The ACOG scope is one of the most advanced optical systems on the market. Also known as the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight the ACOG was designed for tactical use. Designed around the AR platform ACOG’s were initially made for police and military use. Widely issued by the U.S. Marine Corps and Army the Acog has only recently bounced into the civilian market. Backed by years of widespread acceptance in the military, ACOG’s are becoming much more popular in the firearm industry.
Trijicon ACOG scopes have been thoroughly embraced by the AR15 community. Widely purchased by Law enforcement, military and civilians alike Trijicon has taken over the ACOG market. Though the ACOG isn’t the best scope for everything it is extremely versatile. You can feel confident mounting a Trijicon ACOG on anything from your hunting rifle to your Competition AR15 Rifle. While ACOG scopes aren’t meant for precision shooting they’re even good out to a few hundred yards.
What’s The Best ACOG Scope For an AR15?
1. Trijicon ACOG M4A1
If you are looking for the absolute best ACOG Scope on the market you have to buy a Trijicon. Whether or not you can afford a Trijicon is another question. Luckily for the civilian market after military adaptation prices have dropped considerably. What you get for your money is one of the best tactical sights on the market.
Trijicon offers a few more expensive ACOG scopes, but the M4A1 is easily the best bang for your buck ACOG out there. Looking at the Trijicon ACOG you can quickly see why they’re the best. Designed specifically for the US military you aren’t going to destroy this optic. The battle proven Trijicon ACOG was built to be abused. As much as taxpayers want enlisted men to be careful with expensive equipment that’s not often the case. Any piece of military equipment has to be designed to go through hundreds of hands and lots of abuse. That’s why the Trijicon ACOG was built to be nearly indestructible. Honestly you would have to try to actually break a Trijicon ACOG. The fixed 4x magnification not only gives the M4A1 just the right amount of magnification the fixed nature makes the glass less prone to break.
One of the best features of the Trijicon M4A1 is that it was designed to be used with both eyes open. Trijicon designed the ACOG to be used with their Bindon Aiming Concept. Aiming with both eyes open effectively allows the shooter to quickly switch from close range to long range. It gives you the quick speed effectiveness of a red dot while allowing you to easily reach out a few hundred yards. The Trijicon ACOG really does have the best of both worlds.
The absolute best thing about this ACOG scope is the fixed 4x magnification and the reticle. It really does have one of the best reticles on the market. It was designed so that you can get on target quickly regardless of the distance. The oversized crosshairs naturally draw your eye to the amber colored reticle. The amber reticle really improves your target acquisition speed(comparable to a red dot). You don’t even need to worry about changing the batteries. Trijicon chose a combination of fiber optics and tritium vials to create a bright battery free aiming point. Without relying on electronics and a battery makes this sight reliable in the toughest combat conditions on the planet. The forged aluminum body utilizes aerospace seals for a 100% waterproofing design. Designed for the exact specifications of the navy seals you won’t have to worry about damaging this optic. If you do somehow manage to damage it Trijicon offers a 15 year materials and workmanship warranty. At this price I would have liked to see a lifetime warranty, but tritium reduces its brightness after 15 years so it’s to be expected. If you are looking for the absolute best ACOG on the market you have to get a Trijicon. None of the cheaper options come close to the Trijicon quality standards.
2. Trijicon ACOG .300 Blackout Reticle
Due to the popularity of the 300 blackout cartridge Trijicon built a heavy duty ACOG. Built to withstand the heavy recoil of the 300 blackout this acog has rapidly gained acceptance from the nations best tactical, competition, and hunting communities. You can buy the .300 Blackout ACOG with a red, green or Amber Reticle. Personally the red reticle is my favorite since I’m used to my other red dots.
The Trijicon .300 Blackout ACOG was built with a heavier design than the traditional ACOG. Built to withstand extremely heavy recoil this optic can be placed on just about any rifle. Due to the increased strength of the platform it costs a little more than the traditional sight. The nearly indestructible sighting system relies on a 3.5x35mm magnification. Notice that the magnification is slightly lower than the above sight. That being said the difference really isn’t noticeable at 100 yards. Trijicon chose a forged aluminum housing that is 100% waterproof and fogproof. The optic is completely made in the USA and backed by Trijicon’s 15 year warranty. The major difference between this sight and the above Trijicon ACOG is the reticle. The reticle is specifically designed to be used with the .300 blackout round and the reticle has markers to compensate out to 600 yards. If you are looking for one of the strongest Trijicon ACOG’s on the market buy the Trijicon ACOG for .300 Blackout.
3. Monstrum Tactical 4×30 Ultra Compact ACOG Scope
There really is no moderately priced alternative to the Trijicon ACOG. You either buy a Trijicon ACOG or you get one of the many cheap knockoffs. Quality really is all over the map when buying an ACOG Clone. Just because it looks like a Trijicon doesn’t mean it’s going to be good. Luckily Monstrum Tactical created a cheaper alternative that’s durable enough for most civilians.
Looking at the specs on the Monstrum Tactical Ultra-Compact Rifle scope you can see that it is clearly an imitation of the Trijicon ACOG. For the price you’re obviously not going to get a Trijicon, but is it durable enough to put on your rifle. I personally wouldn’t put it on the rifle I practice with a few times a week, but I have a few of these on my loaners and I’ve never heard anyone complain. My father actually went out and bought one for his last budget AR15 build. It really is a nice fixed magnification scope for the price. This Ultra Compact scope provides a crisp sight picture for the price. I wish it had a little longer eye relief since one of my regular shooting partners is 6’7″ but a 2.5″ eye relief is fine for most people. Monstrum Tactical’s 4x fixed magnification really does look clear. You’ll notice that fixed glass optics tend to have much clearer sight pictures. The reticle even illuminates with a red or green color with multiple brightness settings. Unlike the above Trijicon this sight uses one 3V CR2032 battery which is easy to change. Monstrum Tactical claims that this sight is 100% Waterproof, Shockproof and Fogproof. Due to their limited 1 year warranty that’s hard to believe(I wouldn’t test my luck). If you don’t have the extra cash to drop on a Trijicon ACOG this sight from Monstrum Tactical is a great cheap alternative.
4. TACKSPORT ACOG Scope
The Tacksport ACOG Scope is a clear imitation of the Trijicon optic. Honestly I have no idea how this scope doesn’t fall into patent infringement territory. It seems like this ACOG is the only optic that this company makes. Personally I don’t have a lot of experience with this ACOG other than talking to a few people who use these at the gun range. A good rule I live by is never trust people you talk to at the gun range. The way my accountant talks at the gun range you would think he was an ex navy seal.
The first time I saw someone with this optic at the gun range I though it was a Trijicon ACOG. From a distance they look exactly the same. After talking to the guy for a minute and getting a closer inspection you can tell it’s a cheap clone. It really does have the exact same look as the above Trijicon. Down to the fiber optic tube on the top of the sight. After talking to him for a minute he seemed to really love this sight. He let me play with it a little bit and I was actually somewhat impressed. For a cheap reproduction it’s actually not half bad. You can see where the seals aren’t nearly as good and he complained about the turret. Actually the glass and reticle is the best thing about this sight. The fixed 4x magnification glass was surprisingly clear for a knockoff. It even uses a red illuminated reticle that looked impressive. Obviously this sight is nowhere near the quality of a Trijicon, but it was a surprisingly impressive knockoff. I would honestly never buy this scope for the price, but a lot of people seem to be happy with them. If you like the look of the Trijicon ACOG but don’t have the cash this sight is one of your only options.
What’s The Best ACOG Scope For Your AR15?
If you’ve never tried an ACOG Scope it’s hard to explain the benefits of using one. I use a Trijicon ACOG on a few of my high dollar AR15s and really like the change of pace they offer. I love how fast you can switch between close up shooting and 100+ yards. Most of the time I run with an Aimpoint Micro T-2, but the additional magnification makes the ACOG a great alternative. My times are a little slower in close quarter shooting with the ACOG, but the 4x magnification more than makes up for it. There really is only one true ACOG sight and that’s a Trijicon.