I think you may be overstating the minute differences between gear just a bit. Could of, should of, would of, If one has never found a need for an illuminated recticle, one could get into a mk5 for around a grand cheaper than an ATACR. There is not a grand worth of difference between a tangnet theata and a Bushnell XRS, let along a Mk5 and ATACR. Oh wow... according to my handy dandy optics calibration chart the apha tier optic preforms .023 percent better at dusk than some mid tier trashcan optic.
This is simply the male version of Louis Vuitton vs Coach. Both are nice, both will work, one may be have a nicer quality hear and there and 99 percent of people could care less about either.
For your average shooter, they would come out an order of magnatude further ahead with fixed 10x super sniper and a grand worth of training and trigger time than the latest piece of gucci gear. Although you may not be able to flex on the poors, you may be able to outshoot them if you put in the work. A Gucci optic is not going to magically make or brake 99 percent of shots.
No, I think you misunderstand where I'm coming from. I can't talk about it in detail here but I'll just say the ATACR is the best deal between 'em and I'm sticking to it. If you aren't getting any discounts then I'm sure that changes things.
Speaking of that range time you mention, that's also where I've seen optics take a shit, some do it more than others. The cheap ones do it most often and with the most gusto.
Maybe I didn't hit on it enough, but I did say that USO in basically on par with the ATACR in terms of usability, I suppose I could have elaborated.
Finally, most guys on the 'Hide aren't looking for the absolute rock bottom budget buy. There are other sites for that. I assume anyone that spends $4k on a rifle is looking to spend at LEAST $2k on glass, with rare exceptions, not considering used deals.
@Strykervet
Thanks for the USO idea. That one never even hit my radar - def going to do some research on it. As for the pic you posted, I love and hate it. Love it bc both rifles are beautiful in their setups but hate it because...damn...that 20s pulls at my heart strings and that NF just looks like it was made to be there. (Going from the conceptual to the actual just makes me want it more). Ugh. lol
Curious, what mount are you running with the NF on the 20s?
Sorry, I come and go... So yeah, it's an ADM mount on the Mk20, the Delta? --it's the only one that doesn't rake your knuckles, like at all. That's if you don't need/want any MOA. It's a 1.5" or whatever accommodates NV (they're usually somewhere in that neighborhood). It does have an offset mount for a dot too but it's not on it in that picture (they didn't include screws, had to wait on those). It's not a bad mount but I don't feel it's worth what they cost either. What it is though, is a specific mount made for these rifles and you can use 'em with bolts on either side. I wouldn't choose one for that SR25 but it seems to be the goto for the SCAR. I was able to cancel the order for those offset charging handles, don't need 'em with this mount so maybe factor that into cost?
QD mounts aren't all they're cracked up to be. It was something we thought we needed twenty years ago. What we really needed were offset irons or an offset dot if anything. Nobody ever took their scope off. Ever.
With SCAR platform, the charging handle is a big fucking deal. Cantilever only puts more shit in the way (unless it's for maybe a dot and can be positioned such that all the shit is behind the handle) QD levers only stick out more.
I prefer the Badger Condition One but that's another expensive mount. Both are very light. The Condition One is better for hanging shit on if you need to do that though, I got it for an MRAD and it's fine on there. But for the Mk20 or any SCAR, it seems the best is that ADM, that I know of anyway. FWIW, that's the only ADM mount I'll probably ever have, it fills a specific role. The SR25 actually has an older Badger one piece mount. Super solid, Badger is my personal goto.
Yeah, USO got me going good and strong for a few years indeed... Kept me from having to use shit, do without and/or spend a fortune I didn't have.
I'm not rich --firearms are just my thing, that's where my money goes and I have to be savvy and search out deals. I can't afford to pay MSRP on any of this shit to be honest. Won't pay it. So if you see me with it, you can make a solid bet I've got less than 70% MSRP in the whole kit, probably less.
Just want to say thanks for all the input. Found a solid optic and now, I gotta get me a right proper mount. Any Ideas & Suggestions???
Scope is 5-25x5mm, 34mm tube with 26 mil elevation, total obj bell 62mm.
Leaning towards QD mount,
I've read not to use cantilevered mounts on SCARs (this whittles down potential list quite a bit)
Been looking at Bobro, ARC Spuhr and Era-Tac
Not really sure I need incline with mount, if one comes up with it, so be it.
As for height, I guessing the bare min would be around 1.3ish"(scope caps) but probably north of that is better
The absolute minimum is gonna be 1.3" with 0MOA because if the OD of the obj is 62mm then the center to bottom is 31mm or 1.22". I'd go 1.5 but I always do --NV shit. It's also the appropriate height for me in most cases.
Adj. MOA --cool and all, but I don't think they're worth $600 or whatever. That's also gonna affect the height at max elevation. Then you've got what, a 7.62? Or even a 6.5CM? Do you think you'll expend the available elevation in whatever optic you choose at that range? If so, how often do you think you'll be shooting that round past the point it goes transonic? For me that limits the round to ~1k, give or take depending on a few things. At any rate I won't be maxing the elevation and especially won't run out of reticle.
I DID want one of those Era Tac mounts for my .50BMG HTI though... Until I realized maybe one shot in a thousand would/could take advantage of that. Bobro and Spuhr are nice but so is Badger and they typically cost less. NF makes a solid mount too that shouldn't be overlooked for the price.
Again, I'd ditch the QD option. Just not necessary and bolt on is better in almost every way. There is always a better solution than a QD mount, promise. I wish I'd spent less time screwing with them.
I don't know if you can tell, but the obj on that USO in the picture above on the SR25 is 44mm, probably 50-something on the od. That's a 1.5" 0MOA Badger mount. FWIW, Badger also has "longer" mount options, ie, they'll accept longer erectors (only ever a problem with USO IME but there could be others?).
Cantilever or not? Again, all about the knuckles. Horta put his shit in a cantilever and turned it around backwards. Mfg. will most likely tell you this isn't a problem unless it's got additional MOA.