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Okay guys, I just bought a new Bushmaster AR, carbine length, 16" bbl, colapsible stock etc. It's a flat top and came with the removable carry handle. I got the carry handle sights zeroed on Saturday, but I'm pretty much blind in one eye and can't see out of the other, so I like optics. The rifle has the standard front sight tower/gas block on it, and I'm concerned that the sight tower will be in the way of a standard scope mounted on the flat top reciever (not actually in the way, but in the line of sight). A few years ago I had an Olympic Arms AR with the A2 carryhandle and I used a carry handle mount to install a scope and had no problems, but I'm not sure about this flat top thing, any advice?

Second question: I need advice on affordable (read $150 range) scopes with magnification, that won't fall apart on me. I was looking at Leaper's brand scopes, but haven't really found any reviews on them. What say the Texas CHL braintrust?

Thanks in advance guys.

Any scope that is a 4 power or greater should make the front sight a non issue as it will focus around it. You may on occasion see a slight shadow but it will usually be hidden by the cross hairs. I personally use Nikon Scopes so a cheap scope is around $200 for me. I would suggest a good scope mount made for the AR that attaches to the rail itself, but if you decide to go with rings that attach directly to the rail get rings that are at least 1.5 inches high.

G.A. Heath wrote:Any scope that is a 4 power or greater should make the front sight a non issue as it will focus around it. You may on occasion see a slight shadow but it will usually be hidden by the cross hairs.

I have a cheap $75 4x scope on mine and I can see it every now and then when it is zero'd but it's really no biggie

Pinkycatcher wrote:

G.A. Heath wrote:Any scope that is a 4 power or greater should make the front sight a non issue as it will focus around it. You may on occasion see a slight shadow but it will usually be hidden by the cross hairs.

Double +1. You may see a hint of a shadow from the front sight but you can easily ignore it. Now, if you're going for a red-dot or other similar optic that has no magnification, you're delving into the realm of co-witness. Then we can talk about riser mounts and stuff like that. According to your second question, I assume that you're looking to buy an optic with magnification, so it may be a moot point.

Thanks guys. I posted this question on another forum as well, and got similar responses. I am not really interested in a red dot at this time, because I don't really see the benefit of them. If I wanted a sight without magnification, I'd just use the irons. I've been hearing lots of bad stuff about a lot of lower priced scopes, everyone wants me to go with Leupold, Nikon etc, so I thought I would see what the oppinion on here is. I'm really thinking I'm going to continue in my old habits, since I've used tons of cheaper scopes over the years from BSA, Simmon, etc and never had any problems with them, I think that's what I will be looking at. Anyone have any experience with the BSA Sweet 223 scopes?

txfireguy2003 wrote:Thanks guys. I posted this question on another forum as well, and got similar responses. I am not really interested in a red dot at this time, because I don't really see the benefit of them. If I wanted a sight without magnification, I'd just use the irons. I've been hearing lots of bad stuff about a lot of lower priced scopes, everyone wants me to go with Leupold, Nikon etc, so I thought I would see what the oppinion on here is. I'm really thinking I'm going to continue in my old habits, since I've used tons of cheaper scopes over the years from BSA, Simmon, etc and never had any problems with them, I think that's what I will be looking at. Anyone have any experience with the BSA Sweet 223 scopes?

I have two ARs, one is a 24" heavy barreled varmint rifle with a Burris XTR tactical 3-12x50mm, and the other is a 16" carbine with an M4 barrel with A2 sight post, a flip up A.R.M.S #40L rear flip up sight, and an Eotech holographic sight.

The benefit of the Eotech is rapid target acquisition - MUCH more rapid and intuitive than the irons by themselves. In fact, my eyes are far enough gone that the irons by themselves are nearly useless to me. I keep them on the rifle strictly as a back up in case the Eotech fails (which isn't that likely). But even without magnification, the Eotech is absolutely confidence inspiring. If I can put the red dot on it, I can hit it. That's the value the value of red dot type systems, and I've heard the owners of other brands such as Aimpoint say much the same things as I'm saying.

I like red dots on the AR platform too. They're quick and accurate enough and it's easy to shoot with both eyes open. Maybe it makes sense for a designated marksman to have magnified optics but I don't have much use for them on a general purpose carbine inside 200m. My attitude is set it and forget it at 40/240 and change the batteries each year. YMMV.

It's no biggie to shoot 500+yds with an eotech IMHO

As far as cheap scopes go, I use one, and for me, it's perfectly fine, it still shoots better than I can. Most people you'll talk to on the internet about an AR have a go big or go home idea. Unless you're match shooting, or multi-thousand rounds in a week, or going to a training camp, and your AR is just a range monkey and sits in your safe as a backup, then you'll be just fine getting the "cheap" gear.

Heck here's my setup:

$900 Rock River Arms (Most people on AR15.com say go colt or high-end those are the only durable ones, but I love the trigger on mine, and it's a good base rifle)

$80 UTG quad-rails (again, you get the "it's made for airsoft, but again they work just fine, and I'm not running around abusing my rifle)

$8 Foregrip (this one fits my hand perfectly, has a compartment, quick release and is a fraction the cost of many others)

$25 Bipods (work just fine, multi-length sturdy enough for just about anything)

and the $75 4x scope (multi-color reticle, 1/2 MOA clicks, and easy range changing)

Yes, all that is cheap, but I still have as much fun as anyone else shooting it, and I'm seriously not planning on taking it out onto the field so it works just fine.

Pinkycatcher wrote:Heck here's my setup:

$900 Rock River Arms (Most people on AR15.com say go colt or high-end those are the only durable ones, but I love the trigger on mine, and it's a good base rifle)

$80 UTG quad-rails (again, you get the "it's made for airsoft, but again they work just fine, and I'm not running around abusing my rifle)

$8 Foregrip (this one fits my hand perfectly, has a compartment, quick release and is a fraction the cost of many others)

$25 Bipods (work just fine, multi-length sturdy enough for just about anything)

and the $75 4x scope (multi-color reticle, 1/2 MOA clicks, and easy range changing)

Yes, all that is cheap, but I still have as much fun as anyone else shooting it, and I'm seriously not planning on taking it out onto the field so it works just fine.

Sounds close to my set-up:

Bushmaster AR-15 16" Optics Ready
Bushnell 4-12 40mm Scope
UTG Quad Rail
TLR-2 Laser/ LED Light Combo
UTG Foldable Bipod
Panther Tactical Grip


I am happy as a bug in a rug.

Plus... it makes me happy to know that my wife loves to go to the range with me and shoot... she said the Bushmaster " Surprised Me ".

yup super, the "low" end stuff is still higher quality than what was around decades ago that was the top-of-the-line, and for being a range beast it doesnt have to withstand beatings

Pinkycatcher wrote:yup super, the "low" end stuff is still higher quality than what was around decades ago that was the top-of-the-line, and for being a range beast it doesnt have to withstand beatings

With the way I care for and clean my "family members", I don't for see any problems.

super8neon wrote: With the way I care for and clean my "family members", I don't for see any problems.

The best advice you can give, if everything is kept in good shape it won't fail, barring some freak occurance.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

txfireguy2003 wrote:Thanks guys. I posted this question on another forum as well, and got similar responses. I am not really interested in a red dot at this time, because I don't really see the benefit of them. If I wanted a sight without magnification, I'd just use the irons. I've been hearing lots of bad stuff about a lot of lower priced scopes, everyone wants me to go with Leupold, Nikon etc, so I thought I would see what the oppinion on here is. I'm really thinking I'm going to continue in my old habits, since I've used tons of cheaper scopes over the years from BSA, Simmon, etc and never had any problems with them, I think that's what I will be looking at. Anyone have any experience with the BSA Sweet 223 scopes?

I have two ARs, one is a 24" heavy barreled varmint rifle with a Burris XTR tactical 3-12x50mm, and the other is a 16" carbine with an M4 barrel with A2 sight post, a flip up A.R.M.S #40L rear flip up sight, and an Eotech holographic sight.

The benefit of the Eotech is rapid target acquisition - MUCH more rapid and intuitive than the irons by themselves. In fact, my eyes are far enough gone that the irons by themselves are nearly useless to me. I keep them on the rifle strictly as a back up in case the Eotech fails (which isn't that likely). But even without magnification, the Eotech is absolutely confidence inspiring. If I can put the red dot on it, I can hit it. That's the value the value of red dot type systems, and I've heard the owners of other brands such as Aimpoint say much the same things as I'm saying.

I don't think that falls within his budget parameters...

Purplehood wrote:I don't think that falls within his budget parameters...

Perhaps I misunderstood. That would be too bad, because I used to be skeptical until I finally put up the money for one; but I'm really sold on them now.