Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics newbie long range scope

OK, what constitutes "long range" varies from one person to the next but for our purposes let's say "at least" 600y". Also we're not just trying to hit game animals (though that can happen also) but more like PRS-type shooting. I'm not looking to go all in at this point so there's a hard 1K ceiling on price and less is much better. If it's really WORTH the additional cost so be it but stuff like this starts getting into diminishing returns towards the top. Hopefully that helps frame the question a bit.

New optics are coming out all the time and figuring out the best options can be challenging. I am looking at first focal plane though. As for magnification I know one "could" make do with with a fixed SWFA 10x but I'm really thinking a minimum of 15x at the top is a good idea. Any input is appreciated.

Two big options near the higher end of are the Vortex PST and BUrris XTR II...my choice being the XTR II. I have a 4-20 and it is a rock star for the cost.

Quite a few options out there, but the PST has a long track record and the XTR II is a great scope at a very good price for what your getting.

my 2 cents...

Bushnell HDMR 3.5-21x with H59 reticle or G2. A new one (if you can find one) will run anywhere from $950-$1,200. Used ones $800-$900.


Literally untouchable for that type of optic with regards to reliability, durability, tracking, and function- until you get into FFP Nightforces.


Vortex nor Burris ain't even close.

Leupold mark 4s are denigrated by many hobbyists on the shooting boards; yet the higher power models, proven over the years, are about half the weight of the "great glass" scopes.

If you are shooting F-Class, and want to win; you buy the best gear you can afford. Probably the scope best be better than your rifle if have to cut corners.

If building a walk-about rifle, for hunting rather than sniping human beings, weight is a concern. The 18lb sniper rifle is a crew served weapon with a spotter...

The 6.5-20x Leupold Mark 4 w/illum TMR reticle is a fine value, especially used. I owned a Nightforce 8-32x NXS for some time before selling it because it was just too heavy and not that much better in terms of optic quality.


Have debated buying a S&B Police Marksman, the best there is; but I have excellent 15/20 vision and do not shoot matches, nor do I need to focus on a button hole at 1500yds as my aiming point.

Having owned Zeiss scopes and Leica cameras, I understand euro glass is tuned for tonality and color balance which looks "better" to most. Is it? Not worth it to me...

An 11 pound rifle with Mark 4 optic is a great longrange tool. At about 9.5lbs with lighter barrel contour it is a fine hunting weapon capable of longrange precision.

The scope is, in the end analysis, a gunsight. How well can you shoot, from offhand? If shooting matches off bipods or full benchrest; look at what the winners used and start there. Don't fight the trend...

The Bushnell Tactical Elite Hunter LRHS, 4.5-18x 44 is another excellent option though at the very top+ of your price range.

A lot of irony here. The bolded sentence is the most important aspect of a scope, yet you spend your entire post talking about optical quality. With today's lens coatings and glass, almost every scope being made is optically sufficient for 99% of hunting and shooting. That fact renders optical performance a non-issue in all but the most demanding of low-light endeavors. Function, mechanical reliability, and durability, however, are certainly not non-issues, and are what set great scopes apart from unreliable ones. I have zero use for a scope I can't count on with confidence. If I have to constantly worry and second-guess my scope's function when in the field, hoping with crossed fingers that it'll come through for me when the chips are down, I'm doing it wrong.

I'd at least take a look at the Sightron FFP 6-24 if I were you. Mine has been perfect.