1. Bushnell AR Optics 1-4x 24mm
Why do you need the Best AR Scope?
By using the best AR scope, you can make your AR-15 or AR-10 into a versatile civilian rifle. AR stands for ArmaLite Rifle, not Assault Rifle or Automatic Rifle, contrary to popular belief. ArmaLite is the manufacturer of the popular AR-15 and AR-10, which was sold to Colt in 1959. After some modifications, the AR-15 became the M16 with the civilian version called the Colt AR-15. The AR-15 is based on the original AR-10, which was a bigger rifle that took bigger rounds. The AR-15 is probably one of the most sold civilian rifles in America today. It is estimated that there are around 4 million AR-15s in circulation today.
Best AR Scope Reviews
- Under $200
- Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight Riflescope 1 x 25mm (No Magnification)
- Ade Advanced Optics 4x32mm Green/blue/red Illuminated Reticle (Fixed Power)
- Bushnell AR Optics Drop Zone-223 Reticle, 1-4x 24mm (Mid Range Scope)
- Monstrum Tactical 3-12×42 AO Rifle Scope, Illuminated Mil-Dot Reticle (Long Range Scope)
- Between $200-$500
- Over $500
- Aimpoint Micro T-2, 2 MOA Sight with Standard Mount (No Magnification)
- Acog 4 X 32 Scope Dual Illuminated Horseshoe Dot .223 Ballistic Reticle (Fixed Power)
- Vortex Razor HD Gen II 1-6×24 Riflescope with JM-1 BDC Reticle MOA (Mid Range Scope)
- Burris Eliminator III, 4-16 x 50mm with x 96 Reticle Scope (Long Range Scope)
Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight Riflescope 1 x 25mm (No Magnification/Under $200)
There are also control knobs to adjust the 11 red dot brightness setting and has ok battery life. The Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 scope has a nice layer of coating and doesn’t fog up or rust. For the price range, this is a great scope due to its solid construction and maintains its accuracy over time. How many scopes under $100 can do that? OK, it is definitely not an Aimpoint or Eotech, but you also are not paying nearly as much. It also weighs only 6 oz, so pretty lightweight.
Ade Advanced Optics 4x32mm Green/blue/red Illuminated Reticle (Fixed Magnification/Under $200)
The scope itself is durable enough for its price range and maintains good accuracy through multiple shots. It works great for the 100-yard range but accuracy drops significantly at 300 yards or more. This is pretty much what you would expect from a sub $100 scope. There are no surprises both good and bad. The quality is acceptable and for this price, it serves as a great backup or fun scope.
Bushnell AR Optics Drop Zone-223 Reticle, 1-4x 24mm (Mid-Range Scope/Under $200)
The turret has nice smooth clicks at 0.1 mils each and the magnification ring also performs very well. The glass is very clear for a cheap entry-level scope and the light transmission is great. We really like the eye relief as well. The scope is waterproof and fog proof and has all of the same quality parts as any Bushnell product. Our only complaint is that the scope is quite heavy, but if you want a lighter scope you will have to pay up. You can trust Bushnell, which is a leading manufacturer of top-end rifle scopes. It’s a trusted brand in the shooting community and often shows up to professional competitions.
Monstrum Tactical 3-12×42 AO Rifle Scope, Illuminated Mil-Dot Reticle (Long Range Scope/Under $200)
Ok, the 12x mag is pretty blurry, but you can’t really expect too much for this price. If you are mounting this to an AR-15, you probably don’t want to be shooting any further than 500 yards anyways as the kinetic energy of 223 rounds drops significantly after 500 yards. It comes with a mil-dot reticle that is illuminated with 5 brightness levels in red and green, which is cool to have in low-light settings.
The turrets are 0.25 MOA per click for windage and elevation adjustments. We found this is slightly off, but hey you can’t complain much when it is so cheap. The AO turret is nice for sharp focus and parallax elimination. Overall, the Monstrum Tactical 3-12×42 is a nice quality long-range scope for the money.
Vortex Venom Red Dot Top Load 3 MOA Dot (No Magnification/$200-$500)
Despite the fact that the clicks are not really that noticeable, you can still adjust this with some trial and error. It is a top-loading system, so changing out the battery is very easy and you don’t have to remove the entire scope. The battery life is average at best but could be better than better auto-shutdown software.
The sight’s brightness is adjustable to 10 levels and even has an auto-adjust mode, which works but we still recommend adjusting it manually. The red dot is crisp and bright and the simple flat head adjustments are a nice perk. Our only complaint is that we wish the battery life is longer.
Vortex Optics Spitfire 3x Prism Scope with EBR-556B Reticle MOA (Fixed Power/$200-$500)
Battery life is good at 250 hours at maxed-out settings. It has 5 levels of brightness with red and green illumination settings. It comes with an Enhanced Battle 556B MOA reticle (EBR). You get to choose the red or green dot for the reticle. We really like this scope because it has all the features of a red dot scope combined with the features of a light fixed power scope. The magnification at 3x is clear in the 50-300 yards range and this scope really shines in close combat to mid-range. Many people call the Spitfire the poor man’s ACOG but use batteries instead. The size, weight, and clarity are great and it is pretty much built around the AR-15, so attaching it is very simple.
Burris MTAC 1-4 x 24 Illuminated Scope (Mid Range Scope/$200-$500)
The scope is very forgiving at 1x mag and gives you a nice clear image at multiple viewing angles and distances. The 1x is pretty close to no magnification so you can keep both eyes both when viewing through the scope. It is ½ MOA per click with 130 MOA total adjustment. Unfortunately, there is no parallax adjustment.
It comes with 10 different illum settings and the ballistic AR reticle. The reticle is etched on, so you still see it if the batteries run out. The reticle is rather large and a bit cluttered, so it took some time to get used to. Battery life is great on this scope. For the mid-range, this is a great scope that has a red dot reticle and delivers good accuracy to the 300+ yard range.
Leupold Mark AR MOD 1 Rifle (Long Range Scope/$200-$500)
It features a first focal plane mil-dot reticle, which is nice and clear. The scope is very durable and easy to zero. The reticle adjustments track very well. With Leopold’s AR mount, it will be very steady. The clarity of the optic is absolutely outstanding and the adjustments track true and hold. The parallax is fixed at 150 yards and this scope starts having parallax issues of about an inch at 600 yards. The Leupold Mark AR is one of the best mil dot scopes at an affordable price range. It has great quality glass, and clear optics and is perfect for shooting in the 400-600 yard range.
Aimpoint Micro T-2, 2 MOA Sight with Standard Mount (No Magnification/Over $500)
The dot gives the highest amount of brightness with the lowest possible energy expenditure. This means the battery life is just outstanding, probably top in the industry. The front lens cover is flipped up and the coating is rugged and solid. Everything about this scope feels durable. It is fog and waterproof and definitely not cheap. The T-2 is an upgrade from the popular T-1: you get a much clearer view and a crisper red dot.
Acog 4 X 32 Scope Dual Illuminated Horseshoe Dot .223 Ballistic Reticle (Fixed Power/ Over $500)
While most sights with an illuminated reticle have to deal with a power source such as a battery, ACOGs draw power from tritium and sunlight which can arguably last a lifetime. Also, because there is no longer a need for batteries, the scope is incredibly light weighing in at only 9 oz while other models weigh in at nearly double. Also, the illumination in ACOG has great daytime and nighttime visibility, which is quite rare. The common difficulty with illuminating reticles is making them visible in a brightly lit environment.
The ACOG has extra illumination to match the brightness of the field of view and really makes the red dot stand out. The 4 x 32 is the most classic ACOG on the market and the 4x mag is great for shooting close quarters to out to 300 yards. The 32mm lens provides a large field of view with long eye relief. The scope comes with a red horseshoe BAC reticle instead of the classic ACOG chevron reticle with bullet drop compensation. Once again, amazing scope but you are paying top dollar for it. But they are worth it for the overall quality, durability, excellent glass, durable adjustments, and extremely lightweight.
Vortex Razor HD Gen II 1-6×24 Riflescope with JM-1 BDC Reticle MOA ( Mid Range Scope/ Over $500)
The scope is designed in the USA and manufactured in Japan. This scope is primarily designed for sporting and competitions like 3 gunners. The 1x is true 1x in that you can shoot with both of your eyes open. It has adjustments of ½ MOA per click with 50 MOA per rotation and 150 MOA max adjustment for elevation and windage.
The parallax setting is at 100 yards, you get great field vision at 100 yards, and the zero resettable turrets are low-capped. The red dot has 11 settings of brightness and a nice locking ring as well. These brightness levels are great for all degrees of daytime lighting and you can clearly see the red dot at all times. However, there is no auto-off, so it could drain your battery if you forget to turn it off. Overall, one of the best scopes you can get if you want to shoot both close-quarter and mid-range. We were pleasantly surprised that the scope remains clear even at long distances up to 400 yards.
Burris Eliminator III, 4-16 x 50mm with x 96 Reticle Scope (Long Range Scope/Over $500)
This crazy cool technology eliminates guesswork and fumbling around with calculations while you are trying to just focus on what’s important. In a way, this is almost cheating. So basically the scope is a range finder and trajectory calculator in one. The range finder is activated with a clock of a button and gives you a numerical number for the range of your target. There’s also a windage number on the corner.
We found the range finder to be crazy accurate. When we measured the target from 100 to 500 yards, the range finder would be within a foot of the actual range. Also, the optics are extremely clear at pretty much all magnifications. It has sharp images, good eye relief, and a great field of vision. What we didn’t like about the Burris Eliminator III is the weight which comes in at 30 oz, near the top end of most scopes.
More Info on the Best AR Scope
The AR-15 has gotten a bad reputation for being the mass shooter’s weapon of choice and many calling for an assault rifle ban. Well, the funny thing is the AR-15 is NOT an assault rifle, which is primarily defined by the use of selective fire, or the ability to switch between semi-automatic and fully auto. For the AR-15, one press of the trigger equals one round being fired. The Ar-15 may look like the M-16 or M-4, which are military assault rifles because they offer both automatic fire and three-round bursts.
The AR-15 is not considered a high-powered rifle: its .223 / 5.56mm ammo is so low-powered that it is banned from hunting big game in some states because it can’t humanely take down large animals in one shot. The AR-15 is probably one of the most versatile firearms you can easily buy: it is great for small game hunting, target practice, fun shooting, long-distance shooting, competition, and even home defense.
Picking the best AR scope is difficult because it depends on what you are using it for and your price range. There is a lot of efficiency in the AR scope market, so generally, the more you pay for the scope, the better it will be. First and foremost, in order to pick the best AR scope for your AR-15, you need to ask yourself how will you shoot. The scope requirements are very different for shooting at 100 meters vs shooting at 600 meters.
You probably don’t want to go above 600 meters on an AR-15 because the .223 round loses kinetic energy at distances above 600 meters. If you are shooting at 100 meters, your target will be more or less a fixed distance from you, so a constant range fixed focal length scope is good for you. At this distance, you can choose whether or not you want magnification.
If you are trying to snipe your target at 600 meters, you will want something with more magnification, so most likely an expensive high-quality scope. If you are just shooting around on your farm for fun or going hunting, you will most likely need a mid to long-range scope that will adjust for all levels of light. So typically mid ranged ranges with magnifications in the 1 – 6x range will be good for targets up to 300 meters, but you can even stretch that. Long-ranged scopes have magnifications in the 3 – 15x range with the high end up to 40x.
These scopes will take you to 500 meters and beyond but will have terrible short-distance magnification. When you have decided on your magnification range, you should then focus on scope factors should as clarity, field of view, and reticle or dot size. Finally, you should consider your price range when making the final decision on the best AR scope for your AR-15 or AR-10. Please see below for our recommendations for various magnifications and price ranges.
References:
https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/hunting/traditional-methods/rifle-scope.htm
