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Rifle Scopes Suggestions for quality mil scope under 16 oz?

voytek198

voytek198

Bon-Jorno
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Minuteman
Feb 19, 2017
661
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#1
I have started on my lightweight build and as i look for a scope to mount, i am struggling to find anything really light weight iwith a mil reticlel under a pound (and higher than 9 magnification).
I have looked pretty hard at the leupold mark AR which seems to have OK glass but is limited in reticle choices in the higher magnifications. I emailed Vortex inquiring if they would be adding a mil option in the razor LH 3-15 but haven't heard back yet.

What other quality scopes are on market in the featherweight class in mil? (if any)
 
#3
strike33 said:
I don't think that exists, at least not in a known quality optic. The closest I could find was the March at around 21 ounces
Click to expand...

I guess by quality optic I mean something with decent glass. not really expecting S&B clarity in such a light scope. I know there are lots of offerings with good glass with MOA under a pound especially from leupold. Just looking to see what mil options there were (if any) aside from the Mark AR i mentioned.
 
#9
You have to download the app from Swaro. Here is the BRX reticle for the Z5 At 3.5 and 18 x showing subtensions in MRAD.
A884C1BB-7587-42C2-82BD-474B447ADFE0.png
AD875824-3885-44DF-9286-E146BF85A939.png
 
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#11
When weight is the highest priority its hard to go past Leupold or Swarovski.
The big advantage with Leupold is you can send it too the custom shop and have what ever reticle you like installed.

The VX6 2-12x42 is 16.8oz and offers a good selection of reticles, the glass on these is fantastic and they dial well.
I personally don't like the VX3 Leupolds, as I feel the magnification range and FOV is a bit dated. Would much rather have the VX5/6 and pay a slight weight penalty for the higher magnification models.
 
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#12
beetroot said:
When weight is the highest priority its hard to go past Leupold or Swarovski.
The big advantage with Leupold is you can send it too the custom shop and have what ever reticle you like installed.

The VX6 2-12x42 is 16.8oz and offers a good selection of reticles, the glass on these is fantastic and they dial well.
I personally don't like the VX3 Leupolds, as I feel the magnification range and FOV is a bit dated. Would much rather have the VX5/6 and pay a slight weight penalty for the higher magnification models.
Click to expand...

That vx6 2-12 would be a good one if leupold doesnt charge an arm/leg to put a tmr or one of thier other mil reticles in. The 12 power is a little low but with the glass they use in the vx6 it probably wouldnt be too bad.

Any idea what leupold charges to change reticles before i call em up?
 
#13
voytek198 said:
That vx6 2-12 would be a good one if leupold doesnt charge an arm/leg to put a tmr or one of thier other mil reticles in. The 12 power is a little low but with the glass they use in the vx6 it probably wouldnt be too bad.

Any idea what leupold charges to change reticles before i call em up?
Click to expand...
To change reticles? No.
But they have a custom shop builder model where you can design your own. Youll pay msrp though as opposed to finding it on sale at a different vendor htough, but if it gets you what you want then it is what it is.



The swaro BT turret is either MOA or IPHY, I cant get them to tell me and I dont think the people on the phones actually have any idea what the difference is. Its basically a BDC turret, you set the little dots where you want them to go but shooting it at distance and physically placing them, I zero at 100, green dot at 200, orange at 300 and red at 400. Its also limited to one revolution which comes out to about 14-15 moa, cant rememeber which. Dialed all the way out on my 270 past my last dot puts me at right about 500 yards. So more than adequate for any hunting we do, just not a real "long range" scope.
 
#14
voytek198 said:
That vx6 2-12 would be a good one if leupold doesnt charge an arm/leg to put a tmr or one of thier other mil reticles in. The 12 power is a little low but with the glass they use in the vx6 it probably wouldnt be too bad.

Any idea what leupold charges to change reticles before i call em up?
Click to expand...

Be best phone them, but from memory would be $130 or $160.
They retrofit scopes for a lot of people, so I don't think you have to buy the scope through them.

Leupold have made a Mil version of the 3-18, so it may be possible to get the 2-12 with TMR amd mil turrets.
Optics planet is the only place I've seen them for sale from a retailer.
 
#15
I've got a VX-R Patrol 3-9x40 on a light weight 7mm - 08AI hunting rifle I built. I'm pleased with its light weight and overall performance. I normally keep it set at 6 power for where I hunt. Pleasantly surprised at how quickly I can shoulder it and get on target. No problem making 1 shot kills at 3 - 400 yards.

I keep thinking I should get a better and higher magnification scope. Truth is I havn't found a good reason to remove it. It just works!
 
#18
Very clearly a hunting scope - plex reticle, MOA adjustments, 1" tube. It's probably a decent optic, though a variable without indexed lenses can be a crap shoot for POI shifts.
 
Last edited:
#21
I like my SWFA 3-15 fairly well. Don't know the exact weight but it seems to compare favorably to most everything else I've seen in that department. Not ultra modern features which is kinda annoying but haven't found anything to beat it yet for the price.
 
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#24
09D64ACD-C700-46C2-911C-7E21FF72387A.jpeg


This one just squeaks under your weight threshold.

3-10 so more than 9x of the Leupold. MIL/MIL.

But it isn’t FFP but not a deal breaker for me on such a low mag scope.

Otherwise the 3-9x42 SWFA would be your huckleberry. :) But it is 20+ oz not the 19 listed:
46DDCC34-B556-46E9-AB51-9998D4BF97CF.jpeg
 
#26
I went with the Mark AR - its worked great for me for the Sniper Adventure Challenge and pretty much all the AR work I have done (Team Challenge etc). Its light. Second focal plane, but I just set it on 12 power and run everything like that, and I am surprised how well it works. If you find something lighter that works better, I would also like to know !
 
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#27
#29
Fred @ Bison Tactical said:
I went with the Mark AR - its worked great for me for the Sniper Adventure Challenge and pretty much all the AR work I have done (Team Challenge etc). Its light. Second focal plane, but I just set it on 12 power and run everything like that, and I am surprised how well it works. If you find something lighter that works better, I would also like to know !
Click to expand...

Good to hear. I keep circling back to the mark AR. So were you running the 4-12 with the mil dot reticle?
 
#30
#31
Yes - for me the biggest concern was weight over pretty much everything. I looked at a lot of scopes and decided at the end of the day that I would rather carry less weight for 50 miles than score a bit better in my shooting stages.

Then I was actually surprise how well the Leupold actually performed. I normally shoot a christmas tree FFP scope, so had pretty low expectations. I was cleaning stages with it at the 2016 SAC, when I was totally expecting to have to make lots of corrections.

Below is the upper it currently sits on (JP Ultralight). Its beat up, but still works great. I taped down the windage knob since I carry strapped to my pack and I didn't want the windage slipping on me.
 

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#32
Fred and I run that same scope on the same rifle for the same event. I have to agree it's pretty decent. My only gripe is that it doesn't have a zero stop, and I can't figure out how to add one like I did on the Super Snipers. At the last SAC, I rolled into a shooting stage and the elevation turret had moved exactly 1/2 revolution. I rolled the dice and guessed which way it had moved, and guessed correctly. Lucky. For what we do with it (carry it in or on a ruck for 36 hours) it's close to ideal. I learned my lesson, though, I'll count how many turns from my zero to the bottom.
 
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#33
TimK said:
Fred and I run that same scope on the same rifle for the same event. I have to agree it's pretty decent. My only gripe is that it doesn't have a zero stop, and I can't figure out how to add one like I did on the Super Snipers. At the last SAC, I rolled into a shooting stage and the elevation turret had moved exactly 1/2 revolution. I rolled the dice and guessed which way it had moved, and guessed correctly. Lucky. For what we do with it (carry it in or on a ruck for 36 hours) it's close to ideal. I learned my lesson, though, I'll count how many turns from my zero to the bottom.
Click to expand...

They used to make the mark AR in a capped dial version. It might be worth it to just pull the windage turret off after its zeroed and cap it if you can get one. I have a box of random caps from old scopes. maybe i could get lucky and one would work.

Ive also seen people put a glob of semi hardening silicon on the turret so it stays in place but you can still scrape it off if you need.
 
#35
voytek198 said:
I have started on my lightweight build and as i look for a scope to mount, i am struggling to find anything really light weight iwith a mil reticlel under a pound (and higher than 9 magnification).
I have looked pretty hard at the leupold mark AR which seems to have OK glass but is limited in reticle choices in the higher magnifications. I emailed Vortex inquiring if they would be adding a mil option in the razor LH 3-15 but haven't heard back yet.

What other quality scopes are on market in the featherweight class in mil? (if any)
Click to expand...

You should probably consider SWFA SS 3-9x42.

Ilya
 
#36
koshkin said:
You should probably consider SWFA SS 3-9x42.

Ilya
Click to expand...

Ilya,

Have you rang the 3-10 weaver tactical out much? I know it’s been discontinued a while so not really much value to give an evaluation at this point I was just curious. I have 4 3-9x42 SWFA and 4 3-10 weaver tactical for various rifles. I like both a lot but for the SWFA is nearly 30% heavier than the weaver so I have been putting them in the more lightweight rigs:

0EE239E1-5C13-4283-99CB-341B2FF4179C.jpeg
 
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#37
alaskalanche said:
Ilya,

Have you rang the 3-10 weaver tactical out much? I know it’s been discontinued a while so not really much value to give an evaluation at this point I was just curious. I have 4 3-9x42 SWFA and 4 3-10 weaver tactical for various rifles. I like both a lot but for the SWFA is nearly 30% heavier than the weaver so I have been putting them in the more lightweight rigs:

View attachment 7019515
Click to expand...

It has been some years since I have looked at the Weaver 3-10x, but it is a very respectable scope. SS is a little better optically and it has a FFP reticle which I like. I also prefer a Mil-Quad reticle to the standard mil-dot.

Mechanically, it is hard to say for sure since both have a reputation for holding up well. I have a LOT of mileage with the 3-9x42 SS since i have two of them.

To me, both are very worthwhile designs, but I prefer FFP, so I use the SS.

ILya
 
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#38
TimK said:
Fred and I run that same scope on the same rifle for the same event. I have to agree it's pretty decent. My only gripe is that it doesn't have a zero stop, and I can't figure out how to add one like I did on the Super Snipers. At the last SAC, I rolled into a shooting stage and the elevation turret had moved exactly 1/2 revolution. I rolled the dice and guessed which way it had moved, and guessed correctly. Lucky. For what we do with it (carry it in or on a ruck for 36 hours) it's close to ideal. I learned my lesson, though, I'll count how many turns from my zero to the bottom.
Click to expand...
Isnt there markings below the turret cap that show which rev tour zero is on? My swfa 3-15 is zeroed when the elevation turret is touching the three mark. My windage is zeroed on the 5th mark. I couldnt forget that if I tried. Maybe the scope in question doesnt have that feature. A dab of nail polish or paint would serve the same purpose.
 
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