I recently decided to add a 1-4x vortex pst to my 300blk sbr because the fastfire3 i had been running for several months left me wanting more. My 300blk pulls several kinds of duty from close range varmints, truck gun, and dinging steel. After using the 1-4x for a little while now i am much happier with it than i was the fastfire3. I shoot just as fast with it at close range as i did with the red dot. It didnt add as much weight to the gun as i thought it would. And now shots out to a couple hundred yards are easy. What do you guys run on sbr's, likes, dislikes.
-
Having trouble using the site?
Contact support
Optics on sbr's??
- Thread starter black5.3
- Start date
I have a mk6 1-6 on my LMT cqbp 12" and love it thus far. Like you red dots always left me wanting more as well.
I like the aimpoint micro rds, light and fast. The big complaint is the glass quality of the first gen. After checking out the 1.5x and 2x Trijicon acogs, I will eventually give one a try, probably the 1.5x circle on post reticle. The glass is so clear, good illumination, and lightweight. I put a trijicon TR-24 1-4x on an 11.5" and I felt it was too heavy and clunky, and it only weighs 13 ounces
(w/o mount). I do have limited arm strength though. If I like the mini acog, I'll probably try to outfit most of my SBR's with them.
It's never easy finding optics to run... imo
Scott
(w/o mount). I do have limited arm strength though. If I like the mini acog, I'll probably try to outfit most of my SBR's with them.
It's never easy finding optics to run... imo
Scott
I'm running an Aimpoint T1 on my 300blk SBR, and just a cheapo Truglo red dot on my 556 SBR. Honestly have zero complaints on the truglo, it's super light weight, red and green color choice as well as several reticle options. I've had it for years and it keeps working! Obviously the T1 works great.
But I agree, I have been wanting some magnification.
I have a Sightron SIII 1-7 sitting around, it just feels so big on the SBRs.
But I agree, I have been wanting some magnification.
I have a Sightron SIII 1-7 sitting around, it just feels so big on the SBRs.
I like magnification, what can I say. My main sbr is an 11.5" 556 that has a 2.5-10 pst on it. I tote that rifle everywhere I go on the farm and I like having 10x on the top end when shooting beavers in the forehead while they're swimming in my duck hole at 100-150yds. Also comes in handy picking off crows at distance. It usually rides in the tractor/sxs/golf cart/etc on 4 or 5x in case a quick/semi close coyote encounter but those are pretty rare.
Running the same scope on my newish 12.5" Grendel that I plan on deer hunting with some this year, which came off of my 10" 300blk that it replaced. Seems like a pretty good fit for my uses on both of those rigs. Each one of them wear a 30cal titanium can 24/7 so the 2.5-10 pst actually fits them pretty well and don't feel or look out of place.
My dedicated 22 sbr wears a 1.25-4 vxr patrol and it's a pretty good fit for what I use it for. I just built a qc10 9mm Glock mag fed ar15 and it's currently got a 16" tube until the form 1 clears and I swap it for a 5" barrel. I put a Trijicon mro on it because my intentions with it are for short distance plinking and varmint duty. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised when I shot at some 200yd steel with it, hits were fairly easy and repeatable...a lot better performance than I'd expected.
Running the same scope on my newish 12.5" Grendel that I plan on deer hunting with some this year, which came off of my 10" 300blk that it replaced. Seems like a pretty good fit for my uses on both of those rigs. Each one of them wear a 30cal titanium can 24/7 so the 2.5-10 pst actually fits them pretty well and don't feel or look out of place.
My dedicated 22 sbr wears a 1.25-4 vxr patrol and it's a pretty good fit for what I use it for. I just built a qc10 9mm Glock mag fed ar15 and it's currently got a 16" tube until the form 1 clears and I swap it for a 5" barrel. I put a Trijicon mro on it because my intentions with it are for short distance plinking and varmint duty. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised when I shot at some 200yd steel with it, hits were fairly easy and repeatable...a lot better performance than I'd expected.
Last edited:
I liked the simple look of just the red dot on my sbr but like i said i just wasnt as accurate as i wanted out past 50-75 yards. My 300blk has an 8" barrel and will eventually get about an 7" suppressor so it will look more balanced when the suppressor goes on. I do really like the reticle on the 1-4x pst too. I can see easily taking deer/coyotes at 150 yards maybe 200. The fastfire3 will go on a 5.56 sbr i build in the future.
I have an MRO on an 11.5" 5.56, a MeproMor tri-power dot w/integral 5mW red and IR lasers on my wife's 10.5" .300BLK Johnny Rifle, A2 carry handle and PRI front flip for their Delta carbon fiber tube on an 8" .300BLK and I just ordered a 3x30 Acog in .300BLK for another 8" .300BLK. I plan on a quality 1-6 or 1-8x for my 11.5" Grendel and possibly a 1.5x or 2x Acog to replace the MRO on the 5.56. My wife may end up changing out that MeproMor, I don't know yet. It's nice, but kinda clunky --been nicer if it had a larger window and a smaller body. But it works well and the lasers are slaved to the dot, so zeroing is pretty easy. All in all, not a bad sight for SBR's, it was designed originally for the Tavor. I used to like EoTech's, but had to get rid of 'em. The MRO is my current replacement and I miss the ring and large window, but the MRO is growing on me, definitely like it better than the M68's we had in the army.
I run a Vortex SPARC AR on my 8.3" 300 blackout. After having a XTRII 1.5-8 on a 5.56 and shooting a buddies PX4i I will be making the change to a LPV. RDS are great, but IMHO LPVs have come a long way and if you have a quality LPV at x1 it can easily be run just like a RDS.
Ive personally never seen the need. I assume most of us have other rifles that are longer and would benefit more from magnified optics on those. MY SBR is a purpose built gun. 200 is no problem with a T1 which will soon be swapped to an RMR to further save weight, even if minimally. My main purpose in getting an SBR was to save weight and be as maneuverable as possible. Adding another 3/4lb or more is counterproductive. I guess it all depends on what you like and what you need your rifle to do. I have bigger guns and better calibers if I need to get out further than a RDS will let me,
when my 12.5" sbr was used for medium range hunting (300 yards) and home defenxe, it wore a Nightforce NXS 1-4x24. Allowed me to make 2moa hits out to 300 yards on animals as needed, still could be used like a red dot (for the most part) up close.
Now that it is only a 0-100 yard hunting/home defense gun, it wears a T1 in a Larue. No issues putting rounds on target effectively at 100 yards with a 2moa dot in a T1.
Now that it is only a 0-100 yard hunting/home defense gun, it wears a T1 in a Larue. No issues putting rounds on target effectively at 100 yards with a 2moa dot in a T1.
My 10.5" LMT 5.56 wears a strike eagle 1-6. I love shooting steel at moderate distances and a red dot for me is not capable of of 2moa at 300 yards. Looks a little out of place but it works well for my needs.
I like the RMR sights for a pistol, but IMO they suck for primary use on a rifle/SBR, way to much distortion or image shift for me, along with a relatively small field of view. The Deltapoint Pro is much better in that regard, visually I think it's at least as clear as a T1 in my experience and the protective housing around the glass pretty much disappears. I'd be OK with the RMR for a secondary optic, but don't have anything set up that way.
I do like the trim and light weight feel of an H1/T1 sight on a compact rifle, and am pretty happy with that for a short range gun, like a dedicated subsonic/suppressed SBR.
On something with more range though, I prefer magnification, and am going with a 3-9x Leupold on my 12.5" Grendel SBR. Shooting with both eyes open, I've found I'm almost always faster at short range with the 3-9x on min power than I am with a 1.5-4x on min power. Maybe that's just me, and probably a result of learning to switch eyes while looking through the scope with both open; the 3x image in one eye is a lot easier to differentiate from the natural view in the other eye than a 1.1x or 1.5x image. And, the short Grendel has the range capability to take advantage of 9x anyway.
I do like the trim and light weight feel of an H1/T1 sight on a compact rifle, and am pretty happy with that for a short range gun, like a dedicated subsonic/suppressed SBR.
On something with more range though, I prefer magnification, and am going with a 3-9x Leupold on my 12.5" Grendel SBR. Shooting with both eyes open, I've found I'm almost always faster at short range with the 3-9x on min power than I am with a 1.5-4x on min power. Maybe that's just me, and probably a result of learning to switch eyes while looking through the scope with both open; the 3x image in one eye is a lot easier to differentiate from the natural view in the other eye than a 1.1x or 1.5x image. And, the short Grendel has the range capability to take advantage of 9x anyway.
Yeah i agree. I like the capability to shoot both eyes open on low magnification at close targets and then zoom in and shoot with just my right eye open at farther targets and take advantage of the reticle on the 1-4x pst for holdovers. I have 30 moa of reticle i can use to holdover so that would easily get me out several hundred yards with my 300blk. I just need to get it to the range and verify my holdovers at distance.
Personally tend towards Mro or other tube style dot on my ar pistols (9" 300 and 5.56) and then have optic for the 16+ in ones as these tend to be my all around medium range ones. As mine are pistols it is easier to get behind the dot then optic in somewhat odd positions ( that's also why I prefer slightly larger than rmr size). But good 1x variables can be pretty good too. Although I am liking a ta11 acog I picked up recently too...it has a very good eye box and field of view.
Does the MRO work for you? I've only tried one, but it had really bad image shift, to the point that I couldn't shoot it with both eyes open. A red dot that has to be used with one eye closed seems counter productive to me.
I have three on various things, all of them are working for me both eyes open. I don't notice any shift but all things eventually will have a little parallax at extreme angles. I have seen several people who have issues with red dots in general, is it just the mro or any red dot? To be clear I rarely shoot beyond 200 yards with these but can go to 300 with relatively little trouble. If it is in general and you still want to try red dots maybe try someone's aimpoint pro as the larger tube might help.
I have a Vtx 2.5-10x32, 3x Spitfire, and a Burris Fastfire 3 all on QD mounts that I have sighted for my 10.5" SBR. The 2.5-10 is mostly for accuracy testing and fucking off because it was already in a QD AR mount. Way too much scope for the gun.
The BDC 3x spitfire is probably the most useful, and isn't very big or heavy. Shooting 75gr Hdy HPBT's I can tag torso steel plates out to 500 very consistently if the wind isn't heinous. 300yd even when it is.
The red dot is Okay out to 300 or so, but much after that it becomes a guessing game for hold overs and holding for wind. I have a 200yd zero with it. Then there's KAC flip-up rear and MBUS front sights that work as good as you can see as far as you can see.
The BDC 3x spitfire is probably the most useful, and isn't very big or heavy. Shooting 75gr Hdy HPBT's I can tag torso steel plates out to 500 very consistently if the wind isn't heinous. 300yd even when it is.
The red dot is Okay out to 300 or so, but much after that it becomes a guessing game for hold overs and holding for wind. I have a 200yd zero with it. Then there's KAC flip-up rear and MBUS front sights that work as good as you can see as far as you can see.
I use a 2.5-10x32 vortex in an ADM mount on my 12.5 556 AR. My SBR is ran suppressed 100% of the time and is used for mid range steel, varmits and coyotes.
The optic complements the capability perfectly and looks good on the rifle as well.
The optic complements the capability perfectly and looks good on the rifle as well.
I have been using red dots for 15+ years, and have a number of them on various weapons now. Maybe it was just that one MRO I tried; it was pretty bad. The image shift had nothing to do with distance, it was bad even just across a room.
Yeah, I would send that one back then. Didn't know if there was and issue with astigmatism or something...have crappy eyes myself but luckily not that.
My 10.5 in 556 wears a Aimpoint Comp M4s, nvgs and a magnifier get thrown on it once in awhile. It started as an all around beater/cheap project.
My 8 in 300 Blk has a Trijicon TA31 with a 300 Blk reticle in green. I love that combo for shooting supers and subs. I have had alot of time using the TA31 so the BAC works well for me on quick close shots. Also, this rifle is very light and nimble.....I went FULL retard when I built it out.
If I were to build another 556 SBR I would be shopping for a low power variable. A 1-6 or 1-8 (maybe 1-4) that has very bright illumination, is light weight, compact, hopefully locking turrets and with a reticle I liked.
My 8 in 300 Blk has a Trijicon TA31 with a 300 Blk reticle in green. I love that combo for shooting supers and subs. I have had alot of time using the TA31 so the BAC works well for me on quick close shots. Also, this rifle is very light and nimble.....I went FULL retard when I built it out.
If I were to build another 556 SBR I would be shopping for a low power variable. A 1-6 or 1-8 (maybe 1-4) that has very bright illumination, is light weight, compact, hopefully locking turrets and with a reticle I liked.
So far i am really liking the pst 1-4x... before i bought the pst i was used to ahooting with my razor hd on my bolt gun and by comparison i dont really care for the pst's zero stop and im having to get used to the turrets being 1 click = 1/2moa. But the zero stop is functional, i just dont really care for dialing below your zero and then back up to where the turret is zero'd out. Overall its a solid optic for my sbr and i know it will serve me perfect.
I'm all over the place on my SBR's my scorpion 9mm I run an RMR RM06 with the adjustable 3.5 MOA dot and t is great for my "home defense" and plinking setup. My 8" 300 BLK I have a trijicon MRO which I like a lot especially with a pvs 14 behind it, but it keeps me wanting more power. so my recent build which is still at cerekote, an 11.5" noveske 5.56 with the noveske NQR (my version of a mk18) I ended up buying the trijicon ta31 acog ecos with the RMR on it. I went back and fourth between getting a 1-4 power nightforce or possibly trijicon accupower, but the grunt in me just has a soft spot for ACOG's so I think that will be a good fit since it's got a BDC and an RMR as close range backup. does anyone have any experience using an ACOG on an SBR?
i too am a fan of the variable optics and the versatility they bring.
Normal SBR setup wears a Primary Arms 1-6x ACSS 300BO reticle in an ADM recon mount on the Seekins 10.5" 300BO upper
When I swap I swap over to the 10.5" 5.56mm upper, I move over either the above PA or a Bushnell Elite 1-6x (normally on the SP3G) depending on what gun isn't going to be shot. Or a spare PA AMD if I know I'm only doing close quarters drills, but that's rare.
Normal SBR setup wears a Primary Arms 1-6x ACSS 300BO reticle in an ADM recon mount on the Seekins 10.5" 300BO upper
When I swap I swap over to the 10.5" 5.56mm upper, I move over either the above PA or a Bushnell Elite 1-6x (normally on the SP3G) depending on what gun isn't going to be shot. Or a spare PA AMD if I know I'm only doing close quarters drills, but that's rare.
I really need to run my pst through the paces with the turrets and make sure it tracks good. I sighted it in at 50 yards and have shot a couple times at 150 yards with it. I would like to get my dope out to 300 and check the tracking. All in all i like how i can make precise shots with the small center dot and then turn the zoom back to 1x and shoot close targets with both eyes open.
