MRO Magnifiers

[fmnjr]

We built this AR a couple years ago. Used very good components, still happy with the gun.

Wanting to increase the gun's utility by adding a magnifier, I thought to ask here about that knowing there are people with lots of knowledge on this topic.

Any thoughts or comments about magnifier brand, specs, reliability, pros, cons, etc would be helpful to us.....thanks!

 

[fmnjr]

Bump....guessing my post wasn't specific enough to be answered. Since the rifle already has a Trijicon Red Dot MRO we'll likely go with the Trijicon 3X magnifier. Probably better that way than to mix and match brands.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

What do you use the gun for? I think the biggest draw back of them is when you flip them out of the way, they snag on everything and are kind of obnoxious. If I wanted some magnification on an AR my personal preference would be a low power variable.

All that said, if your MRO is mounted on a stock mount then I would go with the Trijicon and their OEM mount. This will require less screwing around to keep things in line. You will probably need to bump your MRO forward on the rail to get the magnifier on behind it and get your eye relief right and clear your BUIS. Moving the MRO forward is generally a good idea anyway as it gives you a finer aiming point and gives you better peripheral vision when shooting unmagnified.

 

[fmnjr]

What do you use the gun for? I think the biggest draw back of them is when you flip them out of the way, they snag on everything and are kind of obnoxious. If I wanted some magnification on an AR my personal preference would be a low power variable.

All that said, if your MRO is mounted on a stock mount then I would go with the Trijicon and their OEM mount. This will require less screwing around to keep things in line. You will probably need to bump your MRO forward on the rail to get the magnifier on behind it and get your eye relief right and clear your BUIS. Moving the MRO forward is generally a good idea anyway as it gives you a finer aiming point and gives you better peripheral vision when shooting unmagnified.

The gun is for general use at the range, for varmints, other situations, etc. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

The gun is for general use at the range, for varmints, other situations, etc. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

I have messed around with a lot of different combos over the last 20years and they are all good for something, but at the end of the day I swap out sights based on the desired use. I think the magnifiers are a decent compromise for making hits out to 300ish meters on a basketball sized target. The trouble is that with the 2MOA dot at 300m it will cover 6" whether magnified or not, so while you have some magnification, you don't gain a finer aiming point. I do like the MRO over the Aimpoint M4s as their 4MOA dot covers even more real estate on distant targets. I have had an EOTECH for about 15years, and really like the 1MOA dot surrounded by the 65MOA ring.

If you are looking to pop small game at distance, it will be tough to replicate the precision you can get with a crosshair.

 

[fmnjr]

I’ve thought about changing to Eotech but decided against it for now at least maybe some time in the future on the next diy. My thoughts about the use of mro vs a scope is that getting good with an AR/MRO setup is a desirable thing to do in addition to being good with a standard combo, you just never know what you might need to deal with some day.