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AR15.COM
5/31/2021 7:02:12 PM EDT
Anyone use an ACOG for Service Rifle matches?

If so, what reticle do you recommend? Chevron, horseshoe, donut, crosshair?

I'm thinking the crosshair would be more precise for Slow Prone and Offhand, but the donut or horseshoe might be better for the rapid fire stages.

If I decide to go back to iron sights, the ACOG will migrate to one of my SHTF rifles, so I have to take that into account also.
Obedience is not patriotism. Patriotism is love of your country, not of your government.
5/31/2021 7:15:57 PM EDT
[#1]
NOBODY who is posting decent scores is using ACOG on their primary highpower competition rifle.

Your time spent on the range is the reason you use the best tool for the job.

The ACOG excels as a set-it-and-forget-it aiming device for rough handling, and poor light conditions.

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They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin, 1775
5/31/2021 7:59:56 PM EDT
[#2]
FPNI

To excel in high power you have to dial precise wind calls and elevation for every single shot. Using a reticle to hold offsets is not precise enough.
You can hit the target with an ACOG but you won’t be winning matches.
Fundamentally the marksman aims at himself.
— D.T. Suzuki
5/31/2021 10:00:29 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote History
Originally Posted By airsix:
FPNI

To excel in high power you have to dial precise wind calls and elevation for every single shot. Using a reticle to hold offsets is not precise enough.
You can hit the target with an ACOG but you won’t be winning matches.
View Quote


Winning matches is something I never have to worry about.

I've been using the same rifle and same barrel and same iron sights for ten years of high power.

Instead of getting a new barrel (all I really need), I though about getting a whole new flattop upper. Hence the ruminations on a 4X optic.

Everybody else on the firing line is using an LPVO. Maybe I should do the same.
Obedience is not patriotism. Patriotism is love of your country, not of your government.
5/31/2021 10:20:14 PM EDT
[#4]
Time to move into the 21st century
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They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin, 1775
6/1/2021 10:29:39 PM EDT
[#5]
Trijicon's ".223" BDC (55gr @ 3000fps) matches up well with Mk262 through 16" barrels. 20" need a .308 BDC. I favor the chevron.
"Technique isn't something that can be taught. It's something you find on your own." - Bunta Fujiwara
6/1/2021 10:31:13 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote History
Originally Posted By W_E_G:
Time to move into the 21st century
View Quote
Hmm, yes, 4-point-5 power scopes with crappy or no BDC options besides dialing.
"Technique isn't something that can be taught. It's something you find on your own." - Bunta Fujiwara
6/1/2021 11:00:48 PM EDT
[#7]
Trijicon offered external adjustment knobs for the ACOG a long time ago but they weren't popular and were dropped/discontinued.

A simple 1-4.5X Vortex or Leupold Fire Dot can get you started through Distinguished and the President's.
6/1/2021 11:02:31 PM EDT
[Last Edit: q2d5z6m0v6x1][Edited] [#8]
1-4x LPVOs with target reticles and exposed turrets don’t make much sense outside of service rifle competition. An ACOG with a piggyback red dot is a far “better” system than most any SR oriented optic even if you won’t score as high. There are some decently functional 1-4 variables like the TR24 but they suffer the same “flaws” as the ACOG from an SR match perspective. Buy an optic you can enjoy on its own merits, regardless of match scores. The “Service rifle” competition scopes are somewhere between neutered bastardizations of proper DMR optics and bulkier alternatives to combat oriented prism or variable scopes. You’ll be much happier with a combat oriented LPVO, even if it puts you in the “match rifle” category with higher magnification, or an ACOG. If you’re not interested in piggybacking a red dot on the ACOG, the former are worth considering. Chevron reticle all the way if you are going for an ACOG.


I say all this having participated in many SR matches, most of them with iron sights on a Rock River NMA2. I’m currently in the process of turning that rifle into a more conventional M16A2 analog because the match features are an annoyance. I may shoot lower scores once it’s finished, but it will be a more enjoyable weapon to own. I have also used my 16” midlength “fighting rifle” with the ACOG in some matches with no sling support or jacket, with predictably low scores, but I had a lot of fun doing it.

I speak from experience when I allege that creating a “weapon system” around a specific style of competition can leave you feeling unsatisfied with its general characteristics. Put together whatever you think will give you the greatest enjoyment, and take the match scores as they come. No matter your place on the scoreboard or equipment, your marksmanship skills should improve at a reasonable rate with each match you shoot, and that’s ultimately what’s important.
6/19/2021 2:37:50 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote History
Originally Posted By BikerNut:...I've been using the same rifle and same barrel and same iron sights for ten years of high power...
View Quote


You know how the matches work and how to shoot a match. Good sighting equipment will help your scores a lot. The Athlon SR scope is pretty decent and will help see the target clearly. Not very expensive for what you get.
6/3/2024 11:14:14 PM EDT
[#10]
I've also strongly considered doing this actually.

I want to clone my work gun, and the fact that I can compete with an analog of said gun in a service rifle accuracy oriented match is really appealing to me.

I don't really care if I win matches, but I'd like to place decently in local stuff. Which I don't expect to do at first.
“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who comes near that precious jewel. Unfortunately, nothing
will preserve it but downright force. When you give up that force, you are ruined. ”
- Patrick Henry
9/28/2024 4:37:00 AM EDT
[#11]
Sightron makes a scope specifically for CMP/NRA service rifle. It has a 1/2 moa dot in the center surrounded by a 8 moa circle. It has 1 moa horizontal and vertical crosshairs at 3,6, and 9 o'clock positions. Exposed turret knobs that click well and it doesn't suffer from "wandering zero". It has a msrp of $499.99 so it won't break the bank. I got mine on sale from Midway about 6 months ago for $350. I couldn't pass that up. Prior to that, I used a Bushnell "AR series" scope for the first couple of years. It worked well. The ONLY reason I changed to the Sightron was because the crosshairs in the Bushnell are a little thicker than I like and it obscured too much of the aiming black for me.

Jon