Optics or AR?

[ASH556]

I'm having a thought and just wanted to get some input on which is the best course of action. Let me start by saying that my wife and I have our first baby due in about a month, so saving up longer, etc is not an option. I have a piece of gear that I can sell/swap for other gear, and that's it.

The plan was to sell my Mark 4 1.5-5 MR/T and use the money to buy a Redfield 3-9 for my 30/06 (I included the Leupold it used to wear in another deal this year and want to have something useful on it as it doesn't have any sights otherwise), and one of the Leupold 1.25-4 VX-R Firedot scopes for my 16" AR. The reasoning being that I don't care much for the reticle in the MR/T for what I want to do with the 16" AR. Plus, the value would work out to a 2-scope for 1 trade and get me what I need.

However, I'll have to admit that some Obama panic is starting to set it. I don't have that much 5.56 on-hand and don't want to shoot up what I have with the potential for price inflation and the fact that my ammo budget is going down because of this baby.

This got me to thinking that perhaps a better use of the $430 I would spend on the 1-4 Leupold Scope would be to buy a .22 cal AR so I could still afford to shoot and maintain my 5.56 ammo. That still leaves me with only irons on my 16" gun, but my MK18 is fully setup with a T-1 on a Larue mount. I can swap the T-1 to the 16" gun if I want to run it for a class.

The .22 cal AR is something I wanted anyway, and basically, it's a now or later decision between the 15-22 and the scope. I sort of figure Obama isn't going to ban scopes, but he might ban a high-capacity rifle, and the panic buying isn't going to help the price of 5.56 ammo. So, whatcha think?

[davidjinks]

What's more important for you?

You have 1 optic for 2 ARs. You have no backup to that 1 optic on hand.

Me, personally, I'd invest in an optic for the other AR. Keep it the same setup as your MK18 (T1 w/larue mount).

Though you don't like the reticle in your MK4, I'd suggest switching that over to your 30-06. A 1.5-5 will work just as well as a 3-9 would on your hunting rifle for its intended purposes.

In the end, you'd save some dough by only buying one optic without taking a loss on a trade (apply the savings to 5.56 ammo) and all your rifles would have optics.

Just my personal opinion though.

[djmorris]

Only you can decide which one is more important.

If you already have an optic that you can switch out then I'd go for the .22lr AR. Obama will no doubt rape the 2nd amendment very soon and I'm sure it'll include even .22 calibers, since they also have high capacity magazines. Optics probably not so much... :)

So yeah, for me I'd get the "AR22" if I already had 1 optic.

Have you considered perhaps getting one immediately, putting the other on layaway?

[Andrew Jackson]

I suggest niether, honestly. If what your wanting is just a .22 AR15 why not just get a conversion kit or alternatively, just buying a stripped lower and build whenever you can. At the least you'd be grandfathered in the system with your stripped lower if another weapons ban where to occur.

If your dead set on either or of those options I would suggest the .22 though. Iron sites are just fine!