LPVO’s

You know what is a deceptively good optic, probably the best bang for the buck? Don't laugh: the SWFA Super Sniper. Originally branded under Tasco (yes, THAT Tasco, of low-grade/almost garbage stuff), Navy NSW trailed a 10X scope that was a great optic. Now under SWFA. I have used their 10X mil-dot scope for years on a mid Rem 700 and honestly, it was just as good (I said what I said) as a Leupold Mark 4 10X. I have no experience with their LPVOs, though.
I have a couple of their 1-4x24 scopes. Very underrated (depending on who you ask - they have a pretty solid reputation in certain circles, and are largely ignored outside of them), and dollar for dollar very good scopes. While I haven't spent them same level of time with them as Vortex and Trijicon, they're between the Strike Eagle and Accupoint in terms of glass clarity.

Don't sleep on them.
 
Not a fan of FFP - not on an AR platform and not on my hunting rifles.

Then again - with improvements in quality and design, LVPO isn't all that "low" anymore.
An 8x LVPO has become the norm. It wasn't that long ago that 10x was the gold standard for a tactical sniper scope and "low power" meant 1x-4x
For the past 50 some odd years, the most common scope in the deer woods was some variant of a 3x-9x

In fact - there is probably a good argument to be made that you could just go ahead put a GOOD long range precision scope on most AR platform guns these days with an off-set RMR for most shots out to a hundred yards. (I intentionally say YARDS because many of the countries that are hung up on meters dont let their citizens own military calibers or AR platform rifles anyway)
...so there's that
 
Mrs. Downtown ordered the Vortex Viper for me for my birthday. Going to put it on my 16” DPMS. Looking at this for my next build. Any input?

https://www.eurooptic.com/steiner-p...9O7dZQtQ22gPPP1K91yVvP_ePJdO_U2jCkECu5ucRZFwj

I have one of these - Viper HD 2-10x42 Illuminated Dead-Hold BDC - coupled with an offset Viper Red Dot - on an AR10 chambered for .308 - the crosshair is zero'd for point of aim/point of impact at 100 yards. I rarely, if ever, look through the scope without it being zoomed all the way up to 10X. The offset red dot covers everything from conversational distances out to 100+ yards. The scope covers everything from hundred out. I considered putting a Viper PST on it with the same offset red dot but when I realized I could put MORE scope (with what I considered a better reticle) on it for the same price, I decided to go with "more scope" because of my aging eyeballs. With the BDC reticle, it is completely reliable out to 300 with my aging eyeballs being the only real limitation at 400. I have not tried shooting it past 400 because I don't have a range nearby that allows me to go all the way back to 600. With my eyes and equipment, I can think of no reason why I would ever even consider shooting THAT particular setup at 600 - or beyond 600 in anything but the most controlled circumstances. It primarily for entertainment purposes.

I have this one one one of my AR's - Strike Eagle 1-8x24 FFP Illuminated EBR-8 BDC - with an offset Leupold Delta-Point red dot. I have never bothered trying to push it to 400 yards and have only used it at 200-300 a few times. I do not like the reticle and have NEVER had a time that I felt the FFP functionality was doing me any favors. The gun is little more than a short range carbine that I purchased for entertainment purposes and I tend to keep it at max zoom; generally only looking through the scope when I am shooting at a target past 50 yards.

For contrast and comparison, I have THIS scope - Viper HD 3-15x44 Illuminated Dead-Hold BDC - on a 7mm RM bolt gun that is strictly a hunting rifle. It is zero'd for point of aim/point of impact at 200 yards and is reliable out to 400 yards. I stayed with the same reticle to keep from having to "learn" a different reticle during hunting season.

Sadly, all of them fell overboard during a bizarre deep sea fishing trip and were never recovered.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top