Which scope?

[jareese]

I'm going to be building my first high quality hunting rifle with a max weight of 12-13 pounds. Will mostly be used in Midwest for deer, but I will occasionally head west for Muley's and hopefully Elk.
I've been eyeing the Nightforce SHV 4-14, Burris XTRIII 3.3-18 and Vortex Strike Eagle 4-24x50. Looking for PRO's and Cons of the scopes listed, but I will entertain alternatives with decent explanations of why. (I'd like to stay around this price point)
Build will be either (haven't totally decided yet) 338 Edge, 300 PRC or Even another 300 Win Mag, with a good brake. Carbon wrapped barrel, and a lightweight Manners stock.

Thanks - looking forward to info.

 

[Hand Skills]

Well, I'll start things off I guess. Of the options you listed, the Burris XTRII would be my choice. Optics have been a bit of a merry-go-round for me the last few years. My advice is to first decide whether you want to go with FFP or SFP. I'm a FFP convert myself, I really like a reticle that matches my turrets at every magnification. Some guys like SFP because the reticle can be a bit finer at high magnification. Some guys like SFP because the reticle looks the same at minimum power. FFP reticles appear to 'shrink' as magnification is reduced. For some reticles, this can cause issues being able to see the crosshairs, but the ones I like have THICK outer bars, and those are pretty easy to pick up in low light at low magnification.

In your price range, I really like the Bushnell LRHS (discontinued) and LRTS. Also check out SWFA 4-20HD and Sightron SIII. The Vortex PST gen ii 3-15x50 has some good things going for it, including a really cool zero set.

There is a Optics subforum which you might like to dig around in, LOTS of 'what scope' topics there!

Good luck in your decision. My advice would be to ditch the carbon barrel for stainless and spend the difference on your scope. You can't hit what you can't see!

 

[jareese]

Thanks for the input @Hand Skills. I'm a long range target shooter, so I get first vs second focal plane, not really a concern as I'll be dialing, not measuring. I'm just looking for insight on scope quality and usability. I have a couple XTRii's and a PST Genii on my wife's rifle.

 

[C.O. Shooter]

C429 NXS 3.5-15x50mm - ZeroStop - .250 MOA - Illuminated - MOAR ( OPEN BOX )

C429 NXS 3.5-15x50mm - ZeroStop - .250 MOA - Illuminated - MOAR ( OPEN BOX ) reduced from $1,700.00 to only $1499.99 We opened this scope to show to a customer here in the store (he told us he wanted this specific scope so we cut the Nightforce sticker on the box showing it's a sealed new unit)...

www.longrangehunting.com

For a few dollars more. Great price!

 

[jareese]

@C.O. Shooter what is the weight on that scope compared to the others listed?

 

[C.O. Shooter]

NF - 30 oz.