Just picked up an M-16A1 upper and I’m already thinking of adding an optic. About the only thing that looks like even remotely good would be a compact acog and even then I’m not so sure(not about the acog, but mounting it on the carry handle). Can anyone recomend a good compact acog or is this one of those times I should just stick with irons and leave the optics for the flattops?
another option would be a nice original Colt scope 
as for Compact ACOG I have a TA44-5 (1.5x) mounted on my A2 carry handle…I love it but people seems to prefer 2x or 3x models.
anyway Compact ACOGs fit just right on carry handles 
Did you have any problems with cheek weld?
You can get an ARMS carry handle mount, they worked fine back in the day, although yes, your cheekweld isn’t all that great.
This is Hackathorn’s Colt 9mm subgun at the last Low Light II class:
I have a Colt 6520 that I run a Compact ACOG 1.5x TA-44R4 (red cross hair, BAC) on the carry handle and it works well. I haven’t noticed a significant off-set.
This is an original Colt 3x on a Colt SP-1 from 1964. Back then, this was high speed low drag gear, but there are much better choices now:
Thanks for the help Templar. I figured that by going with a 2X or 3x acog I should have a decent scope. Plus If I didn’t like it, I could just stick it on some other gun. One other dumb question. Would the M16A1 upper be accurate enough with the pencil barrel to make scoping worthwhile? The upper is rearsenaled with a prety new barrel(I got this from the batch gunnys surplus is selling right now).
With quality 55 grain or lighter ammo, I don’t see why not.
One more question Templar. Have you used or seen the a.r.m.s. carry handle scope mount? Would that paired with a scope using low rings be much higher than a compact acog? I’d like to still go with an acog, but cost just migh kill that option.
Sorry to bring this thread back, but I had another question that wasn’t worthy of a new thread. Since mouting the carry handle puts the optics way above the bore, is there any problems with different POI at varrying distances? Say, I mounted a red dot on the carry handle and zero’ed it for fifty yards. Would there be a much different POI at 25 yards or closer?
I haven’t seen a significant off set.
The 9mm carbine in the first pic is using an ARMS mount with an Aimpoint. It worked fine inside a house, can’t comment on at distance.
Hope that helps.
If money is no object get the Acog. I’m limited on funds so I ordered the new Burris Ar 332. It’s a 3x scope 5’ long that mounts on the carry handle. SWFA has them on back order for 209.00. It does come with a flat top mount also. Just my 2 cents. Best of luck.
I hit the wrong key No the AR 332 isn’t five foot long it’s 5 1/4" long. Sorry for the mistake.
I’m looking at that scope with great interest. I should have preordered it from swfa since I think they now want $250 or so. Still that’s not a bad price. I’m just waiting since I want to see how they perform and if there is any bugs that need to be worked out. Plus I pretty much spent my gun budget for a while.
For mounting on a carry handle I would only consider an ACOG. The optics are excellent and the scope is as rugged as they get; carry handle mounted scopes are more exposed than most to bumps and bangs. The ACOG mounts well and the sight channel for iron sights is very good. The alteration in cheek weld is not serious (IMHO) and you can quickly change from scope to irons.
ACOGs do suffer from “tiny reticule syndrome.” If you want a fast reticule, I would go for a lightweight 1.5x or 2x model, eye relief is terrific on the 1.5x models. The new circle-dot TA44S looks interesting, otherwise I would go for a triangle.
Check out for a circle dot photo: http://www.ar15.com/lite/topic.html?b=3&f=18&t=412551
ACOG crosshairs are more precise, but slower (once again, IMHO).
Although the Burris looks like fun, before buying I would try to get some hard numbers on battery life before laying down the cash.
My $0.02.
That’s why I plan to wait a while on those. I’ll let others be the guine pigs. In the meantime I might go pick up a leupold carry handle mount and stick my extra aimpoint on it. I had to shoot a raccoon a few nites ago with my A1 and it made me realize just how bad A1 irons suck in the dark.
If you want, I have a couple of newish (mounted once, never used) cantilever mounts that I would be willing to part with for fairly short money (maybe $75 shipped/mount). One is a BC-CAM (good for just about anything) and the other is a PRI. Both have Picatinny slots. I would recommend the PRI for Aimpoints (subject to ring height) and the BC-CAM for EoTech.
PM me if this appeals to you. I was going to list them somewhere next month, but …
Thanks for the offer, but I ended up getting a leupold mount. It looks to be a decent mount. It seems to sit a tiny biy lower than some of the other carry handle mounts I compared it to.
Just out of curiosity Amicus, what did you think of those cantilever mounts? I had thought of them, but they don’t seem very popular.
I just got one of these, too, though I haven’t figured out what to do with it…
Please post when you decide how to scope your rifle.
SoDak
Some of the cantilever mounts work pretty well, and some …
These mounts are one good way to mount a red dot on a fixed carry handle upper without resorting to mounting on top of the carry handle. If you are using a flat top, then there really is no comparison because the flat top has so many mounting options.
Pros: (1) cantilever mounts (“CM”) can place the red dot in line with the sights, so can achieve cowitness; (2) CMs are much lower than mounting on top of a carry handle rail, so the sight offset is minimal; (3) BC-CAMs (Bennie Coolie Cantilever Adjustable Mount) will allow the shooter to adjust the height of the sight by about 1”; (4) most CMs will permit the use of an open sight channel for irons (no “looking down a tunnel” feeling); (5) CMs retain the carry handle, which allows for stronger and more reliable irons than any BUIS and for the structural reinforcement that the handle was originally designed to perform.
Cons: (1) If you are a M4gery fan, the mounting options are far greater; (2) they look ugly; (3) CMs really don’t work well with magnifying optics (I have tried to mount a scout scope on one, and you wind up putting the scope above the carry handle to accommodate the ocular bell); (4) some CMs will vibrate when you shoot, messing with your sight picture (some will hang in the air); (5) as with any sight that relies on the sight channel, some will work well, some (the cheaper ones) will not.
The BC-CAM and PRI mounts are pretty good examples of the species. The BC-CAM will allow vertical adjustment (noted above) and the PRI mount fits atop standard handguards/forearms almost perfectly (even better than the BC-CAM). Neither vibrates in my experience and both are well engineered.
Just because I am selling two doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I am keeping a BC-CAM with Weaver slots (no longer made). How I got myself into the position of owning three is a long story.
Good luck.
If you have to have a magnified optic, then go with the TA33.
C4
Another option is finding a Stanag Swarovski Cobra on the ARMS carry handle mount.
It is light, fast, and the reticle is same as original Styer Aug circle w/dot. They are out there.