.308 AR general purpose longer ranged optic: TA11 ACOG vs VCOG

[masakari]

This is my .308 18" barreled M&P10. It's a general purpose rifle, with a slight emphasis on longer range, being .308.
Currently, I have a TA11C ACOG with red donut and 7.62x51 BDC. I'm considering selling it and moving to a VCOG 1-6X, also with a 7.62 BDC.
Thoughts on this? My main goal is to improve my long range usefulness for both target ID as well as shot accuracy. One scenario is the possibility of going hunting in Wyoming, this would be my long range companion.
But I also don't want to reduce my medium and short range usefulness. I'm used to using a BDC, and all of my other rifles have ACOGs (I'm not rich... That's probably part of the reason why), so I would definitely prefer to stick with optics with a BDC.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks guys.

P.S. I usually shoot surplus 147-150gr M80 ball, but also have some FGMM 168gr for long range. I've heard it mentioned that a 5.56 BDC VCOG might actually match those better. Insight on this would be appreciated.

[WS6]

Mk6 CMRW. The vcog is crap.

[Furbyballer]

Does it have to be a vcog? With the vcog price range you have access to decent options. Also its never too late to start learning and getting used to Mils

[JoshNC]

Kahles k16i, Nightforce ATACR 1-8, or Nightforce nx8. I have the k16i (thanks WS6) and ATACR. A couple friends have the nx8. My personal preference is the ATACR.

The ATACR reticle gives you a great reticle for hunting in WY imo. The mil based Christmas tree type with wind holds offers a lot.

Re: bdc vs. mil based reticle, just spend some time getting the dope for your preferred loads, make a dope card, shoot a lot and you’ll be just as fast as with a bdc. I had a Steiner military 1-4 as a place holder on my mws for about a year. It had the 5.56 bdc and worked well for 147gr. That said I prefer the mil based reticles of the k16i am-1 and ATACR.

As WS6 suggested, the cmr-w gives the bdc you want and has wind holds. I’m personally not that impressed with the mk6 1-6 glass and 1x. But I have a friend who likes it and shoots it well.

If you have the ability to try before you buy, I would strongly recommend doing so. Link up with m4c member or members who have the optics you want to try.

[masakari]

Does it have to be a vcog? With the vcog price range you have access to decent options. Also its never too late to start learning and getting used to Mils

No, it doesn't have to be the VCOG; however, the price range that I'm looking at is for used, and with selling my TA11 taken into consideration. The VCOG sells for quite cheap on the secondary market, and I can see some reasons for that. The brightness issue concerns me. But I like the mounting system as compared to rings.
The Leupold CMRW mentioned above seems great, but extremely expensive. Probably not feasibly affordable.
The Primary Arms FFP ACSS is one that I'm researching right now.
I'm open to other ideas.

[masakari]

Kahles k16i, Nightforce ATACR 1-8, or Nightforce nx8. I have the k16i (thanks WS6) and ATACR. A couple friends have the nx8. My personal preference is the ATACR.

The ATACR reticle gives you a great reticle for hunting in WY imo. The mil based Christmas tree type with wind holds offers a lot.

Re: bdc vs. mil based reticle, just spend some time getting the dope for your preferred loads, make a dope card, shoot a lot and you’ll be just as fast as with a bdc. I had a Steiner military 1-4 as a place holder on my mws for about a year. It had the 5.56 bdc and worked well for 147gr. That said I prefer the mil based reticles of the k16i am-1 and ATACR.

As WS6 suggested, the cmr-w gives the bdc you want and has wind holds. I’m personally not that impressed with the mk6 1-6 glass and 1x. But I have a friend who likes it and shoots it well.

If you have the ability to try before you buy, I would strongly recommend doing so. Link up with m4c member or members who have the optics you want to try.

I'll definitely research those optics, and I would love to be able to try before I settle on something.

Hey, does anyone have a chart comparing .223 55gr to .308 168gr FGMM or even 7.62 M80 147gr ballistics? I'd like to know how close these rounds are, and if a BDC for .223 could also work for .308.

[18bravo]

I have both the TA11E ACOG and the VCOG. I have used both on my Colt MARC 901 and both are great. As you know the TA11E is fixed power 3.5 and the VCOG is 1x6X which gives you more options. I switched to the VCOG because of the higher magnification, the variable power which gives me more options, and the illuminated reticle. You need to be selective in your reticle choice as the stadia lines/crosshairs may be thick which may be an issue for precision shooting, but it is fine for hunting, etc. Both are designed to use 175g bullets but I have shot both 175g and 168g with little difference in accuracy. You can't go wrong with Trijicon products, they are extremely rugged and of high quality. If you want overall usefulness in different situations go with the VCOG, if you are going for precision shooting only, as the others have explained, go with a more traditional scope.
Colt MARC 901.jpg