I spend more time thinking about trying to make things perfect than actually getting out and enjoying whatever I throw together. But here I am again.

Trying to find the optic that checks the following options as best as possible, while keeping the budget as reasonable as possible.

Going on an 8.5” 300blk. Is about 14” from back of the receiver to the end of the rail.
Used for Mostly pigs, occasional coyote at the house, deer for kiddos.
Upper is sub MOA capable with enough magnification.
Need to have a way to easily change between super sonic and sub sonic poa/poi.
Need the turret adjustments to actually work. Nothing bothers me more than dialing an inch or a mil only to get something different with how the bullet moves.
Need to be able to hit ear hole pigs at 100 yards (300blk is weak.)
Illuminated preferred but have a different rig for night vision.
Spent more time with mil so would prefer MRAD scope to match my other rifles.
FFP would also be preferred as if I am holding for subsonic shots I don’t want to have to add an extra layer of calculation depending on what power the scope is on.
Weight savings would be nice.


Would love to stay closer to $300 but would spend in the $6-700 range if it offered something specifically.

Originally this rifle wore a sightmark mini 4k that checked multiple boxes, but got real bulky with the illuminator, and missed a shot at a coyote because the scope was slow to boot.

Then I went to the 1-6 which many will recommend as the answer but I didn’t really see much of a need for 1x and I wasn’t able to be nearly as accurate at 100 yards at 6 power compared to what I was able to do with sightmark and 16x. If I can find a suitable replacement I may end up back in a 1-6.

The 2-10x, or 2.5-10x power range seem to make a lot of sense but many of these start jumping in price. Not seeing many very affordable except for a couple used Vortex PST. Optic Planet says they have a special run of gen 1 PST 2-5-10 but they have a 6-8 week wait which seems bazaar for a discontinued scope.

Anyone make a decent 3-9 that checks any of the boxes?

Once you get into the 3-15x range, it’s going to start being obnoxious on the shorter barrel.

Trijicon Credo 3-9 Mil Square. Illuminated green or red. Made in Japan. 17oz. Mil/mil adjustments with capped turrets. Modern version of the classic 3-9.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...c_2900041_3_9x40_credo_second_focal.html


I use one on my 6.8 Bolt.

Just realized you wanted FFP. The above is SFP if you can live with it.

This should be perfect for you. Link at bottom. I put it on a PSA AR10 6.5 Creedmoore. (See pic)



https://www.eurooptic.com/vortex-vi...th-ebr-2c-reticle-moa-pst-43127-new.aspx

scot, you have a lot of requirements to be made with a very low budget. Also, why would you want a lot of magnification on a SBR? An SBR is made for quick target acquisition and a high magnification prevents that. I run a 1x on 2 SBR's, and a 1-8 on my 16" 308 Win bolt gun. I find myself often on 1x-3x when hunting. You don't need high magnification to be accurate. A lot of shooters think they need high mag to be more accurate. Sure, that may be the case for long range or shooting a fly off a target. But for hunting, I think many shooters over power their rifles with too high magnification. 2 weeks ago I killed 4 pigs on the run from about 150 yards to 220 yards with a 1x optic and 300 blk out shooting 125 grain bullet. The large field of view on 1x allows me to see better and engage targets much quicker. I couldn't do that on much higher mag, especially not over about 4x.

Which 1x are you running Chad?

There's some contradiction in your post. Regardless, I think something has to give - requirements or money.

* SWFA SS HD 1-6x24 - maybe about as close as you can get
* Steiner T6Xi 1-6x24 - I like this one

What contradicts?

^^SS 1-6X

One of the best carbine scopes ever made. Mine is 10 years old and beat to crap. Still works perfect.

Trijicon Accupoint 3-9.

The more I get into the hunting, the more truth I find in this

Illumination adds weight as does FFP. You either want those features or you want weight savings. You get to pick which one.

Adding weight by going up from a 1-6.

Weight may not be your biggest concern. Just trying to contrast a non-illuminated SFP 1-6 is going to be lighter than an illuminated FFP 3-9, as one example. Bigger than weight is the budget.

I suspect the biggest miss on the wish list, given the budget, is reliable tracking. BUT, how much will you really dial on an SBR?

It doesn't sound to me like a gun you're packing into the wilderness thus I'd have zero concern with weight. Again, that may be low in your priorities. Go with the SWFA I previously linked, OR splurge to get a used higher end product. You'll be happier than staying in your originally specified price range. That price range is almost certainly supporting China whereas at least with the SWFA I think it comes from Philippines.

Hopefully this helps.

I have 2 SBR's and both wear a Vortex Spitfire 1x prism. They have a circle circle dot reticle, and it's etched to see it during the day and it illuminates for low light, if you want. I sight them in at 50 yards. With a 300 blk out, that puts me a little high at 100 and a touch low at 200 yards. It's one of my favorite firearm for shooting. I wouldn't hesitate for anything inside of 200 yards with it.

https://vortexoptics.com/vortex-spitfire-ar-1x-prism-scope.html

I run the Arken EP5 on my comp guns and saw they’re coming out with a EP8 which is a 1-8 FFP with a good reticle 34mm tube illuminated as well. MSRP is $399 street price will probably be closer to $300ish. I’ve been really happy with the Arken and their turrets are awesome compared to Vortex. Although the EP8 doesn’t have exposed turrets though most LPVOs don’t. At 1x looks like an EoTech reticle.

On my 8” 300BLK SBR I run an Sig Romeo and Juliet combo which is a 3x magnifier with flip to side mount behind a 1x red dot. I’ve tried magnifiers and red dots in the past and haven’t liked them due to eye relief but this one is actually pretty good and very clear.

I learned long ago, not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good!

Best,

GWB

I think you’re asking too much for a decent optic with all those features. I’d get a 2X7 regulator scope or a Holosun red dot.

I have been looking for a very similar purpose scope. I agree with others it might be real hard to find something with all those qualities, in particular the FFP and price combo. For me I really want light weight to be of high importance. I honestly gave up on the FFP.
So I've narrowed it down to the Leupold Freedom series mostly because they were so dang light. I'll eventually decide between the 3-9x33 EFR (going absolute bare bones but reliable) or the 4-12x40 (light but still good zoom).

good luck! Hope whatever you get you end up liking. Now if weight is NOT and issue and you really like the FFP feature, I always recommend the SWFA 3-15 i've used for years. There are probably better scopes in the range but I just don't know of them personally.

Vortex Strike Eagle 3-18X44 FFP link

You can also go with the Vortex Viper PST Gen II, but the Strike Eagle has lockable turrets for hunting.

Ended up back in a 1-6 pst. I’ll just try to learn to shoot with less magnification.

Great pick. The glass for the price is hard to beat.

I really like the Vortex PST 1-6x. Illumination is outstanding, and price is reasonable. But it's on the heavy side.

For lightweight on 300 BLK, I prefer to run a red dot.

For lightweight with magnification, I love the Leupold Patrol 6HD 1-6x. But pricey.

Can't have it all.

That SWFA 1-6x looks sweet. I haven't seen that one before. I think I would really like the reticle. Thanks for posting this!