Best LPVO for AR-15s (2024): Long Range, Defense, Competition & More
Looking to add a low power variable optic (LVPO) to your setup but don’t know how to choose?
When it comes to expanding the effectiveness of your rifle’s targeting system, mounting an LPVO to your weapon’s topside presents a very adaptable and versatile optics option. These specialized sights are designed to vastly enhance the sightline of operators in a variety of shooting scenarios, from casual plinking at the range, to competition shooting, to tactical operations.
Essentially, LPVOs offer a seamless transition from engaging opposition in close-quarters to reaching out to targets at mid range.
These LED-powered components provide a robust blend of durability, clarity, functionality, and dynamism to a rifle’s loadout that standard sights just can’t match.
In this comprehensive guide, we will do a deep dive on the many features of these sophisticated optics. We’ll also look at the best LPVO for AR-15 options currently on the market to better help you make an educated decision in order to maximize your rifle’s true targeting potential.
Of course, we’ll offer up our thoughts on the best LVPOs, depending on the need and situation you’ll be using it in.
In the words of Ozzie Osbourne, “All aboard…”
BEST LPVO OVERALL: Vortex Razor HD Gen III 1-10×24
Vortex Razor HD Gen III 1-10×24
SPECIFICATIONS:
Magnification: 1-10x
Dot Size: 0.66 MOA
Eye Relief: 3.6
Tube Length: 34mm
Weight 21.5 oz.
Battery Life: 250 hours depending on settings
Battery: CR2032
Illumination: 11 settings
Primary Arms (See Price)
AR-15 Discounts (See Price)
Brownells (See Price)
Sportsman’s Warehouse (See Price)
If you’re looking to upgrade from that singular red dot sight to the highest end LPVO option, the Vortex Razor HD Gen 3 is most certainly that. The Razor is a high performing, versatile riflescope designed for long-range precision shooting and close-quarters engagements.
Overview of Features: This 10x-power optic features Vortex’s First Focal Plane (FFP) illuminated reticle. This dot zooms out to reveal a more pronounced ringed crosshair with adjacent hash marks that account for accuracy of distance, windage correction, and bullet drop at all magnification levels.
When used at its lowest setting, the reticle looks like a bright red dot, ideal for quick target acquisition in close combat environments. At 10x magnification, the eye box is smaller, typical for high magnification but offers precise targeting over long distances. The reticle scales dynamically with magnification changes, ensuring accurate aiming information at any zoom level.
The Razor’s crisp reticle aperture is encased in extra-low dispersion, multi-coated glass, which mitigates image distortion, while providing sharp image clarity and full color fidelity in both bright and low light conditions through its 24mm anti-glare/fogproof objective lens.
As build quality goes, Vortex crafted their Razor HD Gen 3 with a 34mm sturdy and shockproof 7075-T6 anodized aluminum-tubed housing, safeguarding the scope’s internals and ensuring its durability against heavy recoil, severe environmental conditions, and rough handling in the field.
The MRAD reticle features a center dot and surrounding marks for wind holds, all at 0.2 MRAD. Major lines are set at 1 MRAD apart, with half lines at 0.5 MRAD. Only the center dot and circle are lit, blending into a single bright point at the lowest magnification, mimicking a red dot sight.
A throw lever is included, which we would recommend, when first setting it up, you take your time to carefully position to ensure full motion range and easy use, regardless of being left or right-handed.
Why we recommend it: When we took the Razor HD to the range, we mounted it on an Aero Precision M4E1 upper with a lightweight precision mount that Aero makes for this optic. The M4E1 isn’t exactly known for being a competition build, we just wanted to test the LPVO on a common upper.
What first stood out to us is that the scaling feature of the FFP reticle is particularly useful for precision shooting. The accurate markings enabled us to make reliable wind calls and range estimations without needing to adjust calculations based on the magnification setting.
We appreciated that we were able to easily manipulate the scope’s ring dial and cam in on our targets and tap them at several hundred yards out with our illuminated reticle remaining centered and holding zero, regardless of the magnification.
That said, we kept the dot brightness between 7 and 8 to avoid the possibility of reticle bloom at its highest setting; thus, the projected crosshair never concealed our targets, enabling us to consistently ping our plates downrange.
While we were able to stretch the legs of the Razor via magnification, faithfully reaching targets at 610 yards, we were able to score more surgical shots in tighter groupings at 120 yards, obviously. Not to say that we couldn’t have hit at longer distances, we were just ready to see how the Razor performed in close-quarters conditions.
At 1x, the reticle functions similarly to a red dot sight, making it suitable for both bright environments and close combat scenarios.
The Razor’s reticle remained crisp and helped us to drill our targets at closer distances during our fast-paced time trials. The user-friendly magnification dial functioned without much fuss. We may have had to reposition our cheek welds, but only minimally, as we were still able to ping steel quickly, transitioning between targets at 50-yard stretches.
The Razor HD optic remained fully operational throughout and received minor scratches to its outer shell during our CQB portion, but nothing major. And it held zero, but it’s Vortex and they make reliable optics that come with a lifetime warranty…perhaps we should have run this optic harder.
Foreseeable Drawbacks: The nature of the FFP reticle requires some adaptation when you first start using it, especially transitioning from scopes with second focal plane reticles. The smaller eye box at higher magnifications and the need for precise eye placement can be challenging but provide more exact targeting capabilities at long distances.
We did see that the Razor’s objective lens had a tendency to take a bit of a fish-eye appearance at 1x, which never caused issues in fast target acquisition, but it was noticeable. This phenomenon is probably due to the Gen 3’s naturally tighter eye-box and shorter eye relief at its highest 10x setting compared to previous generations. Either way, it’s only a minor gripe.
Also, there is no adjustment for parallax on the Razor after 100-meters, it would’ve been a welcome addition, but it’s certainly not a deal breaker given all the other area’s the Vortex Razor excels in.
Some shooters have complained about the weight distribution of the Razor riflescope, but it holds similar weight and dimensions of a Razor Gen 2.
Lastly, it’s powered by a CR2032 battery, which has a shorter life span compared to traditional red dot sights but should still be sufficient for most uses.
Bottom Line: All in all, we put the Vortex Razor Gen 3 through its paces and we’re very impressed with the results. Overall, it’s the best LPVO for AR-15s. This riflescope has an impressive range of capabilities—from long range, to competition, to close-range combat—it can certainly hold its own in nearly all shooting scenarios.
The premium price for the Vortex Razor Gen 3 is higher than other optics out there, yes, but if you’ve got the money, a lifetime warranty on a feature-rich optic scope is a purchase that’s hard to pass on.
BEST LIGHTWEIGHT 1-8X LPVO: Primary Arms ACSS Raptor PLxC 1-8×24
Primary Arms ACSS Raptor PLxC 1-8×24
SPECIFICATIONS:
Magnification: 1-8x
Dot Size: 0.5 MOA
Eye Relief: 3.5
Tube Length: 30mm
Weight 16.9 oz.
Battery Life: 250-300 hours depending on settings
Battery: CR2032
Illumination: 11 settings
Sportsman’s Warehouse (See Price)
DE Guns (See Price)
For its smaller size, the PLxC 1-8x FFP comes out swinging, as this LPVO by Primary Arms is replete with features that rival its competition.
While Primary Arms is known for its more budget-friendly American-made gun tech, the lightweight PLxC is no bargain bin optic by any means. In fact, it appears that the engineers really cut their teeth to design a compact optic that can stand against some of the more high end manufacturers in the gun game.
Overview of Features: The PLxC is equipped with a 1-8x magnification that supports fast target acquisition at 1x for shooting at close range.
The scope is designed to be a “jack of all trades,” making it suitable for both close-quarter battles (CQB) and long-distance shooting. This versatility is appealing for users who want a single optic for multiple scenarios.
What sets this Primary Arms LPVO optic apart from its contemporaries is the fact that at 1x, the image presents a clear field-of-view from its generous eye-box, which extends the sight picture out to 120 feet. Most high end LPVOs can’t reach that range on their lowest magnification setting.
Fully-coated protective glass surrounds the opic’s ACSS reticle, while enhancing light transmission and reducing glare via its 24mm anti-fog objective lens. The reticle itself is ¾ moon-shaped and zooms in to make adjacent branching hash marks more apparent that project windage, shot accuracy by distance, and bullet drop.
The 30mm tube structure of the PLxC’s build is made from 6061-T6 anodized aluminum, which is more malleable than higher-grade aerospace aluminum, but lends to the frame’s more lightweight-centric design characteristics.
The fit and finish will feel comparable to more expensive models on the market.
Why we recommend it: On the range, we tested this PA optic at multiple distances, but we’ll discuss the longer range shots first. But before we do, we have to point out that the PLxC is equipped with a parallax adjustment knob that greatly helped line up more accurate shots at longer range, which is a huge plus for us!
With this feature, we were able to repeatedly strike our metal targets on the 8x setting at 400, 500, and nearly 600 yards, respectively. We didn’t think we’d get that kind of accuracy on a compact riflescope like the PLxC, which was a pleasant surprise to us.
Having said that, the edges of the scope tended to blur a bit at full magnification, but it didn’t inhibit our aim on targets in the distance.
At close range, the reticle stayed zeroed as we quickly shifted aim on the course, cutting through multiple groups of cardboard targets. The 1x reticle remained responsive and unlike most red dot reticles, the PLxC’s brightest setting never obscured our targets with a starbursting effect.
If you’re familiar with the shake awake feature with some red dots, this LPVO has a similar feature with their auto-live motion sense technology. You can turn it up to the brightest setting, allow it to go into sleep mode, and then the moment you pick it up, it automatically turns on, so you don’t have to fumble with the knob.
We ran this PA scope pretty rough during our close range shooting tests, jostling it hard and it never missed a beat and remained optimal.
One thing we ran into during our field test was that at 1x to 4x magnification, the optic zoomed in and out without any fish-eye effect.
However, from 5x to 8x, the PLxC’s overall image resolution began to wane and soften in spots, which tightened the eye-box and lessened eye relief a tad, but not enough to deter our aim or affect the reticle’s zero position—nothing to cry about, but we did notice it.
Foreseeable Drawbacks: The price of the PLxC is actually more on the modest side compared to its higher end competitors. Moreover, Primary Arms offers a lifetime warranty on all its gear.
Some shooters have balked at the weight of this optic, but it weighs less than the competition. Battery life has always been a sticking point with LPVOs, but the batteries are relatively inexpensive.
There is some slight fisheye at the 1x setting. Although it doesn’t significantly impact fast target acquisition, it’s noticeable and might affet your visual experience, particularly if you’re sensitive to image distortion.
The lack of a parallax adjustment feature beyond 100 meters is somewhat of a limitation, especially for long-range shooting where parallax error could affect accuracy.
Bottom Line: We have been fans of Primary Arms for a long time and we were excited to test out the PLxC’s compact package and pit it against considerably higher end model optics. Did Primary Arms succeed at the task of creating a worthy optic that stood tall against the more premium aftermarket options out there? Yes.
BEST TACTICAL LPVO: Sig Sauer TANGO-6T 1-6×24
Sig Sauer TANGO-6T 1-6×24
SPECIFICATIONS:
Magnification: 1-6x
Dot Size: 0.5 MOA
Eye Relief: 3.6 in
Tube Length: 30mm
Weight 32 oz.
Battery Life: 100 hours depending on settings
Battery: CR2032
Illumination: 11 settings
GrabAGun (See Price)
Optics Planet (See Price)
Euro Optic (See Price)
Sportsman’s Warehouse (See Price)
The engineers at Sig Sauer have really come into their own with their expansive line of rifle-centric gun tech, never is that more true than with their U.S. Army-adopted TANGO-6T 1-6×24 LPVO optic.
You can choose between First Focal Point (FFP) or Second Focal Point (SFP) variants.
Overview of Features: The 6T optic’s reticle is surrounded by fully-coated protective glass and enhanced by HDX light transmission technology, which reduces glare passing through its 24mm anti-fog objective lens.
The SIG Sauer Tango6T excels with its mid-range magnification and tactical viability, offering superior target clarity and a durable design ideal for both competitive and field use.
The reticle’s unique ¾ moon or horseshoe shape, pointed stadia, and branching hash marks aid in calculating windage, shot accuracy by distance, and bullet drop, providing shooters with a comprehensive optical picture for precision shooting.
Constructed from 6061-T6 anodized aluminum, the TANGO’s 30mm tube is lightweight yet durable, striking a balance between portability and resilience.
Why we recommend it: The mount is robust, with torque specs right on it—something we appreciate as it takes the guesswork out of installation. The scope is a 30mm, standard size, so fitting it onto your rifle is a breeze. The windage and elevation caps are easy to adjust, and the scope holds its zero like a champ.
The diopter is adjustable, making it super user-friendly, especially if you’re new to scopes. You can easily tweak the reticle sharpness to suit your vision, which is a huge plus for anyone with specific eyesight needs. Adjusting it is just a matter of looking up into the sky until the reticle is crisp and clear.
Optically, this scope is clear. The half MOA adjustments allow for precise, fine-tuning which is essential at longer distances. The reticle is only partially illuminated, lighting up just the dot and a ring around it, which helps with quick target acquisition while keeping the rest of the view uncluttered.
Moving forward on the scope, the power adjustment is smooth, with a fiber optic indicator integrated into the dial so you can see your setting without shifting your gaze. We love the grip and the built-in throw lever—super handy for quick changes, though you can remove it if it’s not your style.
During our range tests, the TANGO-6T allowed us to consistently reach and tag out targets from 300 and up to 500 yards on the highest magnification, which is a stellar maintained range for the TANGO, given the wider reach of its 8-10x-scoped competitors.
Switching to closer quarters, the 6T’s reticle kept aim, as we pointed it downrange, scoring positive strikes on our targets, and further peppering on follow-ups.
The night-vision brightness settings worked as advertised and the reticle was never overcome by our light attachments.
The TANGO6T’s reticle remained responsively nimble as we quickly dialed in and out. It makes more sense to us why The Army adopted this scope for use with SOCOM.
While higher power optics serve their purpose at farther distances, they can also give off a softer sight picture, which may conceal potential targets. The Sig 6T, however, falls in that mid-range area where it’s not too powerful in terms of magnification, but it still remains tactically viable for engagement.
Foreseeable Drawbacks: We did notice that the 6T optic only accounted for parallax up to 150 meters, which is a literal sliver better than the Razor Gen 3, but such is life with an LPVO, there’s always a tradeoff in performance in one way or another.
We also noticed that the sight picture between the 6T First Focal Plane was a little less crisp than that of the Second Focal Plane 6T variant.
In terms of eye relief, there wasn’t much difference between the two, but we liked the stadia and the more pronounced reticle better on the FFP so it made the cut and onto our list.
While the 6T optic carries a premium price tag, it won a contract with the United States Military, which lends credibility to this Mil-Spec optic as a durably reliable mounted scope. Sure, at 32 oz, this Sig optic may add some weight to your rifle’s topside, but given the 6T’s track record as a AAA optic, how much is two pounds really?
Battery life is capped at 100 hours, but the batteries for it are plenty affordable.
Bottom Line: The Sig TANGO-6T is a near perfect middleground optic because it can hit targets successively both near and far, an attribute that really ramps up its tactical value in the field. Acknowledgement for quality craftsmanship and adoption into the U.S. Military certainly doesn’t hurt either.
BEST SOLAR LPVO: Trijicon TR25 Accupoint 1-6×24
Trijicon TR25 Accupoint 1-6×24
SPECIFICATIONS:
Magnification: 1-6x
Dot Size: N/A
Eye Relief: 3.9
Tube Length: 30mm
Weight 19.4 oz.
Battery Life: N/A
Battery: N/A
Illumination: N/A
Palmetto State Armory (See Price)
Amazon (See Price)
Primary Arms (See Price)
Brownells (See Price)
Okay, you may be asking, “Why not review the Trijicon 1-8×24?” Well, we liked the look and feel of the TR25’s crisp crosshair and tritium reticle more than the newer 1-8x scope. That, and more magnification options don’t usually sway us.
For a non-illuminated optic that’s only slightly brightened by a fleck of tritium, the Trijicon TR25 is proof-positive that not all worthwhile LPVOs need to have a red dot focal point at its center.
Overview of Features: This optic is of the Second Focal Plane (SFP) variety; therefore, it sports a dedicated crosshair, as opposed to tritium pencil-tip reticle atop a singular zeroed post on the TR25 FFP variant. We just appreciated the Mil-Spec nostalgia and look of the SFP more so it made our list.
For long-range shooting, the TR25 offers two reticles: the mil dot and the MOA dot, with the mil dot being preferable for its closer drop sub-tensions, making it more practical for precise shooting. The scope performs excellently at distances, maintaining clarity and accuracy.
The TR25 keeps the same loved features from the TR24 in its controls. The turrets are covered for protection and are low-profile to prevent snagging. They are marked in 0.1 mil increments for precise adjustments. The scope also features a fiber optic adjuster that allows you to control the amount of fiber optic exposed to sunlight, enhancing the reticle’s visibility.
The fiber optic tritium is securely housed between recessed coated glass that’s both anti-glare and fog-proof. This optic runs solely on ambient light, no batteries needed for this Trijicon LPVO. There are general markings on the guerilla crosshair that account for wind correction, accuracy of distance, and drop.
The TR25’s surface area is made with a durable anodized 7075 aerospace aluminum, which maintains equal parts resilience and a lightweight frame.
Why we recommend it: We were anxious to stretch the legs of this tritium fiber optic crosshair and we were able to connect at multiple ranges of 250 and 400 yards, with our biggest score clocking in at 520 yards at max 6x power.
The zoom of this crosshair was flawless and the posts at 3, 6, 9, and 12 really helped to draw us to the center focal point. There were some instances of parallax at longer ranges, but they were minimal.
At close range, we were able to take advantage of the flat, clear sight picture at 1x magnification, the sight picture was bright, the eye relief was solid, and there was zero fish-eye effect, which aided us in zeroing-in on our cardboard targets and making short work of them on our run and gun. The zoom dial of the TR25 was smooth and responsive and the tritium reticle was constantly dialed in at zero.
What about night-vision? On its own, the TR25 is dead in the water because it uses ambient light to actuate the tritium reticle. So, we attached a far reaching flashlight to our AR rifle’s frontend and added some lead to our steel-plated targets at dusk—it was a great time!
We skipped submersion for this Trijicon optic because no batteries means no loss of power. We did put the TR25 through a drop test and barely a scratch to be had, some light abrasions, but no noticeable gouging to the optics surface, and it held zero.
We did notice some parallax shift at longer ranges, given the TR25 only adjusts for parallax up to 100 meters, but it was minimal and never kept us from reaching our targets downrange.
We also saw that under shade, the tritium reticle becomes practically translucent, so we just avoided standing under shade altogether when taking aim.
The fiber optic tritium has a half-life of 10 to 15 years, once it degrades, the reticle is dead. Luckily, Trijicon has a warranty for a replacement should it become inoperable before the 10-year mark.
Foreseeable Drawbacks: The Trijicon TR25 is a premium Mil-Spec optic sight, but it’s actually not that much, given the the price of more premium options out there. If you’re not interested in illuminated reticles or stocking up on CR2032 batteries, perhaps the TR25 is more your speed—it’s worth the money.
The fiber optic tritium utilized by this optic has a half-life of 10 to 15 years, once it degrades, the reticle is dead. Luckily, Trijicon has a warranty for a replacement should it become inoperable before the 10-year mark.
The adjuster is bulkier than necessary, which seems like an oversight given the reticle’s small size. The magnification dial isn’t as smooth as some might like, but it still moves with relative ease.
Bottom Line: While it’s strictly solar operated and comes without an option for laser/LED illumination, the Trijicon TR25 is still a rock-solid optic, one that we can’t recommend enough! And when you’ve got an amazing track record—and Trijicon certainly does—you’re allowed to make your own rules when it comes to what can be classified as an LPVO.
BEST LIGHTWEIGHT 1-6X LPVO: Leupold VX-6HD 1-6×24
Leupold VX-6HD 1-6×24
SPECIFICATIONS:
Magnification: 1-6x
Dot Size: 1 MOA
Eye Relief: 3.7 in.
Tube Length: 30mm
Weight 13.4 oz.
Battery Life: 200 hours depending on settings
Battery: CR2032
Illumination: 8 settings
Optics Planet (See Price)
Amazon (See Price)
Palmetto State Armory (See Price)
Euro Optic (See Price)
NOTE: This VX-6HD optic is available with either a red or green fire dot. For this review, we opted for the illuminated green dot.
As with most anything from Leupold, you’re going to get a quality product. One of their offerings on the LPVO front is the razor-sharp, lightweight VX-6HD green dot reticle scope. First off, the amount of vivid clarity in sight picture is superb. That, in conjunction with a generous eye-box and the stellar level of light transmission, we knew right away that Leupold had developed a banger of an optic.
Overview of Features: The illuminated green dot reticle of the VX-6HD is housed behind Diamondcoat ion coated, anti-glare/fogproof glass which, in conjunction with Leupold’s own Twilight technology, promotes excellent light transmission throughout the unit’s 30mm 6061-T6 anodized finish.
What really sets the Leupold Patrol 6HD apart is its Custom Dial System (CDS) with Zero Lock (ZL2). This system lets you adjust elevation easily, with tactile feedback on each setting. You can lock your zero setting by pushing in a button, which pops out to lock when you return to zero. This is great for ensuring your settings stay put even in rough conditions.
The reticle sits at the center of cross posted stadia, which easily draws shooters to its center. The branches below the reticle estimate for wind correction, accuracy of distance, and bullet drop, ensuring longer range precision.
The CMR2 reticle in this scope is straightforward—a crescent with a center dot as the main aiming point, which is also the part that’s illuminated. The illumination automatically turns off after 5 minutes of inactivity to save battery, but it wakes up the moment you pick up the rifle. This is incredibly handy and ensures the reticle is ready when you are.
Why we recommend it: Our first impressions of the VX-6HD were solid. The considerable eye-box size gave us a crisp sight picture of the distance at 1x, with fractionally noticeable fish-eye along the glass’ edge, which we were okay with because the focal point at the center remained undisturbed.
This scope’s specialized glass generated a lot of bright ambient light, even without the reticle being active, it was impressive! This expansive Leupold optic also offered ample eye relief, which we liked a lot.
At long range, we were able to faithfully ping targets at 400 yards and the scope still sent lead downrange for positive impacts at 560 yards at 6x power. We put the reticle at its highest setting because in direct sunlight the illuminated green dot seemed to disappear at lower brightness settings from further away.
At closer range, the dot was far more visible at lower settings, pointed towards our steel plates, which we were able to strike at from multiple angles during our time trials. We turned the green reticle off as a challenge to ourselves. We only utilized the T-post markings in the 3, 6, and 9 positions of the scope’s grid to line up our shots and we were still able to hit with repeated accuracy, which we were certainly satisfied with.
The green reticle proved it was far more intuitive light source during our night-vision setup, it was easy to maneuver with it, and the reticle shined brightly throughout, zeroing our targets with no issues.
One of the things we liked about this LPVO is that you can customize the elevation dial specifically for your load, which means all your marks can be precisely aligned with your bullet’s trajectory. Although this scope typically comes set for shooting an M855 5.56 NATO load, you can tailor it to other types of ammunition as well, thanks to the CDS. This flexibility is a big plus for shooters who use various types of ammo.
Foreseeable Drawbacks: We noticed that the green reticle isn’t exactly what we would consider to be daylight-bright unless it’s at its peak. In direct sunlight or surrounded by greenery, the reticle has a tendency of getting washed out.
With such an expansive and forgiving eye-box and the stabilizing crosshair posts surrounding the reticle, there’s really no issue in terms of overall aim on targets, just something we noticed during our evaluation.
Although the green reticle couldn’t hang in direct sunlight unless it was at its highest setting, it does work and it didn’t keep us from drilling targets. But this reticle color may not work for every shooter, which is why there’s a red firedot variant available.
The price of this Leupold scope is considered premium, but Leupold offers a lifetime warranty for all their gear, so you really can’t go wrong.
Bottom Line: Even with the shortcomings of the green reticle in direct sunlight, we still have a lot of praise to heap on the Leupold VX-6HD, the clarity of the glass was second to none. What’s more, the lightweight VX-6HD comes in at 3 oz less than the compact PA PLxC 1-8x, while practically sharing the same dimensions.
We’ve been pretty impressed with Leupold’s gear lately, and with the VX-6HD, they’re just proving that when it comes to gun tech, they do it right.
BEST BUDGET LPVO: Swampfox Arrowhead 1-8×24
Swampfox Arrowhead 1-8×24
SPECIFICATIONS:
Magnification: 1-8x
Dot Size: 1 MOA
Eye Relief: 3.5
Tube Length: 30mm
Weight 17.5 oz.
Battery Life: 3,000 hours depending on settings
Battery: CR2032
Illumination: 12 settings
Amazon (See Price)
Optics Planet (See Price)
Natchez Shooting (See Price)
The Swampfox Arrowhead LPVO has been making waves in the gun community for its feature-rich build at a budget-friendly price. Designed for tactical operators and competitive shooters, making the Arrowhead 1-8x a suitable choice for CQB or smacking targets at longer distances.
Overview of Features: The Arrowhead’s reticle is housed behind coated fogproof/anti-glare glass, which is surrounded by a 30mm 7075-T6 aluminum anodized tube. The ¾ moon-shaped reticle we used was MOA and sits by itself at the center without posts or stadia. The reticle hash marks are present to account for wind, distance accuracy, and drop.
The Arrowhead is a second focal plane optic, which is generally more affordable. The reticle’s bullet drop compensator only activates at maximum magnification, which works perfectly for the ranges we typically shoot. The diopter adjustment is user-friendly, allowing clear focus tailored to individual eyesight, and the generous eye relief and eye box enhance user experience at various magnifications.
The large brightness knob offers 12 settings, with off positions in between, allowing for precise control over the reticle’s illumination. Though turning the knob requires a bit more effort, it ensures that you won’t accidentally change settings in the heat of action.
The optic also includes a metal speed lever integrated into the magnification ring, making adjustments quick and easy without obstructing any mounted accessories.
Why we recommend it: First things first, the reticle brightness on the Swamp Fox is decent under overcast or dusk conditions, lighting up in a bright red that helps with target contrast. However, in full sunlight, the reticle’s illumination might struggle a bit against dark backgrounds.
Despite this, the black reticle design is thick and clear at 1x, making it perfectly usable even without illumination. It features a donut design, which helps in bracketing targets with its 12 MOA circle and internal crosshairs.
The glass clarity is top-notch for a budget scope. Whether you’re looking through the center or at the edges, the clarity competes well with more established brands like Primary Arms or Atibal, especially when you consider its price point. What sets it apart is the impressive field of view at 122 feet at 1x — a standout spec that offers a wider visual range than many competitors.
We have to say up front, the glass on the Arrowhead was surprisingly vibrant given its budget price point with an exceptional light transmission through the 24mm objective lens. The eye-box was also quite generous, as was the eye relief. There was a bit of fish-eye at 1x, and the sight picture is not as flat as they are with higher end optics, but for the price, the Arrowhead looked excellent.
From the standpoint of mid to long range, we were able to pelt targets at 8x power from up to 440 yards, which given the NX8’s limitations at longer ranges is right in that ballpark, which we were very happy with.
At close range, the Swampfox Arrowhead reticle wasn’t daylight bright, but it was serviceable, but we did run into some lighting issues, but we’ll get into that in a while. For the most part, we were able to tap our targets at various angles and distances during time trials and run and gun patterns.
What we did notice about the reticle is that in direct sunlight the dot at the center of the ¾ moon can become indistinguishable due to its low-light crimson color. We shut the reticle off and found that the blackened reticle was easier to see at times. It seemed to us that the Arrowhead’s reticle would work nicely in a low light environment.
Foreseeable Drawbacks: Some shooters have taken issue with the weight, reticle thickness, and the illumination brightness of the Swampfox Arrowhead 1-8x. Well, consider it’s budget-friendly price and you’ll understand.
The entire reticle illuminates when activated, which might not be preferable for all users. Some might prefer only the center dot or a minimal portion of the reticle to illuminate to avoid overwhelming the sight picture.
Lastly, the magnification ring and the brightness knob are somewhat stiff, which might make adjustments more challenging during quick, reactive situations.
Bottom Line: The Arrowhead 1-8x LPVO optic is a budget sight, yes. Is it perfect, no, but for one or two things Swampfox got wrong in the Arrowhead’s design, they sure got a whole lot right—including the price.
BEST COMPETITION LPVO: Nightforce NX8 1-8×24
Nightforce NX8 1-8×24
SPECIFICATIONS:
Magnification: 1-8x
Dot Size: 0.2 MRAD
Eye Relief: 3.75
Tube Length: 30mm
Weight 17 oz.
Battery Life: 200 hours depending on settings
Battery: CR2032
Illumination: 12 settings
Amazon (See Price)
Primary Arms (See Price)
Brownells (See Price)
Sportsman’s Warehouse (See Price)
Nightforce riflescopes have always been well regarded for their sleek craftsmanship, reliability, and accuracy and the NX8 1-8x continues that trend.
This NX8 FFP optic is certainly a unique animal because at 8x magnification, it’s built for the farther side of mid range. And the NX8 can hit targets at various distances with no problems; where this optic absolutely shines, however, is at close range, but more on that later.
Overview of Features: The illuminated red dot reticle is sealed behind coated anti-glare/fogproof glass. The 30mm 6061 anodized tube allows exceptional light transmission between the eyepiece and the 24mm objective lens.
The NX8F1 is a specialized tool. It’s fantastic for someone who wants a lightweight, powerful scope that’s easy to handle and provides clear visuals at various ranges. It’s less suited for those needing wide views or who shoot in unconventional positions where a forgiving eye box is necessary.
The NX8’s reticle sits at the center of a sharp T-shaped stadia and at full magnification, minimalist hash marks for windage, distance accuracy, and bullet drop are presented.
Why we recommend it: This scope’s illumination is top-notch, matching the best in the market. You don’t even need to crank it up to full power for it to be visible in daylight. This makes it ideal for both up-close work and identifying distant targets quickly.
Flipping through the magnification levels is effortless, thanks to the included power lever. You can switch from one to eight power smoothly, which is crucial for fast target identification.
We were able to make continual impact with our targets at 300 and 400 yards, not bad, right?. The optic’s stadia drew our gaze into the reticle at the center and helped to set our point of aim.
The glass quality is excellent, comparable to other high-end optics like the Vortex Razor Gen 2. You can clearly see targets up to 500 yards away. However, at longer distances, the reticle might start to dominate your view, which could obscure smaller targets.
At closer range, however, the Nightforce NX8 was a beast! The daylight-bright red dot was crisp and zeroed on our targets efficiently.
The eye-box at 1x presented a flat, high resolution sight picture, which helped us immensely in aiming and putting multiple holes in cardboard targets in strafing patterns from distances of 35 to 150 yards. Moreover, the eye relief at that first power was more than sufficient.
We suggested towards the beginning of our recommendation that the Nightforce NX8 was a better close range optic because it received high marks in our CQ drills. In fact, the 1-8x optic was absolutely surgical during the run and gun section of our field test.
Foreseeable Drawbacks: While the NX8F1 has many strengths, it’s not perfect. The field of view and eye box are pretty narrow, especially when fully zoomed in. This might make it tricky to use if you’re not positioned perfectly behind the scope. Also, at higher powers, the reticle can seem too large for distant targets, potentially covering too much of what you’re aiming at.
When we were shooting targets at longer distances, we noticed that not only was the eye-box increasingly tight, the zoomed in reticle was wider than our targets at 500 yards.
We couldn’t see them well enough to set up our aim, which caused us to shoot too high or too low, or miss the target entirely. The NX8’s doughnut-shaped, 8x magnified reticle just didn’t work for us at expansive distances of over 400 yards.
The premium price for Nightforce gear has always been a sticking point with shooters, but the manufacturer offers a warranty covering defects in manufacturing. And given the prices on other options on this list, the NX8 isn’t that far off in price. For us, this optic was better in CQB than it was reaching across longer distances. If you’re looking for a home defense ordinance or competition optic, look no further than the NX8.
Bottom Line: To us, the Nightforce is not a distance optic sight, it fits far better on the mount of a patrol rifle, or as a competition mount in a 3-gun tournament, or in home defense. The NX8 has that “up close and personal” quality to it, which is exactly why we like it.
Final Thoughts on the Best LPVO
And there you have it. Our thoughts on the best LPVO’s on the market today. While there are many that will do the job well, we think the Vortex Razor HD Gen III 1-10×24 is the best.
Of course, this list can change over time. We’ll update it as new models are released.
Did I miss any LPVO’s that you prefer? What have you had the most success with? Let us know in the comments.
Aaron Basiliere is a staunch 2A advocate, a firearms researcher, and one of the principal content creators here at CAT Outdoors. He has written in multiple professional capacities for the last 16 years. He has a BA in English Writing from the University of Wisconsin. When not writing for CAT Outdoors he enjoys drinking coffee, watching documentaries, and spending time with his family and friends.
![The 7 Best Glocks of 2024: [Home Defense, Concealed Carry & More]](https://catoutdoors.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Glock-17-Gen-5-1-768x477.png)
![Best AR-15 Accessories & Furniture [Stocks, Grips, Bipods & More]](https://catoutdoors.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Best-AR-15-Accessories-Furniture-1-768x512.jpg)