New Nikon M-223 AR Rifle Scopes

Nikon’s AR line of scopes, specifically designed for AR-style rifles and the 223 Remington/5.56x45mm NATO cartridge, has grown a little larger. The M-223 1.5-6×24 BDC 600 has a 30mm tube, slightly larger than the standard one-inch tube. This allows a little more light transfer and a wider crosshair adjustment range as well. And if it’s light you’re after, this new scope can be had with an illuminated reticle.

We’ve talked about Nikon’s BDC before; it provides multiple aiming points for different distances. Well, the new 1.5x-6x scope has a BDC reticle calibrated for the 223 Remington/5.56x45mm NATO with a 55-grain bullet. In their words, it “offers shooters unique open circle aiming points at 100-yard intervals and additional hash-marks at 50-yard intervals to effectively compensate for bullet drop.”

I learned long ago that if you are going to buy a variable-power scope, it had better be a good one. Cheap variable scopes are notorious for changing point of impact when you change the magnification. I’ve never experienced that with the Nikon scopes I’ve used. As for the range of adjustment, 1.5x is great for close action and 6x is reasonable for longer ranges, depending on how much detail you need to see.

The illuminated reticle model offers buttons on the eyepiece to adjust brightness (“up to 32 different levels of intensity for the orange center dot”), and when you turn it off it remembers your last setting. A 3V lithium battery is required.

Nikon’s lifetime warranty applies, and they’re proud of the Ultra ClearCoat® optical system “that provides shooters with a bright, sharp, and incredibly flat sight picture.”

Spot On

These scopes are compatible with Spot On Custom Turrets, which we covered in this article. This would allow you to change loads and still be able to accurately shoot at long range, even without using the 55-grain ammo for which this scope was designed. A Spot On app is also available for iPhone, iPad, or Android.

Specs:

• Magnification: 1.5x-6x
• Objective Diameter: 24mm
• Exit Pupil: 4-16mm
• Field of View: 19.7-79.2 feet at 100 yds
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Eye Relief: 3.8-3.8 inches
• Objective Outside Diameter: 30mm
• Eyepiece Outside Diameter: 44mm
• Weight: 18.2 ounces with illuminated reticle, 17.3 ounces without
• Overall Length: 10.5 inches
• Adjustment Graduation: 1/4 inch
• Parallax Setting: 100 yards
• Waterproof/Fogproof: Yes
• Spot On Custom Turret: Yes
• Finish: Matte
• Reticle: BDC 600 (illuminated or not)
• MSRPs: $599.95 and $799.95 (illuminated)

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.