Range Trip With My DDM4v7 LW

[cosmo223]

Congrats on the DD. They make a great rifle. With some practice, a better trigger and match ammo you will definitely be able to get better accuracy out of your gun. 1-1.25 MOA is definitely a realistic goal. Your groups did seem to tighten up the more you shot, so that's definitely encouraging.

As others have said, optics are always a tradeoff. It would be great if there was a perfect scope out there with a 1-8x zoom ratio, great eye box, fantastic glass, super durable, well designed reticle, daylight bright illumination, compact and lightweight. Oh and cost less than $500. You really need to decide how you're going to use the rifle and what features are most important to you.

Of the scopes I've owned an ACOG would definitely work for you. Super rugged, simple, very good glass. Pretty versatile. But not crazy about the eye relief and 4x is not enough magnification in some circumstances and too much in others. Vortex Razor 1-6x is a very nice scope. Great glass. Very rugged. Very useable at 1x. But it is very heavy. Nightforce 1-8x also a very nice scope. Fairly compact. Fairly light. It's a Nightforce, so durability won't be an issue. Not crazy about the reticle for precision shooting and I think the eye box can be pretty tight. On the other hand was just shooting the 11.5" LaRue upper I have this scope on. Was getting 85-90% hits on a 8" steel plate at 300 yards in light wind. Not exactly spectacular results, but clearly you could take this set up out to 4-500 yards with larger targets, and at those ranges you are approaching the ballistic limits of the 5.56 round. And at 1x you can certainly use this scope for shooting 50 yards and in, making it a pretty versatile scope.

[ChrisM516]

I've been alternating between the Kahles and the TA110 on range trips. I'm probably going to stick with the ACOG. It is significantly easier to get behind than the Kahles. It just doesn't seem to matter where your head is for any practical use. I don't have any issues shooting at close range with both eyes open. I've spent a ton of time trying to get the diopter set on the LPVO and just can't get past the slight edge distortion. The ACOG doesn't have any distortion whatsoever. The illumination on the ACOG is surface-of-the-sun bright (not that I need it). I will be attending a "performance carbine course" in September to see how it performs in a more dynamic environment.

[Disciple]

I've been alternating between the Kahles and the TA110 on range trips. I'm probably going to stick with the ACOG. It is significantly easier to get behind than the Kahles.

This comparison is with the Kahles dialed to 3.5X I suppose?

[ChrisM516]

This comparison is with the Kahles dialed to 3.5X I suppose?

At pretty much every magnification.

[Disciple]

At pretty much every magnification.

That is very interesting. I found that the Viper PST 1-6 has a much smaller exit pupil than the theoretical maximum for a 24mm objective, roughly 11mm at 1X, 8mm at 2X, 5mm at 4X, only reaching the expected value of 4mm at 6x. I wondered if this was due to it being on the affordable end of the spectrum, but I see that the K16i is specified to have a maximum exit pupil of 9.6mm (presumably at 1X) which is less than the 9.9mm of the TA110. Is that the scope you have?

[ChrisM516]

That is very interesting. I found that the Viper PST 1-6 has a much smaller exit pupil than the theoretical maximum for a 24mm objective, roughly 11mm at 1X, 8mm at 2X, 5mm at 4X, only reaching the expected value of 4mm at 6x. I wondered if this was due to it being on the affordable end of the spectrum, but I see that the K16i is specified to have a maximum exit pupil of 9.6mm (presumably at 1X) which is less than the 9.9mm of the TA110. Is that the scope you have?

That's a little above my head honestly. Yes, I have the K16i and the TA110 (with the green horseshoe reticle).

[ChrisM516]

I took a "performance carbine" course yesterday with Greenline Tactical. It was an enjoyable experience. Most of the drills were done between 5-25 yards with a few out to about 150. I ran the TA110. Everyone else had red dots and 1 LPVO. I felt fairly comfortable with the ACOG but I think I was a little slower getting on target and that resulted in my breaking the time limit on a couple drills that I think I could have met with a dot. I got lost in the magnification and found it difficult to get back on target right away. I was about middle of the pack overall, so would probably be fine with practice.

I still love the ACOG, however, the disadvantages are apparent at close quarters. It has the RMR mounts, so that's a possibility, or just switch back to the LPVO. Too many choices these days!

Anyways, just wanted to report back some more.

Edit: gun ran great, even when hot. Not a single hiccup in ~500 rounds.

[Hank6046]

Anyways, just wanted to report back some more.

Edit: gun ran great, even when hot. Not a single hiccup in ~500 rounds.

Thanks for the update, glad to hear everything is working as it should

[202]

Congrats on a great rifle.