I have owned most of the scopes being discussed here. I can offer my opinion: all are nice in this price point.....because they are all the same scope, basically. They are all made by LOW in Japan. Same scope with slight tweaks that each company specs. I currently have the PA Platinum on a 16” gasser. It’s a fantastic scope. Excellent glass for the money. Between the PA and the Trijicon, I’m a fan of the ACSS reticle. It is SUPER accurate in its drops, and the reticle allows you to range unknown distance targets very well. There is a range line in the scope, and the horizontal lines at the different distances are scaled to be 18” at the given distances. 18” is the “average” width of an adult male across the shoulders. So it lets you range standing, OR if you can only make out shoulder width, you can range using that. VERY accurate for “minute of man” hits out to 600 or so. The Burris is also a good scope, it should be....it’s almost identical. The reticle is different, and idk if it does quota as much as the PA ACSS, but it’s not bad.
Once you step into the NightForce, you’re changing gears in all categories. Better glass, better illumination, durability that is insane (not that I ever broke my PA or my XTRII) just saying that I would take my NX8 or ATACR 1-8 to hell and back and never worry. The center dot in the reticle on both of the NF offerings is a little bit large for true “precision” work, as it’s a BIT over 1moa. However, it’s red dot fast up close, and VERY capable of hitting bad people doing bad things out to the limits of a 1-8 capabilities. The NX8 has a smaller eye box, that’s to be expected with a 1-8 that is smaller than many 1-4’s though. I have zero trouble running my NX8 every bit as fast as my Aimpoint T2 up close, but the ability to flip it over to 6 or 8, lay down, flip out the bi-pod legs and shoot to 600yds is amazing. Also, if you hold for distance, say 5mils at 600yds, you’re using smaller lines than the big center dot, and precision gets a little easier. Center dot is 0-200yds, hold after that.
You can’t make a bag decision on all these scopes, IF it were me.....wait....I did this......save for the NX8. You won’t regret it.