Optics

[Rusty 0]

I've been searching for some glass to top my AR with. So far I've got it narrowed down to a Barska Huntmaster Pro 1.5-6x42 for ~$70 and a Nikko Stirling 1.5-6x44 for the same price.

 

The Barska is a 1" tube with 1/4 MOA click adjustments, illuminated retical, scope caps, yadda yadda yadda. I got a chance to handle a Barska Swat at a local gun show, and liked the clairity of the optics (admittedly it was indoors), the illumination and other little things. The scope caps and sunshade on the Barska are a plus but not a huge selling point.

The Nikko looks like a 30mm tube, 1/4 MOA click adjustments, illuminated retical, etc. Never touched one.

 

Neither have parallax adjustment which isn't really a problem with such low magnification and intended effective range. Rings are not a consideration because I'll probably be buying a set of quick detach rings in the near future.

 

Help a fellow addict decide guys

[AegisDei 2]

Dang, I just sold my Nikko stirling, should've given it to you. Both are great scopes, and you won't go wrong with either one. Check the weight and see if there's a difference, lighter is better IMO between equivalent quality scopes.

[IndyArms 10,186]

I have never seen/held/used a Nikko...

 

I swear by Barska, though... they may be inexpensive scopes, but they DO seem to have a much brighter image and their clarity is what you would expect on a scope at ten times the price! I have several of them, all function beautifully, I WILL BUY MORE... they may not be a Zeiss or a Swarovski... but they are a great optic for the price!!! :up:

 

[Onepoint 0]

I have nothing against cheap scopes, I tend to like Leapers over many of the others, but thats just personal taste from expereience with BEC, BSA NCstar, target sports and others. The Barkas are Chinese OEM scopes for a lot of other brands.

 

I tend to find when it 6x or less its best to have fixed magnification, the scopes seem more solid with less parts that move. The illuminated scopes don't do much for me either, the tubes will usually light up enough to be a distraction when dark. And when its too dark to see the reticle, you can't see much of what you're shooting at when you need that illuminated.

 

Not all cheap glass is the same, some of them have excellent clarity, some dont, some have glare issues. Also general wisdom says that a 30mm tube gather more light than a 1", but that can be negated by coatings as well. So you need to really need to be able to see one in your hand before deciding, unless you are willing to gamble.

 

 

 

I have recently got a Leapers T168 for one of my ARs and have been very pleased with it so far.

Edited March 3, 2006 by Onepoint

[Rusty 0]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll probably order the Nikko later today, and if I end up not liking it I can probably resell it to one of my friends.

[AegisDei 2]

I just got a 3-9x illuminated reticule NCStar scope to tri-mount on my AR. It's a sweet scope. I'm sure there are higher quality out there, but it's TINY and anything bigger would not fit my gun. Right now the gun is weighing in at about 12-13lbs without ammo, so when I pack on a scope and 90rnds of 62gr .223 ammo every few ounce starts to add up. I really am quite happy with NCStar considering price, size, and function.

 

[Rusty 0]

Ugh... work and school caught up to me in a big way this week. I haven't had a chance to order the optics, and now I'm thinking about sleeping through the gun show tomorrow (*gasp* Blasphemy!!!111oneoneone).

 

Hopefully I'll have a fat pay check early next week to fund my addiction.

 

Edit: AegisDei: What kind of turrets did your nikko have? Please don't say coin slot....

Edited March 11, 2006 by Rusty

[Onepoint 0]

I had tried a illuminated NCstar 3x9 compact and sold it right away, mine had terrible glass, blurred edges and cloudy. To top it off it had 1/2 MOA adjustments, hope they have gotten better since.

[Rusty 0]

One more question about the Nikko: Is it a 1" or a 30mm?

 

Onepoint: Yeah, I've seen NCStar's at the gun show and tend to avoid them. Almost everything I've heard about them is bad.

[AegisDei 2]

I had tried a illuminated NCstar 3x9 compact and sold it right away, mine had terrible glass, blurred edges and cloudy. To top it off it had 1/2 MOA adjustments, hope they have gotten better since.

Hrm...I like mine. Maybe I have low standards or got a good scope, but I'm stoked about it. I can't wait to site it in. I'm not sure what the adjustments are, but I just want it so I can hit a body-sized target at 400 yards, and a head out to 250yards, so I don't have to have it capable of shooting 1/4" groups.

 

One more question about the Nikko: Is it a 1" or a 30mm?

Onepoint: Yeah, I've seen NCStar's at the gun show and tend to avoid them. Almost everything I've heard about them is bad.

The Nikko is 30mm, though I don't remember what kind of turrets it had. I'll keep everyone posted about the NCStar's quality/capabilities.

[Onepoint 0]

Some people like the NC star scopes, but I haven't had good luck with them, the cheap 4x had decent glass, but the adjustments felt cheap and were plastic (like many of the Chinese scopes) the "clicks" disapeared when cighting in, I suspect the plastic nub wore down the spring ride against. and to top it all off the cross hairs came apart. scratch 1, the next was a Target sports, relabeled or mad by the same place as NCstar, glass was so-so, would lose zero after so many rounds. Scratch 2. Next was the compact 3x9 got with a rifle, bad glass 1/2 MOA adjustments that translate to 3 inch movements@100 yards. Scratch another.

 

BEC scopes have been great for glass clarity, but I did have the illuminated part quit one one.

 

I keep going back to leapers, All have been fairly clear and bright, with some being better than others. They have held zero for me, dont have a lot of plastoic that gets banged and broken like adjustment caps. They are not in the league of IOR, Leupold or Trijicon by any stretch, and I would not want to have my life depend on them daily, but I have tried 5 different styles of them and they all work for me for varminting and plinking and cost is well within my budget. I have read of the same complaints of them that I say about NCstar, so again YMMV.

 

Here is the last one I got the T168 on the rifle.

[Ronswin 26]

Some people like the NC star scopes, but I haven't had good luck with them, the cheap 4x had decent glass, but the adjustments felt cheap and were plastic (like many of the Chinese scopes) the "clicks" disapeared when cighting in, I suspect the plastic nub wore down the spring ride against. and to top it all off the cross hairs came apart. scratch 1, the next was a Target sports, relabeled or mad by the same place as NCstar, glass was so-so, would lose zero after so many rounds. Scratch 2. Next was the compact 3x9 got with a rifle, bad glass 1/2 MOA adjustments that translate to 3 inch movements@100 yards. Scratch another.

 

BEC scopes have been great for glass clarity, but I did have the illuminated part quit one one.

 

I keep going back to leapers, All have been fairly clear and bright, with some being better than others. They have held zero for me, dont have a lot of plastoic that gets banged and broken like adjustment caps. They are not in the league of IOR, Leupold or Trijicon by any stretch, and I would not want to have my life depend on them daily, but I have tried 5 different styles of them and they all work for me for varminting and plinking and cost is well within my budget. I have read of the same complaints of them that I say about NCstar, so again YMMV.

 

Here is the last one I got the T168 on the rifle.

 

I used that same T168 scope on my M-16 when I deployed to Iraq a couple of years ago. Clearview Investments had them for $55 and it was a pretty tough scope and held zero with all the banging around my weapon was subjected to. The model I used had the multi-plex crosshairs which I thought were a little thick for real accuracy, but I was able to engage man-size targets with it up to 450+ yards with no problem. The illuminated crosshairs were actually usable during dusk or dawn periods, though I found the switch was too easily bumped to the "on" position draining the batteries.

 

 

RonSwin

[Onepoint 0]

That's one reason I like the mildot, not that I have the brain power to use the range estimation, but the crosshairs are finer.

 

The illuminator is loose on the rail on mine and jiggles, but I think there are some ways around that if it bothers me enough.

 

There are plenty out there who claim they threw them in the trash 1st time out, but I have read about a few who have taken them Iraq and lived to tell about it. , that's good enough for me, I am just popping coyotes and prairie dogs and as vicious as those rodents are, I am confident of survival with the meager Leapers on.

While I woud love to have the best of the best on everything, I would also love to be the dictator of the world, neither of which are going to happen, so you do with what you can.

 

BTW if you were deployed military, Thanks, if you were a contractor, good job.

[Ronswin 26]

That's one reason I like the mildot, not that I have the brain power to use the range estimation, but the crosshairs are finer.

 

The illuminator is loose on the rail on mine and jiggles, but I think there are some ways around that if it bothers me enough.

 

There are plenty out there who claim they threw them in the trash 1st time out, but I have read about a few who have taken them Iraq and lived to tell about it. , that's good enough for me, I am just popping coyotes and prairie dogs and as vicious as those rodents are, I am confident of survival with the meager Leapers on.

While I woud love to have the best of the best on everything, I would also love to be the dictator of the world, neither of which are going to happen, so you do with what you can.

 

BTW if you were deployed military, Thanks, if you were a contractor, good job.

 

Onepoint,

If it's the knob for the illumination thats loose it can fixed easily. Mine did this and I had to remove the knob by loosening the set screws on the side then tightening the screws that hold the illumination switch. An eyeglasses mini straight screwdriver is all thats needed.

I am a Navy Seabee so we had to provide our own "High-speed" gear prior to deployment. The contractors had all the big-buck "Gucci-gear" and the paychecks to go with it.

 

thanks,

 

RonSwin

[Rusty 0]

I knew this would happen. I'd get my mind set on something I thought I liked, and somebody would post a nifty little gadget that would do the job just fine for less|equal|not-much-more that the items I was looking at.

 

I'll probably go (at least) look at a t168 this weekend.

[Onepoint 0]

There is nothing wrong with what you chose, but as you see there are tons of options, which is a good thing. I have never tried it, it but at low power the varibale at 1.5x scope may cowitness the irons and still be useable in 6x. That would be handy, if the sights didn't interfere to much with the scope.

 

 

Heheh, "gucci gear"

 

The knob is fine, the whole illumintor is loose on the rail on the scope itself. I would bet some teflon tape would probably fix it and heck its not that big of deal anyway.

 

Thanks for the suggestion though

[Rusty 0]

T168 ordered today... We'll see what happens the next time I get out to the range.

[Onepoint 0]

Geez I just read back over this and no wonder Ronswin is wondering what the hell I am talking about, I had the T28 on my mind when talking about the T168. The T28 is a 4x that has an illuminator that is separate and attaches with a rail on the side of the scope, the T168 has the illuminator built in. Sorry if I have included anyone else in my perpetual state of confusion

 

I see what i was talking about, the knob on the T168 has a detent that lets you know when its on or off, and you can barely feel it, coupled with the knob turning pretty easy anyway, its easy to bump it on without knowing.

 

Anyay, I will be curious to hear another review of it when you get and try it some Rusty.