Tries to do too much... - SIG SAUER TANGO-MSR 1-10x26mm Rifle Scope, 34mm Tube, First Focal Plane (FFP)

There are a lot of things to really like about this scope. It comes with decent lens covers, and the mount that's included really isn't that bad. The glass is good for this price point. The finish is nice. The scope has the feel of a quality product. There's lots of magnification. It also fills a niche: it is an FDE scope that isn't super-cheap or super-expensive. And yes: I bought this because I wanted a better than average LVPO that was (sorta) FDE.

But for me, the cons outweigh the pros. Though this is really trivial, the scope isn't FDE: it's SIG's bronze/FDE combo color that only matches other SIG products. That's fine, but just know it's not really FDE. The scope is built like a tank: and tanks are large and bulky. I don't mind some weight to an AR, but I think this scope is too big for a 5.56 gun. The difference between 30mm and 34mm tubes may be more significant than you realize.

Perhaps the worst problem for me pertains to eye relief: you will need to have your eye the perfect distance from the lens to get the most out of this scope. This scope is not generous in that area, and it makes quickly acquiring targets more of a chore than I'd like. I imagine you can practice with this scope and get really good with it, but I want something more forgiving. The magnification at 10x is suboptimal, but if you have any experience with LVPO's in this price range that won't surprise you. As I mentioned earlier, the glass is good: but it's certainly not stellar.

This scope has a lot of features, but they're things I just don't need: or, in some cases, they're things that just aren't done particularly well. I thought it would be nice having 10x magnification, but it's not needed for an AR. If you're using 10x magnification a lot, I recommend trying a 30mm 3-12 scope with offset irons/offset red dot. For me, what's needed is less weight and more generous eye relief. I would gladly trade magnification for those things. Thus, it was a real relief (get it??) when I sent this scope back to OpticsPlanet and put my cheap, old 30mm 1-6 OPMOD Strike Eagle back on my AR. The Strike Eagle is very similar in overall capability, but it's lighter, less bulky, and it's paid for.

With my store credit, I'll be buying an Eotech with a 3x magnifier. It's not my favorite system, but it works well for what I'm doing: making very quick transitions inside 300 yards. In my experience, Eotech magnifiers are also somewhat lacking in the eye relief department, but I'm doing most of my work with the red dot anyway. And that brings us to the final blow for the SIG: the illumination is no substitute for a red dot, and it's just not awesome at 1x magnification. With the Eotech, I'm sacrificing magnification for a lot more toughness, less weight, less bulk, better glass, true 1:1, and much quicker transitions. That's a good trade (though the Eotech system is, of course, more expensive). Oh, and the Eotech is actually FDE... you know, if that matters to you.

In summary, this scope tries to do too much. It can do more things than most scopes, but it doesn't really do any of those things extremely well. It amplifies all the shortcomings of LVPOs. And I really like LVPOs, but for me the ideal LVPO is 1-6 (or even 1-4), it's light, it has bright illumination, and my head doesn't have to be in a tiny box to get a clear picture. Though ambitious, the Tango fell flat for me.