I know this is probably hitting a hornet's nest/opening a can of worms here but... looking for optics recommendations for my build; no rush to pick it right now and want to make sure I'm buying once. The "best" scope I've owned to date is a Leupold VX-3 4.5-14x50... which considering it was used solely for hunting within 300 yards was more than adequate.

For this project I'm looking for something more "tactical" with a bit more magnification... I plan on shooting past 700 yards (paper/steel) and using as a long range hunting rifle (have a few places where there is open line of sight for 600 yards; which from my fuzzy math is about as far as a .260 should be used for deer sized game).

I have looked at a few options... so far the Vortex Viper PST and similar are what I'm looking at; feel free to compare quality/features.....

I'd REALLY like a Razor HD Gen 2.... but I think that is going to be out of the budget.....

Sooo... what glass in the $1000 ballpark would you go with?