I do a bit of gun work for a disabled friend, but not on this kind of rifle. He has an AR-15 in 300 Whisper that he says will be used for pig hunting and self-defense (ranges 200 yards or less.) He asked me for a sight recommendation, and I'm clueless about this type of weapon and available sights. BTW, he did say NOT open/iron sights. What say y'all? Thanks!

I run an Aimpoint T1 Micro atop a Daniel Defense mount and love it!

While many folks mount 1x red dots and, like Ted, love them, more folks are finding a 1-4x or so variable w or w/o illum reticle and a multi x or a ranging reticle of some flavor to be a really good alternative.

Your friend states his purpose- 200 yards and less for medium game and self defense, so I doubt he would be really happy with a 3-5 MOA dot at 200 ( that is minute of piggy).

Look into one of the AR purpose built low power variables in a good mount.

Best

What is the nature of the disability? I ask b/c something with "infinite" eye relief and non-critical optic cone can be a great asset. I am inclined to second the AP Micro suggestion. A 2 MOA dot will be no problem on 200 yd pigs. It may be considerably faster/easier for your friend to acquire - especially so if he understands Bindon and can keep both eyes open when shooting. If he has been a "shotgun guy" for some time he will easily understand this. I like Micros so much I have one on a .300 WBY's front ring and would have no trouble killing deer to 300 yds. For fast acquisition/shooting nothing is better (that includes irons).

That said, some of the new low-mag scopes are pretty good - even if they have critical eye relief and demand the eye be centered in the visual cone. An ACOG might work for him, too.

Sam

Sam, he's in a wheelchair and is paralyzed from the waist down. He's an avid shooter and hunter and doesn't let his disability prevent him from doing things he loves.

Thanks for the tips, guys. I'll pass them on.

Andy, I think he'll find the 2 MOA Micro to his liking. It has the further advantage of minimizing both size and weight.

The only real knock on dots is moderate to severe uncorrectable astigmatism. In that case the dot will appear flared. I have this problem, but even without my corrective lenses I can still manage to hit stuff just fine - though it's less precise due to the flare - at least as well as with irons. Sam

quote:

Originally posted by Samuel_Hoggson:
Andy, I think he'll find the 2 MOA Micro to his liking. It has the further advantage of minimizing both size and weight.

The only real knock on dots is moderate to severe uncorrectable astigmatism. In that case the dot will appear flared. I have this problem, but even without my corrective lenses I can still manage to hit stuff just fine - though it's less precise due to the flare - at least as well as with irons. Sam

Sam, I didn't know that about the dot sights. I have that problem too. Good info. I wish ACOGS were more affordable because I think they are a good system.

I use my corrective lenses when I'm at the range, but in the field I may have non-corrective eyewear. I think people tend to overblow the flare issue. Mostly this is b/c the more you focus on the flare, the worse it seems to get. In situations with limited time, and/or when you're focused on the target as you ought, the flare does not even get noticed. It's kinda like noticing distortion on the peripheral areas of a scope's field. It won't cause you to miss the elephant b/c you won't be looking at the scope's periphery in that situation.

Granted you may not shoot the tiniest groups from the bench with a dot, but that's not why you use it, anyway. I know I'm giving up some bench accuracy with a dot on my .300 WBY. And that particular rifle is a tack-driver. But I'm not using it to drive tacks. I want to acquire and hit a ME whitetail in the vitals.

Another "trick" to minimizing flare is to reduce the dot intensity a bit.

Sam

I think for a combination of hunting and personal defense on an AR15, regardless of calibre, I would recomend something that has some magnification.

An EoTex or an Aimpoint with a 3x magnifer, or a Leupold 1-3 CQT, or a variable scope from 1x to 1.5x on the low side to 4x or 6x on the high side, with an illuminated reticle.

I use an Eotech with the 65MOA ring/1MOA dot reticle with no magnification& can spend all day putting shots into less than 6" @ 200yds with it.
It has to have the fastest target acquisition of anything I've tried & has lived through 6 years of use & abuse.
Pigs, deer or "social occasions" out to 200yds should be no problem at all.