Vortex or ?

Vortexes are quite good. SWFA as well. But remember, money spent on a good scope is a drop in the bucket compared to ammo cost over time, and a good scope is something that'll last forever. Might be worth it to shell out for a high-end scope. And why not on a stock rifle? If the rifle shot well enough I wouldn't hesitate to pay for a NF or S&B (provided I could afford it).

Guys here seem to like the SWFA scopes, I am looking for a scope for my 1,000yd rifle build, and I am almost settled on a 16x fixed power SWFA on a 300WSM Savage platform.

Heard lots of good things about Vortex, got a Viper PST FFP for my PTR. Few more widgets on it than i had planned for when i started shopping, but the glass is good, the widgets all work as advertised, and after using them i'm getting spoiled. Is it the best available? No, but it's all the scope I'll ever need, and i got a good price (call up Scott at Liberty Optics, tell him you're on THR, he'll treat ya right). And if the scuttlebutt is true, if it ever breaks, Vortex will be more than happy to resolve the issue.

Best scope - by far - that i've ever owned, but that's not necessarily saying much. Myself and most the people i know are too poor for the truly high-end stuff.

Vortex is good. I like the Nikon Buckmasters scopes. I have 5 of them.

Liberty optics is who I got my Vortex through and he gives 10% off to THR members....saved me 50.00...shipped free too...But i just like Vortex scopes they are very high quality scopes and they could charge more than they do but they dont...net yet at least

I own 3 Vortex Viper scopes. Two 2-7x32 W/bdc and a 6.5-20x50 W/ target Dot they are great scopes, Very close To the Leupold VX3 scopes for way less money and as good a warranty.

Check out Sightron scopes they make a very nice 4-16x42 TD for just a little over $600.00 It's the SII Big Sky model.

vortex are great optics back by even better people. I have 2 razors and a pst and i run them all hard. If anything does go wrong scott or sam will hook up right up.

I've been pleased with several Vortex products, but not their lower end products. With a $600 budget I'd be buying a Zeiss Conquest though.

I have a Vortex Viper PST on my SPS Tactical AAC-SD, it works great.. I also love the Bushnell Tactical Elite, I have one on my 50 cal. and love it too. You can never buy "too good of a scope" IMHO. Leupold and SWFA are grat choices also...

For the price and features/quality I believe a Nikon Monarch 4-16x42SF would be almost perfect for what your looking for. I've always had good results from my Monarchs and when your punching paper a side focus/adjustable parallax is a must. Vortex is great scopes, I've had a couple of Vipers and I've had no complaints what so ever. But for something like a Viper PST you're really pushing that $600 limit. IIRC, My 4-16x50 Viper PST was $700 or maybe a little more while the Monarch cost $400.

I run a Vortex Viper PST FFP on my Savage .308. Good glass and nice features. Used it in a precision rifle course and it was great. Can't comment on the lower end Vortex units, haven't tried any of them.

The lower priced Vortex are good achoices. The glass isnt quite as good, but still a very nice scope. The warranty is a plus too.

i have a vortex viper pst ffp on my 700p .308. i also have a swfa ss 10x42 sf on my cz455 .22.

both are fantastic for the money. i haven't done a side by side glass comparison, but i would say you'd be happy with either.

i would suggest that you consider what range you'll be shooting at most. for me, the 10x does ninety percent of what i want. i just had it out this afternoon shooting my .22 from 50 yards out to 300 yards. it'll focus down to 10, but i rarely shoot under 50.

my only issue with the vortex is that at 16x the crosshair is a touch thick for my liking, but, being ffp, you'll have that tradeoff. any thinner and at 4x you wouldn't be able to see it.

i haven't spent enough time with either to make a solid decision, but as of now i can see myself possibly preferring the simplicity of the fixed 10x........maybe.

I am raising my spending limit between $800-$1000

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In that case, Vortex Viper PST all the way, just make sure you get one with a first focal plane. perhaps something like this one?:

http://swfa.com/Vortex-6-24x50-Viper-PST-30mm-Rifle-Scope-P44560.aspx

weaver grand slam 6-20X

if you are paper punching only, especially at known distances on a square range, i would say that ffp isn't necessary. also you might want to consider a target dot reticle or something similar.

if you are paper punching only, especially at known distances on a square range, i would say that ffp isn't necessary.

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What a FFP reticle does is magnify the reticle also, meaning mildots, holdover marks, etc... will remain the same no matter the magnification power. On a SFP reticle the reticle does not change meaning any reticle markings would be only accurate on one power setting. For example a SFP reticle with holdover points 1 MOA apart at 14x would be 2 MOA apart at 7x. With a FFP reticle the holdover points remain 1 MOA all throughout the magnification range.

FFP reticles are very helpful when using scopes with reticle markings such as mildots, and when shooting long range. In my opinion they're helpful when target shooting, not needed but helpful.

echom70, i'm well aware of what ffp scopes do. i have one, as you would have noted had you read my previous comment.

making the reticle larger is my minor complaint for punching paper. if you are punching paper at known distances, you likely don;'t need to use the reticle to range and at greater distances you liekly aren't going to be able to see you hits to use the reticle for correction anyway. therefor, for paper punching only, a target dot may make more sense.

i prefer some form of mildot reticle on all of my scopes, but then, i'm not just paper punching either. and i like to mix it up between dialing and using holdover.

longrange, at what distnaces are you looking to shoot?