Scope for a 300BLK

[dbod]

The CMR-AK762 by Hi-Lux Leatherwood should be considered as well.
This is the 1/2 moa turret version ($306 to $340).
I just picked up two of these at the $306 price (10% off).
I see these listing from $389 to $489 - Don't pay that.

The CMR4-AK762 is the .1 mrad turret and cost considerably more.

These come in Green or Red illumination.

[phatdad]

The CMR-AK762 by Hi-Lux Leatherwood should be considered as well.

I do believe that will be my next scope.

[Klondike]

If you want to stay cheap and functional the Bushnell banner 1x4.5 is a great scope for under 100 yard hunting. Simple reticle, big FOV and easy eye relief.

[smustian]

The CMR-AK762 by Hi-Lux Leatherwood should be considered as well.
This is the 1/2 moa turret version ($306 to $340).
I just picked up two of these at the $306 price (10% off).
I see these listing from $389 to $489 - Don't pay that.

The CMR4-AK762 is the .1 mrad turret and cost considerably more.

These come in Green or Red illumination.

Nice scope but a little too busy in the reticle for me. I would never use all that fancy stuff for the shooting that I do. All my hunting is at 200 yards or less.

[Dolomite_Supafly]

The only thing that would make that CMR better is to have MIL turrets. Then it would be a perfect scope.

Also, for those who want custom BDC turrets you can buy white paper labels at Walmart for less than $1. Wrap one around the elevation turret then mark the zero for various distances. I have been doing that for at least a decade and it works great. When the season changes just remove the old label and mark the new one when you confirm your zeros again.

[glennhmd]

I would also suggest getting the vortex viper PST 1-4x MOA. Very clear optics at its price point. Adjustable illumination. 1-4x magnification is more than enough for the usual 300blk shooting range.

[Rick Finsta]

Bumping this to the top. I am ditching my Nikon P-300 as the reticule sucks. Seriously, if Nikon would get rid of that stupid NATO cross it would be a nice inexpensive optic for hunting with the 300BLK.

Anyways, I looked at a few options:
1) Hi-Lux CMR AK - this is the original version with MIL reticule and MOA adjustments, uncapped locking turrets, and reportedly decent glass. $300 on Amazon for the green illumination, or red is about $50 more from various sources.
2) Hi-Lux CMR4 AK762 - this is the new (in 2013 I think) version. 0.1MIL locking and covered turrets with a lower profile and the windage moved to the left side, with reportedly better glass and a slightly redesigned reticule. Matches Barnes 110gr VOR-TX and Remington 125 SMK loads to 550 yards, reportedly, but out of my SBR it will likely be off a bit. Not a big issue because it still has MIL markings between the BDC aiming points so it is a fully functional ranging MIL reticule. $430 from a few vendors.
3) Vortex Viper PST - the best glass of the list so far, and I like the idea of having no BDC component as that is superfluous with a MIL/MIL or MOA/MOA system. However, I just can't like the reticule design - the Umbrella Corporation logo just doesn't work for me so this was out. I found a demo unit that looked NIB for the same price as the CMR4 ($430) but passed it up.
4) New SWFA SS 1-4X (non-HD model). Firstly, backordered until at least April according to their website. I'm not a huge fan of the aiming point at a glance but users say it is really nice; it does look minimalistic and clean; well-designed for sure. Supposedly has glass on par with the Vortex. The ONLY issue with this is it doesn't have locking or covered turrets. I have missed targets before because my scope has moved so much in my bag that when I went to re-zero the turrets before a match, I was a full revolution off. I will never use another non-locking or uncovered turret again. Ever. I cannot use gear I'm not 100% confident will be ready to go when it comes out of the bag. This optic also has the best illumination of any of the 1-4X optics according to early users. Were it not for the one fatal flaw this, IMHO, would be the perfect budget optic for a competition or hunting 300blk AR. Price is $400. Yeesh that seems cheap looking at the features and reading the reviews.

So, after much deliberation, and even though I think the CMR reticule might be a bit busy, I went with the CMR4. I'll have it in a few days and I will post up a review when I can. I'm going to try to get a hold of a Vortex PST to compare the glass and if it is a huge difference, or if I don't like the reticule on the CMR4, it is going back and I'll likely just stick with my Aimpoint T1 until SWFA gets their head right and puts some caps on the turrets of their new 1-4X.

Hope this is helpful to someone, there isn't a great way to compare scopes based on spec sheets and online photos, which sucks given how much they cost, and things like clarity can be pretty subjective.

[1slow01Z71]

+1 for the PST 1-4. I believe it's the best bang for the buck out there. I've had a couple of them and am currently running one on my 9.5" 458 with no problems. I'm probably going to replace the 1-6 SS HD on my 8" 300blk with one to save weight as well. It's worth the extra money for the quality glass and features.

[Dolomite_Supafly]

Bumping this to the top. I am ditching my Nikon P-300 as the reticule sucks. Seriously, if Nikon would get rid of that stupid NATO cross it would be a nice inexpensive optic for hunting with the 300BLK.

Anyways, I looked at a few options:
1) Hi-Lux CMR AK - this is the original version with MIL reticule and MOA adjustments, uncapped locking turrets, and reportedly decent glass. $300 on Amazon for the green illumination, or red is about $50 more from various sources.
2) Hi-Lux CMR4 AK762 - this is the new (in 2013 I think) version. 0.1MIL locking and covered turrets with a lower profile and the windage moved to the left side, with reportedly better glass and a slightly redesigned reticule. Matches Barnes 110gr VOR-TX and Remington 125 SMK loads to 550 yards, reportedly, but out of my SBR it will likely be off a bit. Not a big issue because it still has MIL markings between the BDC aiming points so it is a fully functional ranging MIL reticule. $430 from a few vendors.
3) Vortex Viper PST - the best glass of the list so far, and I like the idea of having no BDC component as that is superfluous with a MIL/MIL or MOA/MOA system. However, I just can't like the reticule design - the Umbrella Corporation logo just doesn't work for me so this was out. I found a demo unit that looked NIB for the same price as the CMR4 ($430) but passed it up.
4) New SWFA SS 1-4X (non-HD model). Firstly, backordered until at least April according to their website. I'm not a huge fan of the aiming point at a glance but users say it is really nice; it does look minimalistic and clean; well-designed for sure. Supposedly has glass on par with the Vortex. The ONLY issue with this is it doesn't have locking or covered turrets. I have missed targets before because my scope has moved so much in my bag that when I went to re-zero the turrets before a match, I was a full revolution off. I will never use another non-locking or uncovered turret again. Ever. I cannot use gear I'm not 100% confident will be ready to go when it comes out of the bag. This optic also has the best illumination of any of the 1-4X optics according to early users. Were it not for the one fatal flaw this, IMHO, would be the perfect budget optic for a competition or hunting 300blk AR. Price is $400. Yeesh that seems cheap looking at the features and reading the reviews.

So, after much deliberation, and even though I think the CMR reticule might be a bit busy, I went with the CMR4. I'll have it in a few days and I will post up a review when I can. I'm going to try to get a hold of a Vortex PST to compare the glass and if it is a huge difference, or if I don't like the reticule on the CMR4, it is going back and I'll likely just stick with my Aimpoint T1 until SWFA gets their head right and puts some caps on the turrets of their new 1-4X.

Hope this is helpful to someone, there isn't a great way to compare scopes based on spec sheets and online photos, which sucks given how much they cost, and things like clarity can be pretty subjective.

When they sent me a pre release of the scope to evaluate for them I told them the reticle sucked. The marketing guy kept on saying the engineers, who are obviously not shooters, said it was a great reticle and it would work for supers and subs. I told them year if your target was 237 yards or 143 yards or 316 yards but most people are not that precise.

I told them if they wanted a very popular scope ditch the BDC reticle and install a mildot reticle. I even said they could keep the turrets and use turrets for the BDC rather than a reticle. They then said they would have BDC turrets available for purchase for $80 each.

In the end I sold my P-300 scope because it did nothing good. I replaced it with a P22 scope because with the 1/2" adjsutments at 100 yards and the BDC turrets it works great. You use one of the 22lr turrets and it matches up to subsonic loads for the 300 Blackout out to 150 yards. There is a post here detailing how to do it and how well it works. It is still being used on my 300 Blackout rifles and it still works great.

[sucker76]

I have a Leatherwood CMR4 with mil/mil and love it. It's busy but once you look through it for a few minutes it all makes sense. I sighted in for supers and use the mils for holdover for subs. I just put a cheat sheet on the inside of the lens cap. I paid $285 on the bay for it. It's out of the OP price range but I think it should be considered.