The Bushnell AR optics line came at an interesting time in tactical optics. For quite some time there were two options to take with tactical optics, either you paid the price for quality or you got crap. Then, all at once the optics market addressed this issue with red dots and optics from Vortex, Bushnell, and even SIG Sauer produces affordable and reliable optics. The AR optics line came around when 1-4x power scopes were really gaining traction. Now, we the Bushnell AK Optic.
The Affordable AK Optic
I’ve said it before and I’ll say again, there is a space for affordable optics for modern rifles. As the owner of multiple modern sporting rifles it is a fool’s errand to try and top them all with ACOGs. It’s cost prohibitive and simply not necessary. That is where scopes like the AK optics come in. They offer an affordable option for shooters who need something reliable, easy to use and modern for a variety of tasks. The AK Optic is an excellent choice for plinking, hunting, or diving into action shooting sports.
First Impressions
This 1-4 power optic has a 30mm tube, a heavily textured magnification ring, and focus rings. The Layout is similar to most 1 to 4 power optics. It features a small 24mm objective lens and is 11.3 inches long. The eye relief is 3.5 inches, which is a wise move on an optic designed for AKs. Since a lot of AKs have to use a side mounted scope mount you may need a little extra eye relief.
Overall the scope feels quite solid in the hand and is a bit longer than you’d expect. It does feature a ballistic drop compensating reticle. These reticles tend to be controversial, but for modern sporting rifles, and moderate ranges I find them to be pretty handy. The AK optic reticle is illuminated and the system includes a CR 2032 battery. This is also a second focal plane scope, so the BDC is only accurate at the maximum magnification, and it’ll take trigger time to compensate for the different magnification ranges. The AK Optic has 11 different brightness settings and the reticle is 3 MOA.
The AK optic seems to be a well made, easy to use optic. A full review with lots of range time is coming soon. Stay tuned, you can check out the AK optic here.