I recently assembled a 12.5" AR, and for me it's perfect. It's shorter and lighter than my BCM mid-length, but still able to reach out as far as I need. Right now I have a Primary Arms Cyclops 1x prism mounted on it, but I've decided that a LPVO will fit my need better. Red dot/magnifier combos won't work since I have astigmatism, and my eyes are old enough to need a little help at longer distances. Here are my criteria:
Light weight (the Cyclops is 9.7 oz)
1-4 magnification (300 yds max range)
Simple, uncluttered reticle
Capped turrets
Illuminated reticle
Motion activated illumination (for HD, I don't want to fumble for a button or knob)
$500 +/-
So far, the Steiner P4Xi seems to tic the most boxes. The only cons I see are the weight (17.3 oz) and no motion sensor. The other contender is the Leupold VX-R w/ Firedot. It has motion sensor technology, and is much lighter at around 11 oz. One big advantage the Steiner has is a true 1x, but 1x isn't a deal breaker for me. Price is comparable between the two.
Does anyone here have a similar setup? Hopefully some folks here own one or the other of these optics. If there are some other options, I'd love to hear about those as well. Thanks!
ETA: Crimson Trace is coming out with a FFP 1-4 LPVO which looks interesting. Brownell's has it on pre-order for $399. It's a little heavy and doesn't have the "shake awake" feature, but still looks pretty good on paper.
Light weight (the Cyclops is 9.7 oz)
1-4 magnification (300 yds max range)
Simple, uncluttered reticle
Capped turrets
Illuminated reticle
Motion activated illumination (for HD, I don't want to fumble for a button or knob)
$500 +/-
So far, the Steiner P4Xi seems to tic the most boxes. The only cons I see are the weight (17.3 oz) and no motion sensor. The other contender is the Leupold VX-R w/ Firedot. It has motion sensor technology, and is much lighter at around 11 oz. One big advantage the Steiner has is a true 1x, but 1x isn't a deal breaker for me. Price is comparable between the two.
Does anyone here have a similar setup? Hopefully some folks here own one or the other of these optics. If there are some other options, I'd love to hear about those as well. Thanks!
ETA: Crimson Trace is coming out with a FFP 1-4 LPVO which looks interesting. Brownell's has it on pre-order for $399. It's a little heavy and doesn't have the "shake awake" feature, but still looks pretty good on paper.
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