What scope?

[Led0321]

Prices are close to the same and both will serve for the role I am looking for on an DD5V1

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-pst-4-16x50-ffp-riflescope-with-ebr-1-moa-reticle


http://www.burrisoptics.com/scopes/xtr-ii-riflescopes-series/xtr-ii-riflescope-2-10x42mm

[SomeOtherGuy]

Your links are incomplete and don't let us know which particular scopes you're looking at.

[Led0321]

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-pst-4-16x50-ffp-riflescope-with-ebr-1-moa-reticle


http://www.burrisoptics.com/scopes/xtr-ii-riflescopes-series/xtr-ii-riflescope-2-10x42mm

[Led0321]

Your links are incomplete and don't let us know which particular scopes you're looking at.
Fixed. Not sure why that happened

[waveslayer]

NF SHV line

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

[Led0321]

NF SHV line

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns
They are a lot heavier and I can get the other two for about half the price.

[Smokin338]

XTR II hands down ! With the 34mm tube the light is gonna be a lot better and the glass is clean...

[SomeOtherGuy]

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-pst-4-16x50-ffp-riflescope-with-ebr-1-moa-reticle

http://www.burrisoptics.com/scopes/xtr-ii-riflescopes-series/xtr-ii-riflescope-2-10x42mm

OK. I've owned both scopes, and cannot recommend either one. Ironically, for the same reason - glass quality isn't very good, even for the price range. Yes, they are feature rich, both actually have good illumination, and OK turrets, but I found clarity, or lack of it, distracting at max power in the Burris and anywhere above 13x in the PST.

Someone already suggested the NF SHV, and you said too heavy. The 4-14x56 SHV is a bit larger than these, but the 3-10x42 SHV is actually smaller and lighter, and doesn't cost much more. Since you seem to like MOA, get it with the MOAR reticle and you are all set. It is a far better scope in terms of basic build quality and optical clarity.

Other options I could recommend:

Bushnell "Elite Tactical" LRS 3-12x44: right in the same price range, better build quality than the PST and better glass than either one.

Bushnell "Elite Tactical Hunter" LRHS 3-12x44: this is actually a different scope than the LRS with similar features but a nicer elevation turret and significantly better glass quality. These can be found for an even $1000 with a little looking, and are sometimes available for as little as $900. For $1k or less this is an awesome scope, and I would take it over the SHV.

SWFA SS 3-9x42: a simple scope that doesn't get much attention, this has very good build quality and optical performance for $599.

Leupold Mark 4 3.5-10x40: an old standby that's being cancelled (or maybe already has been), this wasn't very competitive at MAP but there are many closeout offers below $1k, and in that price range it's an option. (Maybe not the best option.)

Sightron SIII 3.5-10x42: several reticle options including an illuminated MOA-hash, very good tracking and very good glass. Beware that the hash reticles are very thin and wouldn't work well for hunting or difficult backgrounds. The standard mil-dot is conventional and would be OK for those uses.

Vortex Viper PST 2.5-10x32: although I'm not a fan of the PST line overall, this is the latest and best model in the line, with noticeably good glass quality. Everything else is the same as every other PST model, which is decent but not great. It's also relatively small and light. The small objective is not much of an issue - since it has a FFP reticle, if conditions are too dark at 10x you simply go down to 9x or 8x and get enough exit pupil to use.

[SomeOtherGuy]

XTR II hands down ! With the 34mm tube the light is gonna be a lot better and the glass is clean...

1) Tube size has ZERO effect on light transmission.

2) The two I've looked through (including one I owned) had middling glass overall, and very distracting chromatic aberration issues at 10x, especially if your eye is the tiniest bit off-center. I think the XTRII line is an upgrade from the Vortex PST line in all ways, but is still in the same class and you can generally do better with other brands/lines.

[waveslayer]

They are a lot heavier and I can get the other two for about half the price.
See the post below mine. Trust me the NF SHV is way better then the two you posted. You asked I chimed in. [emoji6]

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

[waveslayer]

OK. I've owned both scopes, and cannot recommend either one. Ironically, for the same reason - glass quality isn't very good, even for the price range. Yes, they are feature rich, both actually have good illumination, and OK turrets, but I found clarity, or lack of it, distracting at max power in the Burris and anywhere above 13x in the PST.

Someone already suggested the NF SHV, and you said too heavy. The 4-14x56 SHV is a bit larger than these, but the 3-10x42 SHV is actually smaller and lighter, and doesn't cost much more. Since you seem to like MOA, get it with the MOAR reticle and you are all set. It is a far better scope in terms of basic build quality and optical clarity.

Other options I could recommend:

Bushnell "Elite Tactical" LRS 3-12x44: right in the same price range, better build quality than the PST and better glass than either one.

Bushnell "Elite Tactical Hunter" LRHS 3-12x44: this is actually a different scope than the LRS with similar features but a nicer elevation turret and significantly better glass quality. These can be found for an even $1000 with a little looking, and are sometimes available for as little as $900. For $1k or less this is an awesome scope, and I would take it over the SHV.

SWFA SS 3-9x42: a simple scope that doesn't get much attention, this has very good build quality and optical performance for $599.

Leupold Mark 4 3.5-10x40: an old standby that's being cancelled (or maybe already has been), this wasn't very competitive at MAP but there are many closeout offers below $1k, and in that price range it's an option. (Maybe not the best option.)

Sightron SIII 3.5-10x42: several reticle options including an illuminated MOA-hash, very good tracking and very good glass. Beware that the hash reticles are very thin and wouldn't work well for hunting or difficult backgrounds. The standard mil-dot is conventional and would be OK for those uses.

Vortex Viper PST 2.5-10x32: although I'm not a fan of the PST line overall, this is the latest and best model in the line, with noticeably good glass quality. Everything else is the same as every other PST model, which is decent but not great. It's also relatively small and light. The small objective is not much of an issue - since it has a FFP reticle, if conditions are too dark at 10x you simply go down to 9x or 8x and get enough exit pupil to use.
Amen brother! NF all the way!

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns