A couple people had expressed interest in this topic, and I have a bit of extra time for a couple days, so here goes:
Bona fides: I am a former infantry NCO and sniper, hunter, competitive shooter, reloader, hobby gunsmith, sometimes firearms trainer and currently work in a gun shop, mostly on the paperwork/compliance side. Back in the day, was a qualified expert with every standard small arm in the US inventory circa 2003 (M2, 4, 9, 16, 19, 249, 240B, 21, 24, 82 etc.), and today hang around the 75th percentile of USPSA classifications. I've shot Cap-and-Ball, Trap and Sporting Clays badly; Bullseye and PRS somewhat better and IDPA/USPSA/UML/Two-gun with some local success. Been active in the 2A community since the mid-90s, got my first instructor cert in high school, and have held a CPL for almost twenty years now.
I certainly don't claim to be an expert in every aspect of firearms, there's huge areas that escape my knowledge base, but if you've got questions I'll do my best to answer.
Technical questions
Gun control proposals for feasibility
Industry
Training
Wacky opinions
General geekery
Some competition links (not my own) just for the interested.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=U5IhsWamaLY&t=173
https://youtube.com/watch?v=93nEEINflXE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=utcky0zq10E
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
What are the best AR-15 optics for close range shooting and hitting targets up to 300-400 yards away? Either one that does both, or a pair to get. $2000 budget, but would prefer less than that if the quality is still there.
Friends who were in Iraq and Afghanistan spoke highly of ACOGs and Aimpoint Pros in the late 2000s, but it has been well over a decade since they were in the military and none really shoot recreationally. Have been major advancements since the late 2000s in AR optics available on the civilian market?
I'd also be interested in plates and carrier recommendations, something that could stop the most common versions of 5.56, 7.62x39, 5.45x39 loads that militaries use. Whole lot of sketchy information on plates, spalling, etc out there. Again <$2000 budget.
The most flexible for your use would be an LPVO (low-powered variable optic). On one-power, this will be nearly as fast as a red dot, plus it gives you the option of magnification up to 6,8, or 10 power. You can get solid ones for under $500, good ones for a grand, and some of the best for ~$2K. A lot of the very nice ones are also very heavy, so YMMV. Vortex, Trijicon, Steiner, etc. are good options, Leupold LPVOs are underwhelming. I haven't tested the Eotech Vudu line, but they get good press.
The ACOGs are very nice, but not as flexible. You get a fixed magnification, which slows you down at close range and depending on optic, may limit your range. A standard 4X one will get you out to 400 yards just fine, but most people prefer higher magnification. Aimpoints are simple, rugged and reliable. They're not distance sights.
I had to duck out of this question for another person here, I'm just not up on civilian-available body armor, or what's good.
What do you think of "red dot plus flip magnifier" for mostly-short-range shooting? Worth thinking about, or too messy?
Trying to decide if it's worth getting a variable optic or just buying the matching magnifier for my current dot.
Personal opinion incoming, plenty of people disagree with me on this. I don't find that combo to be all that worthwhile.
It does give you the option of the fastest target acquisition (red dot), plus a bit of magnification. But the magnification is usually only 3X, which isn't going to add all that much range. Plus, it's awkward when folded off to the side, the combo weighs more than a LPVO, and for comparable optical quality, is twice as expensive.
If you're gonna combo and don't mind the weight and cost, I'd say the LPVO with an offset reflex dot is a better way.
Here's an article that covers a bit of this stuff.
https://www.arbuildjunkie.com/offset-red-dots-on-the-ar-15-with-steve-yeti-fisher/
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link