Greeting fellow forum members.

I am trying to narrow my search for a scope for an A2 with a carry handle . I love the old Colt 4x tubes by Hakko but they are priced out of my reach.

Does anyone make a good quality clone?

My other choice was a Leatherwood ART M1000 set up for .223 but it looks like one of those giant flat rocks balancing on a Mesa peak on top of the carry handle.

I'm a total noob and deeply appreciate the expertise here from the AR15 gurus.

If it were a flat top I think I,do defiantly go with the leatherwood but I being an A2 I am trying to find something more compact.

Thanks in advance,

106gunner

My advice would be to replace the upper receiver for starters.

What's your budget?

I think this one from Primary Arms would make an excellent carry handle mounted scope.  It is already set up to mount on a carry handle - just add the $4 thumb screw from the drop down menu at you are good to go.

PA 2.5x scope

Before the flat top receivers became the new norm, there were better choices for handle mount scopes. Hakko made such a 4X IR scope for Colt. Today with the move away from the carry handle mounts the scope choices for that configuration are limited, All are Chinese made and the quality can vary widely.
If you must have a carry handle mounted scope, I suggest buying a carry handle scope mount and then mounting a good quality compact 3X or 4X scope on it. If you are on a budget the Nikon P-223 scope for around $125-$150 is a good buy and a good scope for the money.
While the carry handle mounted scope gives free access to the iron sights, the downside is that a scope mounted that high loses more accuracy ( that low mount scopes) at distances other than which it is sighted in at. The other problem is to get proper eye relief and sighting alignment with a handle mounted scope, a cheek rest is a must.

Theres a 4x power scope at some different sellers. I dont know who makes them i think its like leapers or UTG or somthing like that and there abount $40 and i know j&g sales sells them and center fire shstems sell them two. And they are for a1 or a2 with the hole in it

I know you said scope so this may not help you, but, I put Trijicon Reflex sights on my A2 rifles. No magnification, but its an improvement over irons. Everything else sits too high in my opinion and looks "'80's tacky" with a scope sitting up there.

Another option is to look for one of the used Colt 3X scopes on the EE. Look for a "made in Japan" one. Get something designed for a carry handle. Otherwise, you have to get a clunky mount, then mount the scope using rings etc and too many moving parts for my tastes.

How about a good quality one made by Nightforce?

Another option.  Good ole mini TA-44S ACOG

I like the TAO1 ACOG for my fixed handled M16A1.

I've read that these scopes are fake.  Any word on whether they are in fact clones?  Because they look pretty choice.

Nevermind, further reading suggests that they are indeed clones.

I chose an acog, chin weld was ok, ended up getting a flattop.  If you at dead set on the a2 handle, do what user couchcommando did.  Get a KAC RAS handgaurds, used on the EE, those make solid mounting platforms for a red dot in front of the carry handle

Oh, so the base has two holes drilled in it to mount it centered or shifted-aft? [referencing the running review in the Primary Arms subforum]

Yeah this is the idea...

I tried using a carry handle scope mount, and I hated it because it felt like my head was just floating around.  I took it off and just used iron sights for a while, then replaced it with a flattop.

I think that ACOGs work fantastically when mounted in a carry handle. Check out the EE for used ones at a good price, you can't go wrong with an ACOG.