Good evening everyone!
My name is Eric. I am a long time lurker/reader and this is my first post here. I did not notice a Intro page so I apologize if I am breaking any rules not posting one first.
A tiny background on me: I have my first AR purchase recently as well as my first optic (Trijicon VCOG) so basically I don’t know my ass from my elbow when it comes to ARs and certainly optics so I could really use some advice.
My brother (he is NSW) has recently mentioned interest in trying out a variable scope on his next deployment and I thought it’d be great to get him one for Christmas. He is on shore duty teaching right now so there is quite a bit of time before he deploys next.
I wanted to get as many opinions as possible because in addition to my lack of knowledge, there is just SO much out there to choose from. So far I have gotten two votes for a VCOG as well as one for the PA Platinum 1-8 (contender with CQBSS?) and the Eotech Vudu 1-6. Others I have been looking at were the Vortex Razor HD Gen II (not sure which reticle would be best for him), MeoTac ZD 1-4 RD, Leupold Mark 6 and the Steiner TX5i. Available funds are $2k.
I was leaning towards the VCOG cause its suppose to be durable and seen a few in use (Jeff Gurwitch, etc), seen a few Vortex’s in use as well as Geissle having a SOPMOD approved mount (along with Mark 6, CQBSS and S&B, latter two too rich for my blood lol. To me suggests it’s used a lot to warrant one being made), and the Eotech because of the reticle (he uses Eotech holos regularly, ELCAN on SCAR, so thought reticle familiarity would be a nice crossover). Was unsure about the Mark 6 cause of the illumination issues and Tx5i because I wouldn’t be able to afford the M model lol. I am also concerned about durability out of everything I have been looking at.
I would say due to the conditions, a daylight visible reticle would be ideal (another check for the Vortex?) and more than likely usable with night vision (unless he just uses a mounted device like PEQ-15). I wasn’t sure if maybe 1-4 or 1-5 would be too low a magnification? I know there are so many other choices out there too so I would sincerely appreciate any and all input to help make my decision. Should he not end up liking it, no biggy. I can keep, sell or return (if unused). Also would be a huge help if there are reticle choices to let me know which you think would fit the bill best. I am guessing his range is CQB to Mid? Maybe further in some instances or IDing/ranging.
Thank you everyone in advance for your help 
I hope this is a nice surprise for him. Have a great weekend everyone!
VCOG, Razor Gen II, and MK6 are the only ones I would feel comfortable using deployed. They are the most overbuilt and most used out of the ones you mentioned, so you know they hold up. The rest imo just don’t have the track record to make them viable for use in a deployed scenario.
With that being said I would nix the MK6 due to it’s reticle “flicker” and reticle design.
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The VCOG has been proven on deployments by stukas, the razors are getting issued, the mk6’s have been used too. I personally like my VCOG and would like to have one for my work gun. I will say that the VCOG is not as bright as it could be but I prefer the reticle over the razor and mk6. I don’t like how small the 1x reticle is on the mk6 and the flicker drives me crazy, my buddy has one. The razor has a great field of view but I’m not crazy on the reticle. I agree with sideways that those are the ones I would roll with. I like the VCOG reticle the best.
Kahles K16i would be my pick. I’m not sure about the NVG compatibility though.
I’ve seen the vortex in use more than any other recently, that’d probably be my pick. That being said, I’d really think the teams would be able to get that issued, if they’re not already.
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I’ve beat up my Steiner 1-4 Military pretty good at the ranch.
It’s a boat anchor compared to most commercial LPVs I have, but not any heavier than the PA FFP 1-8.
The Steiner 1-5 might be a good/better choice, I have no experience with one.
I’m not sure what Steiner was thinking in going with the 1-5, rather than the 1-6.
A 1-6 is a substantial leap above a 1-4, while the 1-5 isn’t.
So a couple of those options you mentioned only offer bdc reticles. Do you know the gun this optic will be placed on your brothers ammo choice? Barnes 70 grain tsx for example. If not, then a mrad reticle is what I would recommend so he can tailor the drops to his guns velocity and round.
A couple off the top of my head with great glass, durability, and mrad reticles would be the razor 1-6 mrad, kahles 1-6 sm1, a used uso sr-4c, Leopold mk6 tmr-d, and the trijicon accupower 1-8 mrad with red reticle.
If you know he’s rocking a 16in gun then by all means look into a refurb or a demo Steiner mil 1-5 or a mk6 with cmr, vcog ect…
I have owned a PA platinum 1-8 and sold it. It was heavy as **** and I’m not sure I would trust it for heavy use. Same goes with the Steiner tx series. Just too many qc problems coming out of their shop right now.
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He’ll be limited to m855a1 for deployments. It’s faster than m855 so it will be a little bit different from BDC’s out there but not too much off. The accupower 1-8 is an awesome scope, I have one on my 3gun rifle and I love it. Red is legit daylight bright. It’s a hair lighter than a razor and I prefer the reticle. It’s held up so far through like 6 matches and I don’t expect it to crap out on me. Battery life is short though.
Out of the ones listed, my preference is the Leupold MK6. I believe those have been issued to troops for a while.
Razor 1-6 with MRAD reticle.
He will very likely use an LA-5 (PEQ-15 on roids) with NODs, so I wouldn’t stress the night vision reticle aspect. If he’s running a PVS-24, absolutely get the Geissele 30mm mount. It perfectly aligns the Razor 1-6 with a 24.
Thank you very much for the input everyone, I really appreciate it.
It seems the two I keep getting pointed back to the most are the VCOG and Razor, with a tad more weight towards the Razor.
Explorininthewoods, thank you. I have seen your videos on YouTube and they were a lot of help. The Accupower was one I was looking at at one point too, but wasn’t sure about the durability (compared to the others listed) and especially the battery power (like 31 hours on middle setting?).
GTF425, thank you for the optic and reticle choice. I was curious if Mils or the JM would be best. When playing around with Strelok I was surprised how easily it was to get the JM to work with many different loads, but wasn’t sure about the ability to range at all. Should I go this route (seems more likely every day), I would definitely use the money savings over the VCOG to get him the Geissele mount too.
I had mentioned the MeoTac ZD 1-4x RD because I Had read military and contractors had used it, and was something of a “poor mans” Shot Dot lol. Is the Short Dot still as popular today given what is available? The Razor seems to fit nicely in a similar capacity; red dot brightness, huge field of view, reticle choice, and even though SFP, seems like youd end up ranging and IDing in max magnification anywho.
Thank you again guys, its much appreciated. I apologize if my responses aren’t super prompt due to work (I have shift work so I get on at odd times).
Out of all the reticles available, would you all suggest sticking with Mil? Like I had mentioned, playing with different reticles on Strelok I was very surprised at the JM-1 BDC compared to other BDCs (especially Trijicon). Was pretty on for a lot of loads (with maybe a slight elevation adjustment for some. Same with the Eotech Vudu), but I worry if he’d need the ranging possibilities of a Mil reticle?
Thanks again guys. When I get this for him, I will certainly say its from not only myself but M4Carbine as well 
The JM-1 is a great reticle and works well with A1. From a logistics standpoint, he’s stuck with a 50/200 zero if he intends to actually use the BDC. If he doesn’t have access to a range that would allow that, it won’t do him any good. But if he can, then it’s a fast reticle that makes hits out to 600 yards like cheating. And before all this “But the BDC doesn’t match” bullshit, he’ll more than be able to make hits out to 600 regardless of what ammo he’s feeding it.
I prefer the MRAD solely for the fact that he can run whatever zero he wants and learn his holds based on that. The fact that it can range is just a bonus. If he doesn’t have a need for ranging outside of “got some shitheads about 300 meters at our 12”, then the JM-1 will work well and would be the better choice, honestly. It’s a great reticle and is very fast on target.
Ranging, outside of sniper and recce work, is almost always done in 50 yard increments and comes from experience and intuition more than calculating a mil relation.
The Short Dot is pretty long in the tooth. While revolutionary when it came out, the original customer made the jump to the Razor for a reason. I wouldn’t even consider one today.
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Thank you again! I will find out his range options/availability. Never knew that about the ranging. Sounds like if he has the zeroing ability the JM-1 would be the way to go.
If this guy is a real deal NSW face shooter, why does his brother need to waste his money on an LPV as a gift? His unit doesn’t have quality LPV’s in inventory or can’t order it up? I’m genuinely curious as I don’t know how the acquisition process works at that level.
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Given your experience with the VCOG, which reticle do you think would be more advantageous for him, the horseshoe or segmented circle? I have the horseshoe myself but the Segmented Circle almost seems to have a better field of view when zooming in on the target.
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Because I thought it would be a nice gift. I hadn’t been able to get him something as I was planning to since he passed everything a few years back.
I am also sure he can get something far better than I can for him via whatever outlet he has available. He didn’t ask me to get him one. He had mentioned it in a conversation we had that he was thinking of trying one out so it gave me this idea. Should he not want/need or wants better, I’d understand and just keep/return/sell it.
Unless guys have memorized common target sizes and can spit a mil relation formula from memory, they aren’t ranging shit with a reticle. But it does work well on a static range with a fixed size steel target…
It’s blown way out of proportion on the internet. Even after RSLC, I was guesstimating to within 50 yards in contact with just my eyes and experience. Even though we were stuck using our mismatched BDC ACOGs, we were still making good hits and taming savages.