Rifle Scopes DMR scope recommendations

[LeadLauncher]

All,
I am looking for an optic to put on a light weight 16 inch .308 gas gun for use out to 600 yards ish. The idea is to have the smallest, lightest possible optic with enough magnification to identify a target out to my effective range. I would like magnification in the 8-10X range, light weight, as rugged as possible, and a price under $1500. I would like illumination, and good enough glass to detect non-contrasting targets in questionable light, such as shooting into a shadowed target area, or shooting at dawn, dusk, or in heavy rain. 2nd focal plane is probably OK, because on a low magnification optic like this if I am milling something or shooting mil holds I will be at max anyway. I am not too worried about low range magnification or "daylight bright" illumination because I have offset sights for close in shooting. My priorities are price, ruggedness, size/weight, and glass quality. Thanks in advance.

 

[McCrazy]

It is a little above your price range at $1899 but there are always discounts to be had...

The Vortex Razor Gen 3 1-10x has a daylight visible center dot with tree reticle, FFP, rugged, and only around 21.5 ounces with clear glass.

Vortex also makes a Strike Eagle 1-8x that can probably be had for less than $400 on the street. In reality it will meet most of your needs but the ruggedness and clarity won't be as high, and it is SFP. It is substantially cheaper and only weighs 16 ounces though.

Vortex Razor HD Gen III 1-10x24 FFP

Quick compact rifle scope with enough power to punch out at distance, or engage targets up close.

www.cstactical.com

 

[stello1001]

I would look for an LVPO. Something in the 1-6 or if you want more mag, 1.5-8 would work too...

I can assure you that you don't need really high power to shoot out to 600y.

 

[Glassaholic]

Good news and bad news - first the good news, there are numerous options out there from SFP to FFP and BDC reticles to Mil reticles. And now the bad news, there are numerous options out there from SFP to FFP and BDC reticles to Mil reticles. Seriously, it is a blessing and a curse. I am going through the same right now and the top two scopes on my list are the Primary Arms GLX 2.5-10x44 FFP with BDC reticle and the Trijicon Credo 2-10x36 FFP with mil reticle. The BDC has the appeal of "quick" but the problem with BDC is that it is usually designed for a specific ballistic profile at a specific altitude and deviations from that could mean misses at distance; however, if you zero for distance the hash marks for closer in should be within the typical size of the targets you're shooting at. Obviously the Credo with the mil reticle is designed more for precision and not necessarily for speed, but with the tree reticle you can usually figure out where distances line up to make it almost as quick. Not sure about the PA GLX design but the Trijicon Credo series comes out of LOW who's been responsible for some of the best designs out of Japan.

Rifle Scopes - Trijicon Credo 2-10x36 FFP Review

After a few months of searching for the perfect optic for my coyote rifle (Howa Mini 6.5 Grendel), I settled on Trijicon's new 2-10 Credo. I wanted something near 20oz in weight, FFP, illuminated with a usable MRAD tree-type reticle, a max power of around 10x, and a price tag in the mid-range...

www.snipershide.com

Rifle Scopes - Primary Arms GLx 2.5-10x44FFP eye relief????

On paper this scope is all but perfect on what I want. it seems to check all my boxes. my one hang up and what is keeping me from pulling the trigger on it is the listed eye relief. It seems super short, like ACOG short. does anyone have any first hand experience to comment on what the eye...

www.snipershide.com

 

[tmason1]

You cant go wrong with the Strike Eagle 1-8x

 

[Lurp06x]

I really like the new 1-8 strike Eagle and it’s reticle. Looked through it a few times and would pick one up if I was in the market for another LPVO.

 

[LeadLauncher]

So I have a question about the strike eagle. I used to run a 2.5-10 viper PST maybe 4 years ago. It was reliable and well designed, but the optics were not great. It was good enough for shooting a white piece of steel in an open grassy area, but compared to my Trijicon Accupoint or Nikon Monarch, not great. My understanding about the strike eagle was that this was basically the line underneath the Viper PST line, so I figured I would steer clear. Has this line evolved, or should I be looking at trijicon, nightforce, leupold, or something else? About the Razor 1-10, that looks awesome, but I would like to keep the price under that if possible. If it turns out I have to save up a little more to get something I like, then I think it would be between that and the NX8.

 

[army_eod]

ACOG 3.5x35 with green 308 reticle. $1100 at MidwayUSA

 

[McCrazy]

So I have a question about the strike eagle. I used to run a 2.5-10 viper PST maybe 4 years ago. It was reliable and well designed, but the optics were not great. It was good enough for shooting a white piece of steel in an open grassy area, but compared to my Trijicon Accupoint or Nikon Monarch, not great. My understanding about the strike eagle was that this was basically the line underneath the Viper PST line, so I figured I would steer clear. Has this line evolved, or should I be looking at trijicon, nightforce, leupold, or something else?

There have been many updates to the Strike Eagle line but not entire generations from what I have seen. I think they are currently on revision number 8. I couldn't tell you how the current Strike Eagle glass compares to your old PST unfortunately. I had a roommate who had both but not currently. Maybe someone else can help you out with side by side pics.

I can tell you the PST is on a new generation entirely and fixed many of the problems with the first generation.

 

[fdkay]

Home

Shop our catalog of Rifle Scopes. Find AK 47, AR 308, & AR 15 scopes from Primary Arms, Trijicon, Vortex & more. Available in BDC, MOA, MIL, ACSS & more.

www.primaryarms.com

 

[Powder_Burns]

I have an old leupold mk4 2.5-8x36 on my 16” .308, was pretty much the go-to in its heyday.
Anything in that lpvo form factor would be fine. It will be difficult to resolve impacts from 600yd out with 8x magnification though.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

For weight the NF NX8 looks good:

NX8 – 1-8x24mm F1 - Nightforce Optics

The NX8 1-8x24 F1 is a class leading, compact and lightweight riflescope optimized for short to mid-range shooting.

www.nightforceoptics.com

The NF NXS 2.5-10 compact looks good too, only weighing a few more ounces than the NF NX8:

NXS - 2.5-10x42mm - Nightforce Optics

OUR 2.5-10 X 42 NXS™ COMPACT IS THE BIGGEST, BADDEST LITTLE SCOPE ON THE MARKET.

www.nightforceoptics.com

I would say if you're not looking to clear rooms with it the 2.5x10 is the way to go.

 

[Rancid Coolaid]

If shooting in bad light and you have backup, I'd take all the 1-6s and 1-10s off the list - but that's just me.

For me, shooting in tough light, SWFA SS3-9 or NF 2.5-10x32 or 42. The SS isn't a budget buster, you give up illumination but get good glass, great turrets, and a bombproof design. For all your budget, the NF gives you decent glass, good turrets, illumination, and bomb-proof design - and reticle choices.

Of these, I have run both very hard, the SS is an awesome scope at a tolerable price. The NF is a very good scope (some optical distortion in the 2.5-10x42) with illumination and more reticle choices.

If you take out the difficult light part, it opens up on the LPVO options; but with that part, I'd skip those and do a bit more on the top, relying on the backup for close work.

Mileage varies.

 

[7WSMShooter]

Went through the same choice issue on a dmr and ended up with the NF 2.5-10x42 with a Wilson Combat AR mount. About 25 0z weight for scope and mount. Illumination, decent recticle, adjustable parallax, NF warranty. Will prob do opens or a RMR on a 45 degree mount.

 

[LeadLauncher]

I finally found an old USO SR-6S and put that on lay away at the local gun shop. A reasonable rule of thumb for DMR type stuff is 1X magnification per 100 yards of range, and the SR-6 appears to be made before USO tried to compete with the Chinese made stuff when they were favorably compared to NF. I actually changed my mind away from a Leopold Mark 4 3.5-10 just because small and light is good, and MOA knobs with a mil reticle is bad. Thanks for all the good thoughts and advice.

 

[Powder_Burns]

moa/mil isn’t bad per se, just not very convenient or practical. I have my dope card for my mk4 scope with elevation in moa and windage in mils. Also know that 0.5 mil is approx 1.75 moa, 1 mil is 3.5 moa, 1 moa is about 0.3 mil and 0.5 moa is 0.15 mil. So minor corrections or holdovers for wind are fine. In my notebook I also have a moa/mil conversion chart if I need to figure out a correction at distance for a mil holdover if I max out my elevation turret.

That said, its my last mixed turret/reticle scope in my possession. Everything else is mil/mil.

 

[Quarter Horse]

VUDU 5-25X50 by EOTECH. 34mm tube, excellent turrets, locking elevation turret, covered windage, over 30mils evevation, under 30ounces, H59 or MD3 reticle, good eye relief, minimal CA, good+ IQ, eleven and a half inches OAL, excellent rev counter, super easy zero stop. There are more things to address but what I've listed are highlights that make it an ideal DMR scope. The minimum five power is irrelevant if you have alternate sighting for close work. I can't comment on durability due to lack of volume usage.

I had mine for about a year before I decided to put it on an Armalite M-15T or Varminter that had a sub-par scope. The combination came alive. All it's been fed so far is Rem. white box 55gr FMJ. I have five .223s and none have provided acceptable accuracy with this stuff. It appears that's not so with this combo but until I've shot a lot more targets I'm making no claims.

Having no recent military experience, the doctrine and arms that fit DMR is confusing. The USMC and USA seem to be changing both currently and independently. The fact that your DMR is a .308 extends it's lethality even with a 16" barrel. If it will hold MOA I see no reason to limit it's range to 600. Even at 600 the extra power will increase the ability to discern small targets and to spot and identify targets at longer ranges.

 

[army_eod]

I just broke down and ordered a Mark 5 for a DMR.

 

[impactaddict]

I went with the Bushnell DMRII for my SPR. Found it here on our optics exchange for a great price!

 

[savagesavy]

I love the range of suggestion including up to a 5-25 on this post. I've been looking at the VUDU 2.5-10 and the Credo 2-10 for a similar bill (although .223). The pricing on some of these scopes is outstanding considering the features and quality. I'd go with another NF 2.5-10 but ADD is funner.

 

[army_eod]

ACOG

 

[whisper35]

We ran Leupold Mark 8 CQBSSs on our KAC M110 K1s. Worked perfectly

 

[army_eod]

ACOG

 

[McCrazy]

If any of you want ACOGs, let me know. I have 2 I'm planning on selling in the near future. One with a .308 reticle and one with a .223 reticle and red dot sight.

As for the earlier mention of mixed MIL-MOA turrets and reticles it is absolutely a bad thing. There is literally nothing good about it other than forcing shooters to be familiar with both systems.

The Leupold M3 Ultra scopes on our old M-24s had MOA turrets with MIL reticle. It complicated everything, introduced additional math, created chances for errors, made everything slower, and more difficult than it had to be. Dumbest system ever.