With all of the optics options on the market today, it can be a little tough to sort out what the best one is for your long-range shooting needs. Here, we’ll walk through ten that we think are great options for your AR15 rifle. For each, we’ll briefly describe the optic, and how we’d use it to get good results.
Primary Arms’ classic series proves that you can get great optics at a reasonable price. This one is a variable scope that can be adjusted from 3-9x magnification: that means it can be used well at a wide variety of ranges.
The simple cross reticle might not have a ton of fancy features, and that simplicity makes it quick to get on target.
With this optic, we’d use it for a relatively budget build that was focused on hunting, or, perhaps, to put on our main defensive AR if we thought we’d want to go hunting with it.
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The Vortex Optics Razor LHT 3-15×50 rifle scope is a great option for people looking to reach out and hit targets with their semi automatic AR-15 platform whether they are using .223 or upgrading to 6.5 Grendel for better long range ballistics.
This scope features a second focal plane design perfect for long range shooting as the reticle stays the same size at the highest magnification setting to prevent the MRAD reticle from covering up your target.
The G4i BDC provides reference marks for easy holdovers at longer ranges and even has BDC to show bullet drop over long distances.
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Spending a little bit more than the Classic series can net you some great features. This member of the SLx series is a quickly adjustable variable power optic that comes with the ACSS reticle.
Here, the reticle is one of the big stars, as it has a quick to use bullet drop compensator that can help you get on target out to 500 yards with just a few rounds to walk the shots in.
We’d use this as the main optic on a defensive AR, or happily in either competition or hunting settings.
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While EOTECH is mostly known for their holographic sights designed around close quarters combat, they have a large variety of riflescopes designed for mid to long range shooting. The Vudu 3.5-18×50 is a great mid-range scope that features their HC1 MOA illuminated reticle for fast and accurate shots at range.
It is designed from high quality aluminum with a black hardcoat anodized finish for lightweight durability. It runs off a single CR2032 battery and has easy controls to dial in your brightness. The side mounted parallax adjustment is quick and easy to use to ensure your target is always in focus.
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Another member of the SLx series, this one has a little bit higher magnification and the ACSS Orion reticle that’s illuminated. This series is made to be waterproof, shock proof, and fog proof: this makes it a wonderful all-rounder optic.
This optic would be a great one for an AR that you intended to use at extended range, as the reticle lets you dial in your shots with precision, but it’s complicated enough to take some getting used to for quick target acquisition.
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Another take on the 1-6x scope that we like so much, this one comes with the ACSS Raptor reticle that’s meant to help you engage targets at long range, quickly.
We’d put this tactical optic on a recon-focused rifle that we want to be light: this optic is flexible enough to engage targets at long range, while also maintaining the ability to shoot up close.
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The Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4×20 scope is a great option for medium range shooting with a quickly adjustable magnification setting and a wide field of view for quick target identification. Just like all of Leupold’s other optics, this VX-Freedom is just as rugged and well built being able to withstand water and hard drops.
This is a great option if you are looking for a lightweight optic for your rifle that is good at a variety of distances.
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This optic is a fixed 5-power that has a reticle that’s excellent for hitting moving targets even at extended ranges but maintains the fast acquisition of the ACSS style of reticles.
In terms of use, we’d consider putting this on a general-purpose rifle and pairing it with a pistol-sized red dot on top to maintain the ability to hit at close range: this sort of setup would also be great for competitions with complex stages.
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A lot of people already have a red dot sight. If that’s you, and you like it, it’s a good idea to pick up a magnifier and the mounts you’ll need to put behind the red dot.
We would pick this up if we had a red dot that we already like, and are considering stretching it to longer ranges.
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This optic is the highest magnification piece of glass we have on the list here, and the Athena BPR MIL reticle is meant to help you dial in precision shots at extreme ranges.
If we had an AR10 and were trying to stretch it out to 1000 yards, this is the optic we’d use, paired with match ammunition and a high-quality rifle, shot from a rest or a bipod. This is an excellent long-range choice for about any range you can stretch the AR platform to.
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Conclusion About The Best Scopes On The Market
These are a few great optics that will work perfectly when paired with your new AR-15 Build whether you are just shooting at 100 yards or out to 600. To keep your AR-15 safe take a look at our article showing you How To Choose A AR-15 Rifle Case.
