The 5 Best Budget LPVOs - (Burris, Swampfox, Vortex, Sig, and Primary Arms)
Updated
35 months ago
Good morning everyone, this is John with gun.deals, and today we're going to be doing a video that has been requested for some time by quite a few people about going over my favorite LPVOs, specifically focusing today on the budget side of the spectrum, so today we're going to be going over my top five budget LPVOs.
By my definition of budget I mean under 400$, of course, prices do change. All the prices that I'm going to say in this video are going to be estimates at the time of recording, of course, prices go up, down and anywhere in between. Because we're keeping it under 400 it is going to cut out some pretty decent scopes that are just above that a few honorable mentions like the Vortex Viper PST Gen 2 1-6, very good scope, usually anywhere from 450 to 550 on the low end, so just outside of the scope of this video, and another honorable mention is going to be something like the Athlon Helos, this is the 1-10 model, which I actually really like, but it's usually a little bit over four hundred dollars.
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My number 5, and keep in mind that these could be rearranged in any order, but they're going to be my personal favorites, getting into number 5, the bottom of the list, the oldest LPVO on the market, the Burris RT6. The Burris RT6 is a very decent LPVO, it is a 1-6x24, 30mmk main tube, really good size and weight, just over 10 inches long, right at about 17 and a half ounces, externally it has all the features you would want, capped windage and elevation, which is going to be preferable for most of your 1-6 and 1-8 LPVOs. It does have an illuminated reticle and does include a throw lever on the magnification ring, which is quite nice. What holds it back from being higher up on the list is the fact that the reticle, while it does come with a nice BDC reticle, it is a little bit simplistic and not quite as flushed out as newer reticles. I have taken it out to 700 yards, but it is missing wind holes and some other features that someof the newer scopes on this list are going to have. On top of that, the field of view, eye relief, eye box, while very workable, isn't going to be quite as good as some of the other scopes on this list. So, it is definitely a very good scope and if you have it and you love it there's no reason to switch out, which is why it deserves to be on the list, but for me it's going to be number 5.
Moving up the list to number 4 is going to be the Swamfox Arrowhead 1-6 or 1-8, as currently, I believe at OpticsPlanet they're both under 400$, so they both can kind of make the list and take the same spot. These optics are quite a bit different than most others, these ones here have very nice tactical turrets, so you have turrets that you can dial, you have illuminated reticles, they're going to be the same 1-6, 1-8x24, 30mm main tubes, they both come with throw levers that can be moved to different spots on the magnification ring, which is quite nice. Very nice feeling optics, they both have fantastic field of views, fantastic eye relief, eye box, which does elevate them from some of the other scopes on the list, especially the Burris RT6. What makes them a little bit weird is the fact that they are going to be a little bit heavier, coming in at about 20 plus ounces, which does put them on the heavier side for this list because they do have those very nice turrets.
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The reticles themselves, they come in either MOA, Mill or a BDC, both get red and green illumination, so whichever one you prefer. Optically speaking they might besome of the nicest looking on this list, so keep in mind, basically all these optics are Chinese, so you're going to get different shades of gray or in LPVO's case different shades of brown. Subjectively, they're some of the bestf eeling LPVOS on the list, unfortunately, that comes with the added size and weight and you have the adjustable turrets versus the cap turrets, which if they were capped turrets they'd probably be an ounce or two lighter, and probably be a little bit better for their intended use case, which does hold them back. The reticle selections, you do get at least three different reticle options, depending on what you're looking for. So, they do a really good job in just about everything, they're a little bit heavier, they're a little bit more expensive, coming in at just under 400$ most of the time, and of if you're not planning on dialing, if you're planning on just using the included BDC, Mill, MOA reticles, and you're not going to be dialing whatsoever, than those really nice big turrets are kind of a waste of size and weight.
Moving on to number 3, this is going to be the tried-and-true Vortex Strike Eagle Gen 2. Currently both 1-6 and 1-8 models, with a mount, are around 300$ at Palmetto State Armory, which is incredibly cheap for an optic plus mount combo, keep in mind the mounts that they're including are fairly decent. Their prices have fluctuated, so if you look at just retail they might be a little bit over 400, but as of right now they're both about 300$ at Palmetto State Armory with the mount, which does make the list. On top of that, I've used multiple 1-6s and 1-8s, they are almost ubiquitous in the marketplace. Vortex does make a decent budget LPVO, when they first came out they had a lot of features that weren't really on the market, they both use the AR-BDC reticle, a BDC 3 reticle I believe. It is a very good reticle that I've taken out on both optics to about 600-650 yards, they both have wind holds, they both work very well.
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Interestingly enough, when it comes to size and weight on 1-6 and 1-8 Strike Eagle, the 1-8 is actually a half inch shorter and like a half ounce lighter than the 1-6, just something to do with the internals. They're both around 18 ounces, about 10 inches long, the 1-6 is a little bigger, a little heavier for whatever reason, I don't design scope so I'm not sure why that is, but the 1-6 model is the bigger and heavier of the two. Both of them have very good field of views I want to say, it's 110 for the 1-8 and then 115 for the 1-6, both very good, very usable eye box. The glass quality is par for the course, which means mediocre for a Chinese LPVO. The 1-6 has a little bit more forgiving on the low end and the 1-8 is pretty tight on the high end, so depending on what you're doing, if you don't need that extra magnification and the 1-6 is a little bit cheaper, probably just go with the 1-6, but if you feel you can make use of the extra magnification then the 1-8 is a perfectly viable option. I've used multiple of both of them, I like them quite a bit, for the money they're very hard to beat.
However, number 2 does beat them for the money, and number 2 specifically is the Sig MSR 1-6. The MSR 1-6 is almost always you can find it somewhere for sub 300$ with their included mount, which is actually very decent. The Sig MSR 1-6, I like it quite a bit, you have a phenomenal field of view capped windage/elevation, you have an illuminated reticle. I really like it, I find it to be one of the best LPVOs when you factor in price. It'sprice to performance is very, very good, sub 300$ with a mount, durable enough, fantastic field of view, eye relief, eye box, all very good. The reticle does have more BDC plus wind holes, which is very nice. The way it looks is maybe a little bit interesting, but once you get used to it and actually take it out to distance and build up some muscle memory with it or get to know how it works in the real world, it works quite well.
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Overall, it's a perfect budget scope because, while it's not phenomenal at anything, the glass is fairly mediocre, the machining isn't really anything special, it does have a few nice touches and included throw lever, so on and so forth. It just does everything at a very good level without charging you very much money whatsoever, so if you're looking what's the best budget LPVO that I can get right now, that's extremely versatile, can do just about anything zero to 600 yards, well it's probably going to be the Sig MSR 1-6. The 1.8 models and the 1-10 models, I've heard very, very mixed things on them, I haven't personally tried them, so I'm not going to comment about them, and depending on who you are, depending on what you're doing, you might actually bump the Sig MSR into the number one spot as dollar for dollar it is just extremely hard to beat.
But there is one optic that I personally like a little bit more, it is one of my favorite LPVOs to use and it only comes in at a price tag of 340$, that is the Primary Arms, the New Gen 4 with the ACSS Nova reticle. The Gen 4 Primary Arms SLX LPVOs, they come in a few different reticles. My personal favorite for more mid-range work anywhere from 0-400 is going to be the Nova, however, they do have other reticles that will provide a more general use case without being so focused on that more close to mid-range environment, for instance BDCs, wind holds, different calibers, Mill grids, if that's your thing, you can get them in the SLX lineup. However, the Nova, at 340 dollars, is a very good optic.
With Primary Arms SLX Gen 4 they did completely redesign the optical systems from their previous LPVOs, meaning that you get a very phenomenal field of view, I believe it's like 121 feet at 1X at 100 yards, which is very, very good, and on top of that, the 1X performance looks very good, so it has one of the best 1Xs, one of the most natural looking, it's not perfect by any means, still probably going to be a little bit behind the Vortex PST Gen 2 the 1-6 model, but keep in mind that it's anywhere from 100 to 200$ less expensive than that.
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Size and weight, it's a little bit over 10 inches long, under 18 ounces, which is fantastic for a 1-LPVO, it's definitely on the lighter side of things and with the Nova reticle you get that center dot that is both insanely bright with the fiber optic illumination, so it is insanely bright, truly daylight bright, just like a red dot, but it's also incredibly precise and it doesn't bloom out the same way an LED emitter will.
So, if you have an astigmatism and you want something that's very versatile, really, really good anywhere from zero to 400 yards, and then can be workable out to 5 and 600 yards, I think the ACSS Nova from Primary Arms is one of the best LPVOs on the market, especially considering its price. The reason why the Sig MSR 1.6 might be a little bit better in terms of a general application is because you have an etched reticle on the MSR, you do get a better BDC and you get wind holds as well, which if you're planning on working more 3-600 yards then you are 1-300 yards, then something with a little bit more help at those extended ranges, especially with 5.56 or anything that does get played around with quite a bit in the wind, then something like that might help you out a bit more.
However, it's really going to depend on your use case, your budget, what you're looking for because, keep in mind that this one here does not come with a mount whereas the Sig MSR 1-6 does come with a mount and it's cheaper on top of that, so just a fantastic value, but for me personally, if I had to choose one to use right now and to put on a gun right now, it's going to be the ACSS Nova and that is probably more of a personal preference thing as I really do like that fiber optical elimination, I know a lot of you guys do as well, but in more of a general use case, especially if you're planning on using it more at extended distances or at least that's a larger chunk of your shooting, then you might want something that gives you a little bit more help at those extended distances.
