308 and LVPO

[DpdG]

I’m a babe in the woods with LVPOs and need some guidance for competition/hobby shooting (not at all social/duty use). I’m putting together a G3 for a particular 2 gun class where I’ll primarily be shooting 0-300y but also have some shots out to 600y. I’d really like to keep the budget around +/- $500 including mount. With that in mind it seems my options are a pretty good quality 1-4, a refurb/used low/mid range 1-6, or a new lower end 1-8. I’ve always been a red dot guy, so I need some help figuring out what would be most appropriate and specific model suggestions are always welcome. I’m assuming given my planned use and relative inexperience some sort of BDC reticle would be wise, but I’m also pretty dumb...

[dontshakepandas]

There aren't a whole lot of recommendations I can make in that price range.

Primary Arms is blowing out the Trijicon Accupower 1-4s for a little over 500, but you'd still need to add a mount. The reticle isn't actually daylight bright on these, and I think I'd prefer a little more magnification on a .308, but its a solid scope with good glass.

People also seem to like some of the lower end Primary Arms in house stuff, but I haven't used any of them. They are in your budget range, but made in China and I'm not sure how well they'd hold up to use on a .308.

If you can push your budget I'd suggest looking at the Vortex Viper PST Gen II 1-6. I don't have direct experience with it, but I've heard from multiple sources that its like getting 85%+ of the Razor Gen II for 50% of the price, and that seems like a pretty solid value proposition since I'm pretty happy with my Razor. If you can find a used one you can probably sneak that in pretty close to what you are looking to spend.

[Nephrology]

If you can push your budget I'd suggest looking at the Vortex Viper PST Gen II 1-6. I don't have direct experience with it, but I've heard from multiple sources that its like getting 85%+ of the Razor Gen II for 50% of the price, and that seems like a pretty solid value proposition since I'm pretty happy with my Razor. If you can find a used one you can probably sneak that in pretty close to what you are looking to spend.

Strongly endorse this scope. It's worth going a little over budget or waiting til you can snag one used on the Arfcom EE or similar. I have one on a 5.56 Recce AR and it is the tits. Daylight bright illumination, very generous FOV, incredible glass for the price. I have a Gen 1 Viper (1-4x) and the difference in quality is night and day (the Gen 1 is still a good scope in its own right, too). Only downside to the Viper PST gen 2 is the weight - it's a heavy scope. On a 308 that probably won't be as much of an issue.

When I was in the market I was looking at Vortex, Steiner, and Trijicon. Vortex seemed to hit the sweet spot for value. Steiner I was a little put off the mixed stories of their CS and sporadic reports of gas leak from the P4xi. Trijicon seemed just a little over-priced. I never really considered the inexpensive primary arms LPVOs so no opinions on them.

[shane45]

https://www.steiner-optics.com/riflescopes/p4xi-1-4x24

[dontshakepandas]

https://www.steiner-optics.com/riflescopes/p4xi-1-4x24

The P4Xi is a nice scope to be sure, but I think their somewhat recent price increase has priced them out of being the no brainer they once were. They are now priced above the Vortex with a lower magnification range, with a mushy illumination selected and mushy adjustments.

[DpdG]

So based on everyone’s responses the happy medium of quality vs. magnification is going to be the PST 1-6. It looks like I can back order one through Brownells with a house brand mount for about $590 shipped- assuming the mount will be replaced with something nicer as funds allow, does this sound like a good deal?

[Suvorov]

I've been having luck with my lowly Vortex 1-8 Strike Eagle on my .308 AR. The new version has just been released with a few improvements and definitely fits your budget.

I really have no legitimate complaints about it other than it being CHICOM manufactured which is something I have vowed to avoid buying from this time forward.

[dontshakepandas]

So based on everyone’s responses the happy medium of quality vs. magnification is going to be the PST 1-6. It looks like I can back order one through Brownells with a house brand mount for about $590 shipped- assuming the mount will be replaced with something nicer as funds allow, does this sound like a good deal?

That seems like a decent deal, but I think I'd go with the combo at DSG arms that comes with a Midwest Industries mount for $35 more. I don't know much about the mount from Brownells, but I think you could end up being happy enough with the MI mount to use it long term unless you need QD for some reason.

https://dsgarms.com/magnified-optics...st-1607-sm30g2

[shane45]

Wasnt aware of the price increase. But I havent been too much of a fan of Vortex optics outside of the Razor series. My opinion could certainly be dated as I havent looked at them in a while. My perception is that the Steiner is significantly more reliable so Id give up power for that reliability for roughly even money.

[littlejerry]

I know a few guys happy with their Burris RT6 scopes. Lower end hobby grade optic but so is everything else in that range. Allegedly has better glass than common Strike Eagle and PA optics