I'm kind of new to optics, I've shot metallic sights most of my life. A little help would be appreciated.
Rifle is a Ruger American Predator .308, 18” barrel.
Currently using a Primary Arms 4-16 x 44 SFP with illuminated MOA reticle.
I’d like a little more magnification for being able to see antlers better. I'd like to not confuse a young buck for a doe at distance, so being able to see small buttons/spikes on a deer is what I'm trying to do.
Here's what I think is important, but if any of you see fit to steer me in a different direction, I'm all ears:
- Hunting will be the main use, occasional paper punching also, mostly just checking handload performance at 100-400 yds, but I might decide to stretch it out further at steel targets occasionally.
- Magnification that will be sufficient for what I described earlier about seeing spikes/buttons as well as possible.
- A forgiving eye box/eye relief to deal with small changes in length of pull/cheek weld that occur with thick/thin clothing or not-so-ideal shooting positions.
- I don't think MOA vs Mil will be a big deal for my uses, but I think I'd prefer to not mix units for turrets and reticles. I'm used to dealing with MOA, but I can also math, and I think all the cool kids use Mils.
- I don't know about FFP vs SFP. I've only ever shot with SFP scopes, but FFP and being able to range targets with the reticle does interest me quite a bit.
- I have no idea about what style reticle exactly, but I would think something that is not super busy would be better.
- Low-light conditions will obviously be a major thing, so light transmission is pretty important, and at least partial illumination would be nice at dusk/early morning.
- I don't know about tube diameter and objective diameter. Will it be a boat anchor if I go 34mm/50-56ish mm? Would that help with light transmission?
- Lastly, I need something that is not going to lose zero if a turret gets bumped, so some sort of locking function will be needed. I think that's pretty much standard these days, but I'm not sure.
I’m somewhat flexible on price, but the more it is, the longer it will take me to put some disposable $$ away to cover it.
Are there any suggestions for maybe a budget, a mid-range, and an upper-end scope that would fit these needs, and I can do a little looking around?