Armalite AR-50 (.50 BMG) with 15 MOA base

[The Heretic]

I own an AR 50.

It has the 15MOA scope mount base/rail that the AR 50 comes with - it is marked on the front of the base. These are special rails as they mount into recoil lugs in the receiver. Not easy to find them (15, 50 and 100 MOA IIRC) - I don't see them on the Armalite sight anymore. McCann makes an adjustable one that switches between 15, 30 and 45 I think, but I am guessing it would probably be about $500 (I have not been able to find a price on it yet - just going by what they charge for other stuff).

I've had this rifle for years and never shot it because I didn't have a scope and didn't have the funds to buy one that would do it justice.

So there is a pretty decent 6x20 Burris mil dot reticle scope I came across for a pretty good price, but it has only 50 MOA elevation adjustment total - so 25 MOA either way.

I need advice on whether to pass on this scope or not.

I would like to eventually (in a few years) find a place to shoot this rifle beyond 1km, but I am afraid I will run out of adjustment with the scope. Starting with 15 MOA up from the base, then another 25 MOA up from the scope, that is 40 MOA which I think gets me out to about 1200 yards?

Could I dial the scope all the way "down" to get the full 50 MOA adjustment and then go from there?

Going 15 MOA down on the scope from optic center of the scope, would get me parallel with the bore, so 15 MOA down would put me about on at 100 yards? That would give me 15 MOA plus 25 MOA or 40 MOA up.

Depending on the load, I will run out of adjustment somewhere between 1000 and 1500 yards.

Am I thinking about this wrong?

Or should I go with a scope that has 100 MOA adjustment and/or a 50/100 MOA base?

Naturally not really concerned about ranges below 500 yards. If I am hitting 10 to 20 inches high then that is okay at that range. I would like to be point of aim somewhere between 500 and 1000 yards and then be able to use the scope adjustments out to 1500 to 2000 yards before I start having to use the holdover in the mil dot reticle.

TIA

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[KKG]

 

[The Heretic]

My AR-10 wears a Leupold 8.5-25 which I would feel comfortable putting on the AR-50. I would Not feel comfortable using another brand of Scope even for this Shorter Range Rifle. I've had too much Excellent Luck with the Leupold line.

Burris makes a stout scope - as durable as a Leupold, although maybe not with the same features or optics quality.

My concern at this point is whether the range of elevation adjustment is adequate for ranges well beyond 1000 yards.

 

[Argonaut]

Burris makes a stout scope - as durable as a Leupold, although maybe not with the same features or optics quality.

My concern at this point is whether the range of elevation adjustment is adequate for ranges well beyond 1000 yards.

The only Burris I ever owned was pure junk and after repairing it twice they refused to work on it any more. It was not a cheep one either. One of there variable EER scout rifle/pistol scopes. Buy a Leupold and forget it.......unless you like a 4,000 Nickel like on my Steyr. Off course, I am partial to northwest products (and people) in general, so there is nothing wrong with Nightforce either........made in Orofino Idaho.

 

[KKG]

.

 

[The Heretic]

View attachment 397600
The only Burris I ever owned was pure junk and after repairing it twice they refused to work on it any more. It was not a cheep one either. One of there variable EER scout rifle/pistol scopes. Buy a Leupold and forget it.......unless you like a 4,000 Nickel like on my Steyr. Off course, I am partial to northwest products (and people) in general, so there is nothing wrong with Nightforce either........made in Orofino Idaho.

I've had a Burris pistol scope 2-7x for over a decade. Use it as both pistol and rifle scout scope. Never had any problems with it.

 

[Argonaut]

I've had a Burris pistol scope 2-7x for over a decade. Use it as both pistol and rifle scout scope. Never had any problems with it.

You were lucky and got a good one.....and there customer service sucks.

 

[KKG]

 

[The Heretic]

It's just my opinion, but your original post seems to be asking for opinions, and I've offered mine but all you've done is argue. Now, I think, NO, I'm SURE; you aren't going to get any more responses from me!

Ooookaaay.

I asked if the scope had enough MOA adjustment for a .50 BMG, I did not ask for opinions on the brand of scope. You brought up the brand quality and I disagreed. If you felt that was arguing then it is a free country...

I have more Leupolds (4 or 5 I think) than any other scope, my SIL used to work there as did my neighbor, so I am familiar with their quality. If they still worked there I would go for a Leupold with sufficient magnification and MOA adjustment, as I could get one for half price - but when I tried someone else always got the discounted blems before I did (I was told later that most of them got resold - the last time I tried they got resold to dealers who probably sold them without mentioning they were blems).

 

[Certaindeaf]

It's just my opinion, but your original post seems to be asking for opinions, and I've offered mine but all you've done is argue. Now, I think, NO, I'm SURE; you aren't going to get any more responses from me!

Huh, I see only one post and one response by you both respectively and don't see that at all. If I'm reading right I think the OP is asking specifically about the adjustment range of scopes.

 

[Ranoca]

I feel your pain with your dilemma, Heretic, even if I am unable to offer advice on what to choose. I've never learned about how MOA works and went with the suggested 50 MOA when I purchased my 50L. Threw a Leupold on it, but never have been able to take it to distance. Instead have had to settle for letting it bark at much shorter ranges like Brown's Camp which the scope can't adjust for.

It sounds like you have a pretty good grasp of what you need and want, certainly much better than I. Burris is good, Leupold is good, NF is good, yadda yadda yadda, hell, I'd bet even a Bushnell would be able to hold up to the tame recoil. If someone really hates their expensive scope that much, I'd be willing to accept their burden if they wanted to give it to me.

When you pick your setup and are ready to let it reach out, I wouldn't mind joining you if I'm able and you would want the company.

 

[The Heretic]

I was looking at NF scopes, but $1500 to $2500 for a scope just kept me from making the leap. Then I had a chance to get a $1K+ Leupold for half that price because it was a blem, but was too slow (I am sure the guys at the factory know a deal when they see it, grab them up and then resell them even though they have a limit on how many they can buy in a year).

When I saw a $600 Burris here on NWFA for $350 I was tempted, but then started looking at the MOA issue.

I've shot .308 at 1km with an old (1975) 2x7 Redfield hunting scope, and was able to hit an 18" gong about half the time from a prone position, using hold over, with a spotter. But I know once you go out further you get more and more drop.

When I retire I would like to go somewhere that I can take my time to setup a safe shooting spot out in the desert someplace that I can shoot beyond 1k yards and see what I can do. I think 1k is about the place to start, so I did not want to limit myself with a scope that ran out of adjustment not much further than that.

Right now it is hard to find a range within an hour of PDX that will even let you shoot .50 BMG, much less have a long distance range.

 

[Argonaut]

My brother is a huge Night Force fan. He has them on everything including his 338 TRIG long range rifle. He has been to all there long range shooting schools and thinks the world of them. He consistently hits a 6 inch dinner plate at 1000 yards. I prefer my European scopes. Swarovski (and Leupold) have been the standard for 50 BMG rifles since I shot prototype rifles built by Ronnie Barrett in the early 80's. Leupold is also the most common scope used in the military, My M24 kit includes a Leupold. I think every scoped rifle I ever shot in the schools was Leupold equipped.

 

[The Heretic]

Pending meetup, going to get a Sig Sauer Tango 6 with 80 MOA (23+ MRAD) of elevation adjustment. With the 15 MOA scope base that is barely enough; i.e., center adjustment (assumed to be parallel with the barrel) is 40 MOA, with the 15 MOA base that adds to 65 MOA of up adjustment from zero at 100 hundred yards - that would get me to 2000 yards with the flattest shooting .50 BMG ammo there is.

IIRC there is another 10 mil (~35 MOA) in the reticle I could use, but it would be better to use scope adjustment. To get out to 2600 yards where the best ammo turns subsonic, I would need 40 MOA.

American Defense makes a nice QR HD mount with 30 MOA down slope (or up adjustment depending on how you think about it).

So between the scope, the base, and the mount I should get what I want; something to take me out beyond 2k yards.

 

[The Heretic]

So I guess American Defense makes a 40 MOA mount:

American Defense MFG, LLC | AD RECON S 40 MOA Scope Mount

 

[The Heretic]

Got it.



Sig Sauer Tango 6 : 5-30X-56mm FFP 34mm tube, illuminated MRAD-Milling reticle.

I think I will start with the rings that came with it and the 15 MOA rail on the rifle. I could probably go with lower rings by the look of it, but I have an adjustable cheek rest which at its lowest will work with these rings.