the scar will eat scopes like a dingo in a nursery. SpecterDR 1.5x6 might fit your needs. I know it's very different from the optics you are looking at but I believe the Elcan line up was built for the SCAR due to the heavy bolt assembly.

 

[Fenix Mike]

What are you going to be doing with it? I tried playing the 1x- whatever game forever on my Scar 17 13 inch, but I actually shoot it regularly to 800 meters and found that anything going to a higher power without parallax adjustment really sucks.

The Razor 1-6 was one of my favorites for the HUGE field of view, crystal clear glass, and actual usable turrets and mil reticle so I can dial for my shots. Red dot was AWESOME for CQB if you ever intend on using it for that. Down side is its a TANK. I took it off when I switched to a NF, I forgot how light my Scar actually was!

The Leupold MK6 I didn't like at all - while light weight and the CMR 7.62 reticle was neat, the limit in elevation meant to hit further out, I had to dial to max, then hold over, and the illumination sucked. Good glass and not a bad package, just way too much for something I didn't like.

Nightforce 2.5-10x24 was fantastic for a ton of reasons, mainly being its smaller than most 1-4x scopes and its super light, plus it has usable turrets and reticle with zero stop and a PTL for fast changing. Where it fell short for me was the lack of parallax, and not being able to focus on a target at 700-800m. I still made the hits, but the target wasn't in focus, and if you add a mirage from my suppressor, it makes for challenging shots.

Nightforce 2.5-10x42 - amazing in all the ways the 2.5-10x24 is but with the added benefit of parallax adjustment and the only downside being larger. I much prefer it and think its the perfect compromise of something you could still run two eyes open if needed, while being able to dial to 1000m+ depending on weapon and skill.

Leupold MK8 CQBSS - I really didn't give it much of a chance, but I wasn't a huge fan of the reticle and it just isn't tailored to what I use the gun for. Looks nice, great glass, sub par illumination, same restriction as the Mk6 with limited turret travel. Got darker in the 6-8x range but still pretty bright!

Im actually sticking a Nightforce 4-16x42 on mine right now though, its not a whole lot larger or heavier, and while id prefer to have it setup for CQB if needed, the reality is I wont ever use it for that and most I do is carry it out to my long range spot, plink for a while, and carry it back. Makes for a great super light "precision" semi auto!

 

[Fenix Mike]

I've run a ton of optics on the 17. Started with a mark 6 1-6, and wasn't super impressed with it. Its best feature was its lightweight and 1-6 ability. The glass was ok, the locking turrets annoying, the red dot would dissapear if you weren't directly behind it.

Decided to test the scar as a Dmr since Its a 1moa rifle. Mounted the vortex razor gen 2 3.5-15. While it's a great optic, it's way too heavy for the scar. I decided that I wanted my scar to stay light and mobile, and be able to hit man size targets in the rolling hills of West Virginia, where the longest shot is 500 yards.

I then went with a Schmidt and bender 1-8. That ended up staying on the scar for a while. high quality optic, excellent glass and turrets. My issue was the tiny reticle at one power, since it's first focal plane, it's also super expensive, and not great in low light. Also I wanted to be able to transition faster from low to high power.

My solution was the acog ta11 and rmr. Cheaper than most 1-8 optics. Works better in low light, simple and fast with no need to change power. The glass is 3.5 which is fine for man size targets up to 500 yards. The rmr is piggybacked on top, which means that you need to use a check weld. Not a big deal at all.

my only concern is my rmr breaking from the recoil impulse if the scar. In the meantime, I think I've settled on my optic set up.

I ran that same setup as you with the acog and RMR, ran fantastic! I had a 25 yard zero on the RMR and 100 yard on the Acog, it just wasn't enough magnification for what I wanted so ended up going back to a scope setup. The new Gen 2 RMR will be out shortly, and its designed to hold up to pistols better, so id imagine it will work fine on the scar as well.

 

[Tonsofguns]

Yeah who knows how long I'll have that set up for. That's the beauty of the scar, it can fit a few different roles pretty well. If I decide to go more magnified, I would probably go with the nightforce 2.5-10.

question with the rmr. I currently have it zeroed at 25 yards as well. However, I am second guessing that zero as 25 yards does not seem to make a good zero. I might rezero at 50.
How did you like the 25 zero?

I ran that same setup as you with the acog and RMR, ran fantastic! I had a 25 yard zero on the RMR and 100 yard on the Acog, it just wasn't enough magnification for what I wanted so ended up going back to a scope setup. The new Gen 2 RMR will be out shortly, and its designed to hold up to pistols better, so id imagine it will work fine on the scar as well.

 

[Tonsofguns]

Elcans are good optics. I've never run one on a scar, but Ive ran one on an ar.

While it's got a great field of view, great glass and a decent reticle, I personally find the acog rmr set up to be better.

Reason being is that with the elcan, I would leave it on four power, and be wanting an rmr on it for fast close shots. While the elcan is fast transitioning to one power, it's much slower than having a red dot side mounted or piggybacked. I sold my elcan, but I'd consider buying one in the future.

also, believe it our not, they are a lot of field reports of the scar breaking the elcans as well, and if I remember correctly their warranty is two years.


QUOTE=MrPaul;n6568851]I know there is a lot of back and forth as to whether the gun is hard on optics but after my experience I would say the scar will eat scopes like a dingo in a nursery. SpecterDR 1.5x6 might fit your needs. I know it's very different from the optics you are looking at but I believe the Elcan line up was built for the SCAR due to the heavy bolt assembly.[/QUOTE]

 

[Fenix Mike]

Yeah who knows how long I'll have that set up for. That's the beauty of the scar, it can fit a few different roles pretty well. If I decide to go more magnified, I would probably go with the nightforce 2.5-10.

question with the rmr. I currently have it zeroed at 25 yards as well. However, I am second guessing that zero as 25 yards does not seem to make a good zero. I might rezero at 50.
How did you like the 25 zero?

well for me, anything past 25 I can use the Acog since the TA11 can be run well with both eyes open, or would have time to take cover if the situation arose where I had to for some reason use this for a purpose other than paper and steel. At 25 and below, the RMR is the prime choice

Oh... and when I added the RMR, I used the local indoor range, which only goes to 25 yards