Quote Originally Posted by want2ride View Post
I have shot to 1000 with my 10 and 12 power SWFA SS's and they did ok.
I have shot to 1000 with my Burris XTR2's, the 3-15, 4-20 and 5-25's all did great and are a significant step up from the SWFA's, better glass, better reticles and just as reliable tracking as the swfa's. i got them for $620, $700, $720 and $800. This scope is built like a tank and if you love SWFA's, then this is right up your alley. For the price i just love them. The down side, the early ones are not known for their glass and i have one old one that is not great. I also have one that is pretty good and two that have excellent glass. Generally the real optical snobs think that only the 4-20 is great glass, but one of my 3-15's ranks right up there with the 4-20 i have. I HIGHLY recommend this scope! These were built in the Phillippines.
I have also shot to 1000 with my Steiner P4Xi, same great tracking that other burris/steiner products have, but by far better glass than the XTR2's... if the turrets weren't so stiff it would be a slam dunk when i got it on sale for $750. It really has spectacular glass, a lighted SCR reticle, zero stop and a revolution indicator for when you are dialing past 10 MIL. I like it a lot even with the stiff turrets. This is built right here in the good ole USA in Colorado, so there is that.
I have gone to 800 with my Burris Veracity, and Athalon Ares BTR Gen1 with the gen 2 turrets I got them from expertvoice and am not supposed to disclose the discounted price, but they were both pretty good for the money. The Burris Veracity (have 3 of them) is my favorite hunting scope and very nice optional "Mad Knob" turrets, but once the zero stop is set you are limited to one revolution of the turret (25 MOA) and they only come in MOA scopes. But the E1 FFP reticle is a genius design and you can see it at low power 30 minutes after sunset (a feat that is hard to match with a non lighted FFP reticle) it uses a progressively thick reticle design, i believe it is patented and why you just don't see it on other brands. The athalon Ares BTR is just a really nice well thought out ffp target scope. I have a very late gen 1 that was made with the gen 2 turrets and they are nice turrets, but don't really hold a candle to the Burris XTR2 turrets. The glass is respectable and it is about as good as my better XTR2 glass and i really like the reticle a WHOLE LOT! Overall i really can't recommend the Veracity or the Athalon Ares BTR over the Burris XTR2 if you are looking for a target scope. Honestly i am not sure where either is built, but i want to say the veracity might be phillipines and the Ares BTR might be China.
I have shot out to 1473 yards with my Zeiss V4 Conquest 4-16x44. on my 300 WSM Savage Ultralite It shot a nice 4 shot group about a MOA, but i never measured. It has nice turrets, good glass but not spectacular like the Steiner. It is a second focal plane scope, and i generally am not a fan of second focal plane scopes. It has a ZBR2 reticle, so it is a nice Christmas tree reticle. This scope does everything well, but IMO it doesn't do anything spectacular. I also got this from expertvoice so i can't discuss price, but i have seen them around $800 pretty often. it is a very alright scope. I have shot this combo out farther than any other gun i own, but that is due to not being able to shoot some of my better guns at that distance... because i am sure i can.
I just picked up a Bushnell BMR2 from Midway for $720 and i haven't actually shot the rifle it is on yet, but it seems to have pretty nice glass and was made in the LOW factory in Japan and everything i have read tells me that this is a very low risk buy. The G3 is a super nice reticle and it has a great feeling turret (maybe not as good of feeling turret as the XTR2, but still pretty dang nice) I was thinking about getting one with the illuminated G3 reticle for $820 after i saw how nice the non-illuminated one is.
I have shot out to 1473 with my brothers gun that has a Kahles... not sure on model, but it is better than any scope i have. great reticle, turrets, nice and clear (not as clear as his steiner t5xi, but that is a fantastic scope too). It is honestly hard not to recommend a Steiner t5xi, Kahles, Revic... etc it all depends on what you need but they are all over $2k.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an extensive reply. There is much to chew on here.. and be sure that I will.

I am pretty certain that I want FFP and MIL turrets and reticule... and not a "hunting scope".

I can't really spend $2000 right now...but I could do $1000. So some of those 750 dollar jobs sound perfect!!!

I looked at a Burris XTR II once a couple of years back and it was built like a brick shit house ( thats a good thing in Texas - ha ha ), but the glass seemed dark. I am a senior citizen with old eyes and wear glasses to boot, so light is important to me... which is probably one of the reasons I have used fixed power scopes ( fewer lenses ) for so long... and lower cost and more ruggedness too.

The Bushnell BMR2 that you mention intreagues me and the price is right... Txhillbilly speaks highly of another Bushnell called the DMR2... so thats two recomendations for Bushnells that I may have to follow up closely on...

Again thank you all so much. Your advice is really educational and helpful!!!