Choosing a LPVO for a 12.5" AR

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Pokem807

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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.
 
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GlockPride

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Good luck. I’ve not yet heard about a 1-4x scope with motion activated sight picture, only in the single 1x red dot setups.
I just put together a 12” AR in 6.5grendel. Didn’t want to spend a ton and went with an Athlon 1-4. I wanted a 1-6 or 1-8, but just couldn’t find any in the several hundred dollar range that I wanted to look through at higher magnification.
 

Pokem807

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Good luck. I’ve not yet heard about a 1-4x scope with motion activated sight picture, only in the single 1x red dot setups.
I just put together a 12” AR in 6.5grendel. Didn’t want to spend a ton and went with an Athlon 1-4. I wanted a 1-6 or 1-8, but just couldn’t find any in the several hundred dollar range that I wanted to look through at higher magnification.

Which model of Athlon did you go with and how do you like it? I was curious about their scopes, but there's not much info out there.
 

GlockPride

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Which model of Athlon did you go with and how do you like it? I was curious about their scopes, but there's not much info out there.

https://athlonoptics.com/product-category/rifle-scopes/athlon-optics-rifle-scopes-talos-btr/

It’s the SFP one as I like the same size reticle. It’s pretty good. I own a couple Vortex Viper PST 1-4 in Gen I and I’ll say it’s just as good in clarity and letting light in. I just wish the reticle had the “quad donut” of the Vortex. So, speed edge goes to Vortex. But, I bought the Athlon mainly for hunting and use the Vortex on the AR carbines for HD. Only going to hunt once or twice a year, I didn’t want to spend a bunch. I got mine for $169 less 10% for Black Friday and splurged for an Aero mount since it was half the weight of some others. I have not shot it much, but I would buy it again. My lil brother is looking at the Ares one for his 1k yard Creedmoor rifle.
 

Cowcatcher

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I've got a friend who has several different Athlon models. He speaks highly of them. I've looked through a couple of them and they sure looked ok to me. I bet he's got 6-8 of em.
 

Pokem807

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https://athlonoptics.com/product-category/rifle-scopes/athlon-optics-rifle-scopes-talos-btr/

It’s the SFP one as I like the same size reticle. It’s pretty good. I own a couple Vortex Viper PST 1-4 in Gen I and I’ll say it’s just as good in clarity and letting light in. I just wish the reticle had the “quad donut” of the Vortex. So, speed edge goes to Vortex. But, I bought the Athlon mainly for hunting and use the Vortex on the AR carbines for HD. Only going to hunt once or twice a year, I didn’t want to spend a bunch. I got mine for $169 less 10% for Black Friday and splurged for an Aero mount since it was half the weight of some others. I have not shot it much, but I would buy it again. My lil brother is looking at the Ares one for his 1k yard Creedmoor rifle.

I'm using an Aero mount on my BCM for the same reason. I'll probably do the same on this rig, but I would like to have the QD option.
 

amcardon

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If you want capped turrets there's the Athlon Midas BTR 1-6 for $240. I don't run that scope (most lpvos I run are vortex) but have multiple other Athlons including a couple Midas BTR (4.5-27x50), Ares ETR (4.5-30x56), and Cronus BTR (4.5-29x56) and I've been very happy with all of them...
 

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