Rifle Scopes New long(ish) range shooter - Vortex, Primary Arms, or something else?

[Danmotron]

I've been lurking around here for a while now and have found answers to all of my questions so far - so a big thanks to everyone that contributes to creating this wealth of knowledge!

I'm looking to work into the long range game and have finally settled on a Bergara HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor with a 24" barrel. Now I need to pick a scope for it, and I could use some help. I've been looking at the PST gen 2 5-25, Primary Arms plx 6-30, or Razor gen 2 4.5-27. The Razor will be pushing a little past the upper end of my budget, but I'm not ruling it out.

My local range goes out to 200, but with an extra 15 minutes driving we have a nice range that goes out to 600. So current need is out to 600, but I'd like to be able to stretch out to 1000 down the road with the same set up.

I'm hoping someone with first hand experience with the Primary Arms and either of the Vortex options could provide a direrct comparison(I haven't been able to find much info on how the PA stacks up). I'm open to other scopes, but from what I've seen so far the listed options seem to offer the best bang for the buck. Also, with military pricing it looks like the used market won't be saving me enough money to justify the (minimal) risk of buying used.

 

[10ring'r]

I use a Vortex PST Gen II 5x25x50, with the ebr-7c moa(I know, cough) reticle, on my 18" bbl .223 target upper, for 600 yard shoots. Tacks well and seems pretty clear. Works well IMO and I'm old and wear glasses.
eta: search this thread (Rifle Scopes under " I've made my decision..") and look for my tracking test and mini review. Mac

 

[anginaprinzmetal]

What's your budget?

 

[wpeach1912]

You’ll never regret spending more on glass. Can’t go wrong with the Razor unless you are weight sensitive

 

[Shankoltd21]

Look at the vortex razor from one of the vendors on this site and you will likely be able to find a really good deal

 

[CodeMonkey]

I topped my B14 HMR Creedmoor with a Gen 2 Razor from Scott at Liberty Optics. It's definitely the nicest scope I own and I don't have any complaints so far. I have a couple of other rifles, one wears an Athlon Cronus BTR and the other an Optika6 5-30x56. Those are also great optics for their respective price points. Honestly I would have been happy using the Optika6 forever if I hadn't looked through a friend's Razor, and I still prefer the reticle in the Optika6 to all of them. For my eyes, I'd rate the Razor first, followed very closely by the Cronus, and the Optika6 trailing by a little more. IMO You really can't go wrong with any of them, but the Razor just combines more features, especially for the price from Liberty Optics.

 

[koshkin]

If you can stretch your price range to get the Razor, that is probably your best bet.

That having been said, take a close look at the reticles in different scopes you are considering. Reticles make a difference, so make sure you are comfortable with what you are getting.

ILya

 

[Danmotron]

My ideal budget is $1500 or less, but I can go up a bit by cutting into the ammo budget. Is the difference between the PST and Razor night and day? This is new territory for me, previously I've only ran ar 15s and my "expensive" scopes I've put on them would be around 250. The Primary Arms intrigued me because some reviews have compared it favorably to the Razor, but I'm a bit leary of internet claims by perhaps biased reviewers. With that said I'd rather spend the extra $300 and get a Razor if that's going to be the best bet.

 

[308pirate]

My ideal budget is $1500 or less,

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

 

[Pilotscrappy]

Razor vs pst2 is night and day imo. I had the pst2 and felt like it was lacking at distance in the glass dept. I got the razor 2 and the difference in just the glass was considerably better in the razor.
If your budget us around 1500 there is no reason not to get the razor, you will be pleased with it.
I personally don't care for the primary arms variants. Their reticles seem like there primary focus is for shooting people,not precision target shooting.
The only primary arms scope that looks have way decent is there platinum series, and at its price point ,your close to razor prices.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

Check out the SH optics for sale section. There’s a BNIB Razor for $1500.00.

 

[Danmotron]

It looks like the Razor is the way to go, thanks for all the feedback guys.

 

[nagantguy]

I’m in the same boat as the OP, have high end scopes on several hunting rifles and being an AR guy could never see a $1000 or 1500 optic on a patrol or DMM rifle I knew would be best to shit and only really had to be minute of man/ metal on meat- head shot at 300 at best.
Before making the big leap with my new B14 I found a great deal on the Vortex diamondback tac.
hold the trebuchet and the flaming brimestone, I’ve found it to be decent glass with a decent not to cluttered and confusing reticle with decent clicks and won my prize for under $300 which in a tradesman/farmers WhuFlu economy was a big win as far as having dollars still in the bank forfood gas and kids.
the Razor is on the want list, I got a great deal on a rifle the B14 HMR and topped it the best I could in an unstable environment to get shooting to 600 for now.
as being a 3011, do it yourselfer make die make your own or do without type guy redundancies are trump in my book I could outfit 3 to four furled with my “good enough for now” diamondback.

 

[NewsShooter]

Athlon Ares for under 1K, Frank mentioned they have been doing tracking tests at classes and all the athlons have tracked accurately. I really like their reticles too.