Rifle Scopes Looking for a prism scope.

[Deleted member 113831]

Prism scopes haven't gotten much discussion that I can find using the search function.

I am looking for a bomb proof prism scope for a 7.5" 300 blk and am open to recommendations. I like the prisms over the red dots specifically because of the added versatility of the etched reticles.

My budget is under $500 and have been considering options such as the Sightmark Wolfhound, some Burris offerings, and even some if the cheaper Bushnells. I mainly am after trouble free durability and haven't kept up with this segment of the market.

What says the Hide?

 

[GhostFace]

King of the prisms is the ACOG, you can find used ones in the EE at Arfcom in your budget if you are patient. If you just can't wait then I think the only other decent one is a Primary Arms unit. They won't be nearly as tuff as the ACOG...

 

[ZF-1]

I have this and like it a lot. Good luck!
https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...f9b6-0137-75f3-00163e90e196?variation=2075566
Athlon Optics Midas TSP4 Prism Scope

 

[marsh1]

We have several with 300BO specific reticle. This is our newest and best. This is in our mid tier GLx line that is built to a higher standard but still fits your budget. Daylight bright reticle with 2 NV settings

GLx 2X Prism

 

[C_R_Slacker]

@Skookum, whatever you decide on be sure to do a review once you've spent some time with it. I've been prism curious myself.

 

[SageRatSafaris]

We have several with 300BO specific reticle. This is our newest and best. This is in our mid tier GLx line that is built to a higher standard but still fits your budget. Daylight bright reticle with 2 NV settings

GLx 2X Prism

Where is the GLx 2X Prism assembled?

Is parallax fixed at 100 yards?

The AUTOLIVE motion activation and 20,000 hour battery life make this a great candidate optic for a home defense rifle.

 

[marsh1]

Where is the GLx 2X Prism assembled?

Is parallax fixed at 100 yards?

The AUTOLIVE motion activation and 20,000 hour battery life make this a great candidate optic for a home defense rifle.

China Not going to debate the politics. We use OEM factories in Japan the Philippines as well but this has been our go to Prism OEM for years. Plenty of torture tests on our Prisms and we do 100% QC in our Houston facility.

The parallax is optimized at 100 but with the low power Prisms you get virtually no shift at other distances. Also a nice forgiving eye box.

 

[gigamortis]

If you have older eyes and use reading glasses, keep in mind an ACOG doesn't have an adjustable diopter. PA, Swampfox, and a few other prism scope manufacturers offer adjustable diopters. I have the Swampfox 1x on my bump-in-the-night AR. I have the diopter set for me having no corrective vision on. The eyebox and eye relief is super forgiving in that I can run the collapsible stock in any position without compromising on sight picture. It has a motion activated on/off function, so I just leave it on. The brightness can be turned up daylight bright for range play, but I keep it one brightness level above the NV setting. This level works perfectly fine for darkness, but turning on the weapon light indoors is enough light to wash out the red illumination. That's not really an issue at all, as the black etched reticle is still plainly visible. This is one of the reasons why I went away from a red dot to a prism. The other reason is that a prism is still plenty usable with a dead battery, as well.

 

[koshkin]

I've spent quite a lot of time on various prism scopes and sorta try to keep an eye on the market. Getting something with bombproof reputation for $500 is a little tricky. My favourite prismatic overall is probably Elcan Specter OS 4x, but that is a lot more money.

In the $500 range, my favourite is probably Crimson Trace 3.5x Battlesight for the time being, but I have been trying to get an overview of what's out there.

I just started testing Swampfox Tri-hawk 3x and it is looking quite promising.

General disclaimer: I have not seen any of Primary Arms prismatics for a bit, so it is not clear to me how they stack up. They are kind of a weird company in a sense that I talk to them at SHOT every year and when I follow up, it is like pushing on a rope: noone replies to e-mails or returns calls. Perhaps there is a lot of turnover and the people I talked to are no longer there.

In the last few years, as I recall, I have tested Trijicon ACOG 4x32, Elcan Specter OS 4x, Hensoldt ZOi, Leupold HAMR 4x24, Elcan ATOS 3x, Sig Bravo4, Crimson Trace CTS-1100 3.5x. Meprolight X4 and a good range of Chinese-made prismatics mostly the ones marketed by Vortex and Burris.

I ended up keeping Elcan Specter OS 4x and Meprolight X4 for different reasons, but both are well beyond your stated price range.

I am currently testing SwampFox Blade 1x and TriHawk 3x. Crimson Trace 3.5x was a pleasant surprise, so I decided to look at the lower priced options. It seems like they have come a long way since I last looked.

ILya

 

[Darayavaus]

How bout the 1x Leupold prismatic

 

[Dragonback13]

Take a look at Swampfox. I haven't used their prism scopes yet but am very happy with everything else I have used so far.

 

[koshkin]

How bout the 1x Leupold prismatic

It's been discontinued for many years.

ILya

 

[PBWalsh]

How bout the 1x Leupold prismatic

... yeah piss on those things ... My PD issues some of them. I’ve already went through two after 1.5 years. The elevation knob came completely off, and then the next one had a wandering zero. The optic is trash, the mount is trash, the reticle is mediocre at best. My currently issued Vortex Spitfire appears to be a bit better. Most of the ones issued are universally hated. Oh... did I mention I hate these things?

My wife’s AR has a PA Cyclops and its a nice optic, especially for the price. Is my TA31 ACOG nicer? Yeah sure, but its not 6x nicer ($214 compared to $1277). Politics aside (if you can) my sample of 1 PA Clyclops is positive. I’d definitely like to try out the 2x GLx, but right now I can’t get past the made in china on the side, perhaps one day I’ll come around or find one used.

If you can look past the china part, it (the Cyclops) is a very nice option in the 1x prism world. PA’s customer service, in my experience, is absolutely stellar as well. On top of that @marsh1 is extremely quick and efficient at responding to PMs. He kept me well informed as to the backorder status of my TA31.

 

[pmclaine]

If you have older eyes and use reading glasses, keep in mind an ACOG doesn't have an adjustable diopter. PA, Swampfox, and a few other prism scope manufacturers offer adjustable diopters. I have the Swampfox 1x on my bump-in-the-night AR. I have the diopter set for me having no corrective vision on. The eyebox and eye relief is super forgiving in that I can run the collapsible stock in any position without compromising on sight picture. It has a motion activated on/off function, so I just leave it on. The brightness can be turned up daylight bright for range play, but I keep it one brightness level above the NV setting. This level works perfectly fine for darkness, but turning on the weapon light indoors is enough light to wash out the red illumination. That's not really an issue at all, as the black etched reticle is still plainly visible. This is one of the reasons why I went away from a red dot to a prism. The other reason is that a prism is still plenty usable with a dead battery, as well.

This is huge.

I can only use my ACOG (TA33) with my prescription lenses.

Reticle is incognito without them.

Love the 3X mag and eye relief but glasses requirement bums me out.

Be sweet if there were +/- diopter ocular lens covers for Acogs.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

I've spent quite a lot of time on various prism scopes and sorta try to keep an eye on the market. Getting something with bombproof reputation for $500 is a little tricky. My favourite prismatic overall is probably Elcan Specter OS 4x, but that is a lot more money.

In the $500 range, my favourite is probably Crimson Trace 3.5x Battlesight for the time being, but I have been trying to get an overview of what's out there.

I just started testing Swampfox Tri-hawk 3x and it is looking quite promising.

General disclaimer: I have not seen any of Primary Arms prismatics for a bit, so it is not clear to me how they stack up. They are kind of a weird company in a sense that I talk to them at SHOT every year and when I follow up, it is like pushing on a rope: noone replies to e-mails or returns calls. Perhaps there is a lot of turnover and the people I talked to are no longer there.

In the last few years, as I recall, I have tested Trijicon ACOG 4x32, Elcan Specter OS 4x, Hensoldt ZOi, Leupold HAMR 4x24, Elcan ATOS 3x, Sig Bravo4, Crimson Trace CTS-1100 3.5x. Meprolight X4 and a good range of Chinese-made prismatics mostly the ones marketed by Vortex and Burris.

I ended up keeping Elcan Specter OS 4x and Meprolight X4 for different reasons, but both are well beyond your stated price range.

I am currently testing SwampFox Blade 1x and TriHawk 3x. Crimson Trace 3.5x was a pleasant surprise, so I decided to look at the lower priced options. It seems like they have come a long way since I last looked.

ILya

Thank you ILya for chiming in.

When I did the forum search, I came across a thread where you had mentioned the Crimson Trace CTS-1100 and was wondering if you still held to your opinion of it. Since I made this post, I went to the "tube" looking for in depth reviews of it. One reviewer in particular really beat the shit out of it, and it held zero through multiple shoulder height drop tests and a 2K round torture test. I really like the reticle in it as well, it seems to be very adaptable to different classes of cartridges. Current retail on these is $448, but I might have a line on one for $375.

The next one on my list is the Swampfox Trihawk. I had only heard the name and know nothing of the quality. One thing that caught my attention though was that the Swampfox Trihawk has a very similar field of view to the Sig Sauer Bravo4, which I had seen you review in one of your videos. You were very impressed with the Bravo4 and it's field of view, and this promises to match it.

The Trihawk advertising seems to imply that it was created with actual duty use in mind. If the durability is there, then this would be a great contender. Especially since it retails for about $250 right now.

Swampfox strikes me as a company that wants to be a serious contender and is looking to gain market share by offering a quality product and an extremely attractive price. If that is the case, and the quality is there, then it may be a great time to try them out. I'll call them today and check on their MIL/LEO program as well.

I use issued ACOG's at work, and currently have a TA11 mounted to my M4. The lack of a diopter isn't a problem yet, but I am not getting any younger (I'm almost 50) and I'm sure it soon will be an issue. Even if I thought the ACOG was worth the $1400 price tag, (I don't) this one thing alone would disqualify it.

The Primary Arms stuff...I'm not afraid of it... lot's of people have them and are happy, but it doesn't seem to me to be a product that screams "duty rated". To me it screams "range toy", maybe a reliable range toy, but range toy nonetheless.

I was intersted in the SIG Bravo series of scopes, specifically the Bravo 3 and Bravo 4, but they are unobtanium. I can't find them anywhere, and I have only seen a couple for sale on the secondary market. I wonder if they are being discontinued (Brownell's lists them as discontinued). Do you have any insight into that?

 

[Deleted member 113831]

An additional question for @koshkin...what is the reasoning behind a prism scope at all vs. a simple fixed power scope with illumination?
It seems that a 2x,3x,4x short and light scopes have been made for decades. Most aren't illuminated, but on the surface seems an easy enough thing to do, so why the prismatics?

Thanks for your reply.

 

[koshkin]

An additional question for @koshkin...what is the reasoning behind a prism scope at all vs. a simple fixed power scope with illumination?
It seems that a 2x,3x,4x short and light scopes have been made for decades. Most aren't illuminated, but on the surface seems an easy enough thing to do, so why the prismatics?

Thanks for your reply.

The biggest reason is compactness, although in principle it is also a little easier to make a prismatic scope robust. The reticle is essentially sitting on a prism, so it is not going anywhere with less chance of breakage than with wire or traditional etched reticle. The prism replaces the entire erector assembly, so you are also doing away with a few lens elements.

In the modern world, it is not entirely clear if prismatics have an edge in durability, but they are definitely shorter which helps with weight distribution and really helps if you need to use a clip-on.

ILya

 

[koshkin]

Thank you ILya for chiming in.

When I did the forum search, I came across a thread where you had mentioned the Crimson Trace CTS-1100 and was wondering if you still held to your opinion of it. Since I made this post, I went to the "tube" looking for in depth reviews of it. One reviewer in particular really beat the shit out of it, and it held zero through multiple shoulder height drop tests and a 2K round torture test. I really like the reticle in it as well, being an moa ladder instead of a true BDC, it seems to be very adaptable to different classes of cartridges. Current retail on these is $448, but I might have a line on one for $375.

The next one on my list is the Swampfox Trihawk. I had only heard the name and know nothing of the quality. One thing that caught my attention though was that the Swampfox Trihawk has a very similar field of view to the Sig Sauer Bravo4, which I had seen you review in one of your videos. You were very impressed with the Bravo4 and it's field of view, and this promises to match it.

The Trihawk advertising seems to imply that it was created with actual duty use in mind. If the durability is there, then this would be a great contender. Especially since it retails for about $250 right now.

Swampfox strikes me as a company that wants to be a serious contender and is looking to gain market share by offering a quality product and an extremely attractive price. If that is the case, and the quality is there, then it may be a great time to try them out. I'll call them today and check on their MIL/LEO program as well.

I use issued ACOG's at work, and currently have a TA11 mounted to my M4. The lack of a diopter isn't a problem yet, but I am not getting any younger (I'm almost 50) and I'm sure it soon will be an issue. Even if I thought the ACOG was worth the $1400 price tag, (I don't) this one thing alone would disqualify it.

The Primary Arms stuff...I'm not afraid of it... lot's of people have them and are happy, but it doesn't seem to me to be a product that screams "duty rated". To me it screams "range toy", maybe a reliable range toy, but range toy nonetheless.

I was intersted in the SIG Bravo series of scopes, specifically the Bravo 3 and Bravo 4, but they are unobtanium. I can't find them anywhere, and I have only seen a couple for sale on the secondary market. I wonder if they are being discontinued (Brownell's lists them as discontinued). Do you have any insight into that?

I still like the CTS-1100 a fair bit. I sent it of to my cousin and he seems to be pretty happy with it too.

The guys at SwampFox seem to be doing all the right things, but if the product is new, we will not know anything about durability until more of these are out there.

"Duty rated" and "range toy" are not always easy to define. Not having any experience with recent PA products, I can't really tell you anything specific. I've pretty much given up on them due to what essentially comes down to communication problems.

I think Bravo4 is discontinued, but I am not sure about Bravo3 and 5. I'll shoot them an e-mail and ask.

ILya

 

[AK4900PA]

Kinda surprised nobody has mentioned the Vortex Spitfire line. I have the AR 1x and the 3x and have been very happy with them.

 

[W54/XM-388]

China Not going to debate the politics. We use OEM factories in Japan the Philippines as well but this has been our go to Prism OEM for years. Plenty of torture tests on our Prisms and we do 100% QC in our Houston facility.

The parallax is optimized at 100 but with the low power Prisms you get virtually no shift at other distances. Also a nice forgiving eye box.

I've got 2 of your PLx series 1-8 (one current gen one and one previous gen one).
If I'm not mistaken those are your Japanese made ones.

I found them to be excellent for the price and in the price range they work well & have decent glass.

Are you going to do any of the PLx line for the Prism scopes?

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Take a look at Swampfox. I haven't used their prism scopes yet but am very happy with everything else I have used so far.

I just sent a request to Swamp Fox inquiring about their Mil/LEO program. We shall see what happens. I might just get one to satisfy my curiosity regardless, if the price is right.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Are you going to do any of the PLx line for the Prism scopes?

Great question.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

I just found out that Swamp Fox's Mil/LEO plan is 30% off msrp of $329...so $230.

Ranier Arms has them in stock for $239 w/out jumping through any hoops. $9 isn't worth the hassle.

 

[koshkin]

Kinda surprised nobody has mentioned the Vortex Spitfire line. I have the AR 1x and the 3x and have been very happy with them.

I've played with them and with the Burris versions of the same basic design. I suspect other brands use them too.

They are perfectly serviceable, but I think the TriHawk I am looking at is a step up from the Spitfire 3X.

ILya

 

[Matches Malone]

Thank you ILya for chiming in.

When I did the forum search, I came across a thread where you had mentioned the Crimson Trace CTS-1100 and was wondering if you still held to your opinion of it. Since I made this post, I went to the "tube" looking for in depth reviews of it. One reviewer in particular really beat the shit out of it, and it held zero through multiple shoulder height drop tests and a 2K round torture test. I really like the reticle in it as well, being an moa ladder instead of a true BDC, it seems to be very adaptable to different classes of cartridges. Current retail on these is $448, but I might have a line on one for $375.

The next one on my list is the Swampfox Trihawk. I had only heard the name and know nothing of the quality. One thing that caught my attention though was that the Swampfox Trihawk has a very similar field of view to the Sig Sauer Bravo4, which I had seen you review in one of your videos. You were very impressed with the Bravo4 and it's field of view, and this promises to match it.

The Trihawk advertising seems to imply that it was created with actual duty use in mind. If the durability is there, then this would be a great contender. Especially since it retails for about $250 right now.

Swampfox strikes me as a company that wants to be a serious contender and is looking to gain market share by offering a quality product and an extremely attractive price. If that is the case, and the quality is there, then it may be a great time to try them out. I'll call them today and check on their MIL/LEO program as well.

I use issued ACOG's at work, and currently have a TA11 mounted to my M4. The lack of a diopter isn't a problem yet, but I am not getting any younger (I'm almost 50) and I'm sure it soon will be an issue. Even if I thought the ACOG was worth the $1400 price tag, (I don't) this one thing alone would disqualify it.

The Primary Arms stuff...I'm not afraid of it... lot's of people have them and are happy, but it doesn't seem to me to be a product that screams "duty rated". To me it screams "range toy", maybe a reliable range toy, but range toy nonetheless.

I was intersted in the SIG Bravo series of scopes, specifically the Bravo 3 and Bravo 4, but they are unobtanium. I can't find them anywhere, and I have only seen a couple for sale on the secondary market. I wonder if they are being discontinued (Brownell's lists them as discontinued). Do you have any insight into that?

Swampfox is on expertvoice. Never opened their store on there but looks like 30% off MSRP.
Edit: never mind. I kept reading and saw you already found that out.

 

[Moose]

I've played with them and with the Burris versions of the same basic design. I suspect other brands use them too.

They are perfectly serviceable, but I think the TriHawk I am looking at is a step up from the Spitfire 3X.

ILya

Please keep us updated on your findings for the TriHawk.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Swampfox is on expertvoice. Never opened their store on there but looks like 30% off MSRP.
Edit: never mind. I kept reading and saw you already found that out.

Yeah Ranier Arms has them for just $9 more.

If nothing else, that is an indication that the pricing (profit)on these is pretty tight.

 

[koshkin]

Please keep us updated on your findings for the TriHawk.

Will do. If there are no reliability issues, it will do great for them. Eye relief flexibility and image are excellent and much better than I expected in this price range.

ILya

 

[koshkin]

I just heard back from Sig and Bravo4 has been discontinued. Bravo3 and Bravo5 are in production, but very thoroughly sold out. They are working on making more.

ILya

 

[marsh1]

I still like the CTS-1100 a fair bit. I sent it of to my cousin and he seems to be pretty happy with it too.

"Duty rated" and "range toy" are not always easy to define. Not having any experience with recent PA products, I can't really tell you anything specific. I've pretty much given up on them due to what essentially comes down to communication problems.
ILya

Sorry you have had that frustration. Shoot me a email to [email protected] and let's connect. We have a serious approach when it come to prism scopes with ACSS reticles., including our Acog offerings.

 

[marsh1]

I've got 2 of your PLx series 1-8 (one current gen one and one previous gen one).
If I'm not mistaken those are your Japanese made ones.

I found them to be excellent for the price and in the price range they work well & have decent glass.

Are you going to do any of the PLx line for the Prism scopes?

Yes the PLx scopes are made in Japan. No plans for a Plx Prism. We have the co-branded made in USA Agocs with our ACSS reticles. That covers the high end pretty well.

 

[koshkin]

Sorry you have had that frustration. Shoot me a email to [email protected] and let's connect. We have a serious approach when it come to prism scopes with ACSS reticles., including our Acog offerings.

E-mail sent. Compact ACOG with ACSS reticle is what got my attention originally if memory serves me right.

Thanks
ILya

 

[marsh1]

E-mail sent. Compact ACOG with ACSS reticle is what got my attention originally if memory serves me right.

Thanks
ILya

Glad you posted so I know there was a problem. I will be your point of contact from now on!

 

[W54/XM-388]

Sorry you have had that frustration. Shoot me a email to [email protected] and let's connect. We have a serious approach when it come to prism scopes with ACSS reticles., including our Acog offerings.

Hopefully you and ILya can get in good communication as I'd love to see him do some reviews on your scopes posted on his YouTube channel

In addition to the compact ACOG that he wants to review, I really hope he has a chance to also do a quick review of the PLx 1-8 with the ACSS also.

I've been hoping he'd be able to review it so I can point other friends to his review on it.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

I just heard back from Sig and Bravo4 has been discontinued. Bravo3 and Bravo5 are in production, but very thoroughly sold out. They are working on making more.

ILya

Thank you for your efforts ILya.

I went ahead and ordered the Crimson Trace CTS-1100.

I am considering trying either the Trihawk or the Bravo 3 as well . I've realized I could probably use a second unit. How far have you gotten with your evaluation of the Trihawk? Are you planning on a formal review?

Do you have any insight into the Bravo 3?

 

[koshkin]

Thank you for your efforts ILya.

I went ahead and ordered the Crimson Trace CTS-1100.

I am considering trying either the Trihawk or the Bravo 3 as well . I've realized I could probably use a second unit. How far have you gotten with your evaluation of the Trihawk? Are you planning on a formal review?

Do you have any insight into the Bravo 3?

I just started with the Trihawk, so it is early. I'll do a couple of videos on it, but it will take time.

I have no experience with Bravo3, but I'll try to get my hands on one. I was planning to revisit some Sig products this year anyway.

ILya

 

[Deleted member 113831]

I just started with the Trihawk, so it is early. I'll do a couple of videos on it, but it will take time.

I have no experience with Bravo3, but I'll try to get my hands on one. I was planning to revisit some Sig products this year anyway.

ILya

I realize it has only been a couple months, but wondering if you have fleshed out your opinion of the Trihawk any?

 

[erwos]

@koshkin I want to hear about the Meprolight 4x. Was considering one for my 18" Tavor to keep in theme. Is it daylight bright?

 

[koshkin]

@koshkin I want to hear about the Meprolight 4x. Was considering one for my 18" Tavor to keep in theme. Is it daylight bright?

It is not daylight bright. The illumination seems to be oriented toward low light.

I think it is discontinued now.

ILya

 

[koshkin]

I realize it has only been a couple months, but wondering if you have fleshed out your opinion of the Trihawk any?

Some. I like it. It has not failed me yet. It is very easy to get behind and the FOV is excellent. Optical quality is very good for the money.

It is a beefy sight, but not excessively so.

ILya

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Some. I like it. It has not failed me yet. It is very easy to get behind and the FOV is excellent. Optical quality is very good for the money.

It is a beefy sight, but not excessively so.

ILya

How is the size compared to the Crimson Trace CTS-1100? I purchased the CT based on your recommendation, and I do like it a lot. It is going to serve me just fine I believe, but it is no lightweight.

Edit: Found the specs for both, the Trihawk is almost an inch shorter (4.5in vs 5.4in) and 0.6 oz lighter at 15.4oz.

 

[everready073]

I have heard good things about the trihawk. Might get one for my son's 15-22

Also have heard very good things in the primary arms 2x. This is better than their other prisms and newly designed. Big thresd on the other site on it and get favorable feedback. I am not leo, but if I had to pick a prism for under $500 for duty use this would be the one from what I have read

Hoping marsh and the dark lord can get together and have some stuff evaluated. I think marsh can make that happen as he is one of the owners I believe

 

[marsh1]

I have heard good things about the trihawk. Might get one for my son's 15-22

Also have heard very good things in the primary arms 2x. This is better than their other prisms and newly designed. Big thresd on the other site on it and get favorable feedback. I am not leo, but if I had to pick a prism for under $500 for duty use this would be the one from what I have read

Hoping marsh and the dark lord can get together and have some stuff evaluated. I think marsh can make that happen as he is one of the owners I believe

Ilya and me are already connected. If I remember right I sent a 7.62 version of the 2X. He is on my list to send some of the planned SHOT releases. EVen with SHOT canceled we will be moving ahead with new product intro in January ..

 

[david223]

Steiner BOS was the best prism I have looked through yet. I suppose the newer version is even better.

 

[Nivium]

I've used a lot of prisms. Best is the sig bravo (I used the 5, but I'm sure they are all the same per their mag), Vortex spitfire is also great, and the ACOG is great. In all honesty, the sig is as good as the ACOG in terms of FOV and glass quality, only difference is the tritium in the ACOG and the fact that its proven to be bombproof. For the money, I would go Sig bravo. Yes, they are unobtainium, but patience will work. I've managed to get two in about six months

 

[devildog93]

I've used a lot of prisms. Best is the sig bravo (I used the 5, but I'm sure they are all the same per their mag), Vortex spitfire is also great, and the ACOG is great. In all honesty, the sig is as good as the ACOG in terms of FOV and glass quality, only difference is the tritium in the ACOG and the fact that its proven to be bombproof. For the money, I would go Sig bravo. Yes, they are unobtainium, but patience will work. I've managed to get two in about six months

I also run a bravo 5 on a ar-15 and have had no issues so far. The eyebox is rather large and the reticle is clear. I will be trying it on the steel silhouette range multiple times in the next few weeks to see how i would like it for a jack of all trades every day optic. I suspect with some training time i will be able to use it comfortably from 50-400. The only prism i have to compare it to is the sightmark wolfhound 6x. The glass is definitely better on the Bravo 5, and the shake awake is nice.

 

[357Max]

I've only ever had 1 Prism.
Steiner M-332, built like a tank, glass is great (Bak4/Schott), made in Germany, Eratac QC mount, +-3 ocular, daytime bright + NV settings, & I like the reticle.
IMO It was a helluva bargain @$400 when they clearance price them two years ago.

When these M-332/M532's pop up in the PX they're worth considering.

They've gone through 2 revisions since & I'm not sure if the newer ones still use Schott glass & or if there still made in Germany.

 

[nutation]

How bout the 1x Leupold prismatic

They're okay if you can find one. I picked up a used one a couple of years ago, currently sitting on a 300 BLK build. The battery life sucks, and the battery is an odd type. The single-button illumination control can be a little awkward. It's decent otherwise, and I think the only USA-made option. The adjustable diopter is very nice if you need glasses. Eye relief is very forgiving, and it's quick to get on target.

 

[PBWalsh]

The Leupold Prismatic optics are, in my opinion, useless. I have personally trashed two and my PD has constant issues with the ones we still have. They never seem to hold zero, the adjustment knobs will randomly come off if adjusting zero, reticle is ok, battery life is iffy at best. 100% trash. When they worked, they are slightly better than basic iron sights, emphasis on slightly.

I don’t have a massively positive opinion of our Vortex Strikefire optics (why so many circles?!?) either, but they are better than the Leupolds.

My wife’s PA Cyclops, again to me, exceeds both the Vortex and Leupold in usability. The optics of the Vortex and PA seem similar in quality. The illumination controls of the PA is superior.

Of course my former TA31 was a great optic. Sold it to (most likely) fund a March F 1-8. Great optic though.

 

[bunsen27]

I recently sourced a Trijicon TA44. I don't know how I missed it's release in 2018 or some of the previously AWESOME deals offered on this outstanding optic. Currently like many items it is in very scarce supply, but available to backorder at places like Larue and SWFA.

Primary Arms has a very nice looking version offered with their ASC reticle, but it has been out of stock since late Nov.

Maybe @marsh1 has an ETA on these being restocked? I need a second and third TA44.