Rifle Scopes Your choice of Scopes and $800?

jdutton24

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Minuteman
Nov 17, 2011
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This is kind of a off shoot of an earlier post. Top.of my budget is 800. I'm putting this on a rem 700 aac-sd threaded barrel 20 inch. It's a 308 caliber. I currently have a primary arms 4-14x44 ffp. Im use the weapon for hunting deer and shooting paper. With the new gen 2 PST coming out I asked about deals on them and that got me looking more and I found the hst for 550 shipped. I'm torn. I skimped out once and regret it now I want something I won't have to worry about but also I'm not shooting matches either. Most of the time I'll be shooting game and paper couple three hundred max with stretching it out every now and again at my buddies farm. Do I really need ffp and illuminated reticle? Would the hst serve my purpose? I don't have a problem coughing up the extra money but don't want to unless the glass is clearer and better quality. Thank you!
 
I have your exact setup and went with a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP EBR-2C MOA that I picked up used for $825. It's performing great!

Only thing is I'm switching to same optic in Mil as that's what my shooting partner is using. Easier on us as we are shooting together.

Message me and I'd be happy to share more about my build.


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be patient and look at the classifieds here, shit will be popping up regularly with all the new shit coming out.

i wouldn't buy a gen1 pst new, when the will be flooding the used market soon
 
Bushnell Elite Tactical 3-12. I've bought two used on this site for around $600 ea. FFP, Ill Ret, 3x is plenty low enough for hunting in woods.

Edit: I'll add one more. Burris XTR 3-15. I bought one here for around $900 shortly after they came out. I bet they can be had for less now. Same features as above plus a zero-stop. It's a little on the heavy side.
 
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Athlon Ares Will be on the street for around $850. This is a very good value, esp in the $800 range.

Ares
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The Athlon Ares looks to be right up your alley, as well as the new Non-illuminated versions of the Burris XTR 2. Both are going to be very reasonably within your budget.
The Athlon Ares is a pretty new scope so there's a lack of reviews/experiences right now, but spec wise, it probably has the best offerings at the price range. I'm watching it closely.
The Burris XTR 2 is proven to be a tough and reliable scope, and a 3-15x non-illuminated model would be a great fit for you too. The non-illuminated versions just came out for this year, and take $150ish off the price tag of a regular XTR2 which is a nice deal.

As others have posted, you will probably be able to find great deals on used PST Gen 1 scopes too.

As for needing FFP, no, you don't NEED it, but in reality, we don't need a lot of things we have XD. The thing is I ALWAYS prefer FFP. There's plenty of reasons why, but I'll just sum it up by saying: even when I don't plan to use the features of the FFP, I end up appreciating it over my SFP scopes every time. Sometimes plans change, sometimes you need a scope that can do it all, and I've never regretted getting the FFP. I HAVE regretting getting SFP.

For illumination, now THAT is something I am honestly indifferent about. It's nice to have, but I never really use it. It could just be my eyes, but basically, when it gets dark enough to require using illumination, i'm probably not going to hit whatever it is I'm shooting at anyways lol. But that's just me. For hunters, things are different. You may use your rifle in different conditions that calls for illumination. It depends on your situation, and you are the best one to define the importance of illumination in that case.
 
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