I recently purchased a Savage in .308, planning on target shooting from 100-600 yards, and after I determine I'm proficient/responsible enough, hunting.
My budget is $1000 max, and my criteria are: 1) mil/mil 2) FFP 3) glass clarity. Weight may also be a consideration, I think. My rifle weighs 7.06 lb loaded, without scope.
That said, I'm looking to buy a decent scope that I can grow into as I build my skill.
My only optics experience is in red dots, but I think these fit my criteria, more or less:

Burris XTR II 3-15x50
Bushnell LRS 3-12x44 or ERS 6-24x50
Weaver Tactical 3-15x50
Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP. I left out the Vortex 4-16x50 because a lot of reviews stated the glass was hazy in the higher mag.

They're all in the high 800s to mid 900s. None of them are light, or what you might consider to be to be light for a hunting scope, but I think the first year or so of my rifle's life will be spent at the range, and it's a compromise I'm willing to make.
If I left out any reasonable options, it's because my knowledge is limited to the "big" names, and I'd love to hear your suggestions. So - what do you guys think?

out of the options listed, i'd probably go with the 6-24 PST. if shots are closer than 100 yards that might be rough, particularly if moving. it's also the lightest of the above mentioned scopes. it's also the lightest of the above mentioned scopes. how important is illumination to you? are you shooting strictly known distance?


http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-pst-6-24x50-ffp-riflescope-with-ebr-1-moa-reticle

Thanks for the reply, and to answer your questions, illumination isn't necessary, and I will not always be shooting known distances. It seems like most guys with illumination rarely use it, but there are occasions, like lower light situations, where illumination might be helpful. The quality of glass might also help with additional light transmission in those low-light situations, though. I think it just happened to be that most of the FFP scopes in my price range happened to also have illumination, and it's easier to draw a comparison across like-featured scopes. My range only has set distances at 100, 200, 300, 500 and 600 yards, but when I'm at my parents', I have the ability to set up targets at random distances up to ~300 yards.

Check out the SWFA 3-15X Tactical. Meets your mil/mil and FFP requirements. Unsure about weight compared to the others.

I have one and it's a great scope. Research and you'll also find them highly regarded in the shooting community.


Plus it will leave you some money leftover for a mount, flip caps, and ammo

SWFA 3-15 would fit you're requirements.  I'd wait for the black friday sale though.  They're usually a couple hundred dollars cheaper.  

Thanks again for the replies. It looks like the swfa gets a lot of love, here and on opticstalk. I think it's definitely worth considering, too. Do you find that not having a zero-stop/return is that big of an inconvenience?

Somebody on here sells a zero stop shim kit that goes in the elevation turret. I have one. It works. Mine stops about 3 clicks past zero. I also marked the scope. That works as well.
I did a fixed 16X. It would be nice to be able to back off the power at times. But no regrets. The 3x15's were back ordered for 2 months at the time.
I have not used any of the other scopes mentioned.

I do not at all. I recently started reloading and every load prints a little different so I'm constantly making small adjustments to the scope anyway. Always having to reset to 0 would suck.

 

With good dope you can easily know how many mils you are from your zero regardless of the number shown on your elevation dial

Here's a new option from Primary Arms

Primary Arms 6-24X50 Front Focal Plane Scope with Patented ACSS HUD 308 Reticle (ETA: Early August 2016)

Looks good but I just don't know what kind of optical performance you can get at 24x and longer range from a scope in that price range.  As magnification increases all optical flaws and imperfections in the lens system get magnified.  They become more and more obvious.  Distortion becomes more obvious, Resolution of detail falls off and contrast goes down.  Things you might not notice at 10x or 12x become real distractions or obstacles at 24x.  You also might see point of impact shift with zoom when you are fighting mirage.

When you add illumination at that price point, something else has to be compromised to stay within budget.  Its either tracking, glass or both.

Not saying its not worth $450, but suggesting that OP might need better glass.  It usually takes a scope in the $800-$1000 range to have both the quality of glass and accurate tracking to perform at distance at high magnification.

If one must stay in the $500 range, ditch illumination and even FFP (use an inexpensive rangefinder) and emphasize glass quality and tracking.  A good highly regarded entry level mil/mil scope for long range shooting is the Leupold Mark AR 6-18x40mm Mildot.

The article below is three years old and dated a bit.  There are some new players now, but scroll down to the recommendations by price.  The Mark AR is considered the top choice in the $500-$1000 range.  It may still be at the low end of that range.

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2013/03/07/best-long-range-scopes-buyers-guide-and-features-to-look-for/

I have a Weaver 2-10. While I love that scope, it does have its downsides. The 5mil turrets aren't ideal, especially without a zero stop. The two color illumination sort of sucks. There is no way to get it dim enough to use in very low light. The glass is very nice for a scope in the price range.

The Vortex I just can't bring myself to buy. The ones I've handled seemed to have slightly mushy adjustments, which isn't terrible. However there are a lot of failure stories out there lately. That could be because there are just so many out there, but IDK.

The Burris is what I currently run on my 308 AR. I can't speak highly enough about it. Tracks flawlessly, nice glass, and built like a freaking tank.

The Bushnell I just didn't like the feature set on, so I didn't really give it a second look.

I've had multiple Weaver Tactical scopes, currently a 2-10, but I had a 3-15 non-illuminated. I traded it off because it was too much magnificaton for my type of shooting, but it was a frigging tank. The downside is the weight, but the glass was very clear and you could probably use it as a weapon, it's a very solid scope with sharp clicks on the turrets and excellent tracking.

That being said, I'd probably go with the Vortex for the super warranty and ease of resale it you want to change up. For some reason, the Weaver's aren't as easy to sell, probably because their high end isn't well known. In the future, I'll go with the most popular item just because I like to be able to sell and upgrade frequently.

Everything I've read would point me toward those Bushnells.

Glass clarity is good enough on all of them, and it doesn't matter if the scope doesn't track right.  Tracking is the #1 concern and Bushnell seems to have their stuff together in that regard.  

You always hear 'You can't hit it if you can't see it.'   I say 'It doesn't matter if you can see it if you can't aim at it.'

My Weaver 3-15 is in the EE. Very bright optic. I've decided to try and save up for a Razor II 4.5-27.

In that price range, I would also consider the Sightron SIII 6-24 x 50 FFP. It checks your boxes for FFP and Mil/Mil, and the SIII glass is very close to, if not on a par with, NightForce glass. I (had) a NightForce BR and the SIII 8-32 x 56 MOA, so I have been able to do a direct comparison. Put it this way, I sold the NightForce to buy another Sightron. The Sightrons are renowned for excellent tracking and great customer service too.

ETA: It can be had for around $825, so don't let the MSRP put you off comparing it to your other choices.

Who sells the Sightron's cheaply?

I've had good luck finding them on Grabagun.com. The one I suggested to the OP is on there at $813.49 right now, and I got the SIII 8-32 x 56 LRMOA off there last week for $740.14.

Thanks

We have 3 SWFA scopes, a 6x, 10x, and 20x, depending on how far into the next county w3e wish to hit something.
With the 20x hit a tomato paste can at 800 yards, and a bright orange BIC lighter at 500 yards. (it took 3 shots to get it).

I can validate for the Bushnell. I have the 6-24x ERS FFP with G2 reticle. It tracks, Jap glass with better resolution than the PST and brighter than the PST. Resolution and clarity is crisp edge to edge even at 24x. Best $890 I've spent