TL;DR - New shooter, have the opportunity to buy a new Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 for nearly 50% off MSRP ($800, vs $1500), from a reputable retailer. I'm quite new to this sport so I wanted to check with those wiser than me before I go for it in case I'm missing anything important.
New shooter looking to set up my first rifle, I've recently been going with a friend who lets me use his gear, a 5.56 AR15 Mk12 mod-H, nightforce optic, don't know the exact model but it's a 4-16x & he said it was about $2k. I can hit a 12" steel target at 600 yards pretty reliably with that setup, haven't tried to go beyond that yet. I enjoyed it so much that I'm getting prepared to set up my own rifle, trying to get a part list established in advance of some of the bigger sales of the year. With a total budget of $2500 (with a bit of wiggle room if there's a significant step up in capabilities closer to $3k), I'm pretty heavily leaning toward the Bergara B14 HMR in 6.5 CM, for about $1100. For the optic, I had been much less certain, but today I was offered a new Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 for $800, whereas everywhere else I look has it going for $1200 minimum. I'm very much in the camp of buy-once, cry-once, and would much rather spend a couple hundred dollars extra if it means getting significantly better performance, but this seems like an absolute steal for $800. Is there's a significantly better optic to be found in the ballpark of $1200? Or should I go for this one and get a few extra cases of ammo with the savings?
This build would be purely for recreational distance shooting up to 1000 yds, don't have much desire (nor the skill, yet) for competition shooting or hunting. Consensus on this site seems to be that 18x is sufficient for 1000 yds, if the glass is good quality. The reviews I've seen for this scope are generally quite positive, I've not seen any complaints beyond concerns with the rigidity of some of the controls, and some minor aberration at max magnification, neither of which seem bad enough to hold off on this. Burris's warranty/CS also seems to be decently well-regarded.
Does anyone have any serious issues with this scope? Or my plan in general? If so, what would you set up with $2500?
New shooter looking to set up my first rifle, I've recently been going with a friend who lets me use his gear, a 5.56 AR15 Mk12 mod-H, nightforce optic, don't know the exact model but it's a 4-16x & he said it was about $2k. I can hit a 12" steel target at 600 yards pretty reliably with that setup, haven't tried to go beyond that yet. I enjoyed it so much that I'm getting prepared to set up my own rifle, trying to get a part list established in advance of some of the bigger sales of the year. With a total budget of $2500 (with a bit of wiggle room if there's a significant step up in capabilities closer to $3k), I'm pretty heavily leaning toward the Bergara B14 HMR in 6.5 CM, for about $1100. For the optic, I had been much less certain, but today I was offered a new Burris XTR III 3.3-18x50 for $800, whereas everywhere else I look has it going for $1200 minimum. I'm very much in the camp of buy-once, cry-once, and would much rather spend a couple hundred dollars extra if it means getting significantly better performance, but this seems like an absolute steal for $800. Is there's a significantly better optic to be found in the ballpark of $1200? Or should I go for this one and get a few extra cases of ammo with the savings?
This build would be purely for recreational distance shooting up to 1000 yds, don't have much desire (nor the skill, yet) for competition shooting or hunting. Consensus on this site seems to be that 18x is sufficient for 1000 yds, if the glass is good quality. The reviews I've seen for this scope are generally quite positive, I've not seen any complaints beyond concerns with the rigidity of some of the controls, and some minor aberration at max magnification, neither of which seem bad enough to hold off on this. Burris's warranty/CS also seems to be decently well-regarded.
Does anyone have any serious issues with this scope? Or my plan in general? If so, what would you set up with $2500?
