Hello all,

I'm narrowing down my choices for the scope I want to place on my Tikka T3x CTR (.308). The purpose is to have a good tactical scope I can take to 1,000 yards. Having a milling reticle is a requirement as is first focal plane. Zero stop is also preferred.

My budget is right around $1,600 to $1,700.

Two of the scopes I've come across in that range are the Vortex Razor HD 5-20x50 and the Leupold Mark 6 3-18x44 M5B2.

I can have both of these for my price point and there are several websites running good deals on each of them so I'm pausing until I can make the best decision and scrape together that last bit of money.

Both of the scopes are good and have solid reviews. Leupold and Vortex each have wonderful customer service so I think they are about even in those terms.


Like I mentioned above, both are good, the only thing I can tangibly say the Vortex has over the Leupold is illumination and a larger objective lens, however I believe this is offset because the Leupold is nearly one pound lighter, I don't think I'll be doing a lot of low light shooting so I'm not sure if the Vortex having illumination is preferable to having a lighter and more compact package. The weight of the Vortex is not a deal breaker, though.


Another consideration for me, as a beginner, are the reticles. I'm looking at the Vortex reticle, their EBR-2, and to me it just looks...busy for lack of a better word, similar to the Horus reticles. I know all of the subtensions in the EBR-2 have a purpose for holdover and ranging but I'm worried they could be distracting or could obscure the target. The Leupold on the other hand, offers their Mil-Dot and TMR reticles which have less going on but also look like they wouldn't be as distracting. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

If y'all have any other suggestions then I would love to hear them!

Thanks for your replies!

I've had both and I would go with the Vortex. I liked the reticle and the weight, but the turrets on the Leupold were garbage (my opinion).