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need help deciding between vortex razor hd, night force atacr, and leupold mark 5

xnv733x

Private
Minuteman
Aug 1, 2020
11
1
looking for advice... I am brand new to precision rifle shooting currently have a savage 10 fcp sr 308 with a vortex viper pst 6-24 mrad on it im looking at taking my first class soon and would like to upgrade my optic and eventually upgrade my rifle and swap whatever optic i purchase to the new rifle. Currently have it narrowed down to the nightforce ATACR 5-25, vortex razor hd gen 2 4.5x 27, and leupold mark 5hd 5x25 looking to be out the door with mount for 3000 or less. Also could use some direction on magnification range as I've considered going with something like 3x15 to save some money to upgrade the rifle sooner... also if anyone can recommend a mount that would pair well with one of these options for and give some insight on choosing mount height it would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance for the replies
 
also could use reticle recommendations currently leaning towards tremor 3
 
Youre gonna get a lot of different comments, I'm sure. You have a budget, which is the key first step. The next question is weight and relatedly, the intended use. The other question is reticles...reticles are very important. But it all needs to work together.

Here's a quick overview of conventional wisdom (which I'm sure will be corrected by others)...

If you need crossover, better off with Leupold or NF (possibly in 4-16 of 3-18 versions). If you are looking for PRS, ELR or just a range gun, the G2 is very well established and the 48oz weight won't really bother you carrying from truck to range.

NF mill xt and Mil C are excellent reticles and worth seeking out.
 
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Is there a reason you want the gen 2? With where vortex has the gen3 I would just put that in the running instead of the gen 2.
 
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Glass quality to me is : ATACR>MK5>Razor
I don't own a razor but I've looked through one a bunch. ATACR is better with mirage and optical quality is the best IMO but that is somewhat subjective. None of them are going to hold you back from hitting your target. The mk5 has the easiest zero stop to set so I do like that and it is going to be the lightest of all three so take that into consideration if you want to take it hunting.

For mag range, 5-25 or 7-35 are probably the most common seen at PRS matches but a 4-16 or 3-15 is still plenty of magnification for getting out to 1000 yards. Quality of the glass is more important than magnification and all 3 options you're considering are good.

Reticle is also going to be subjective. I have a H59 in an atacr and a CCH in the MK5 and they are a little bit cluttered. The newer PR2 in the mk5 looks better to me and I would have preferred the atacr mil-xt but i got a really good deal with the H59.

Take illumination into consideration as well and whether you would want/need an illuminated reticle for your use case. The mk5s with illuminated reticles are a few hundred dollars more than the non-illuminated.
 
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The difference in price between magnification ranges on the same scope is like $100.

Get what you need. Make sure it meets your needs, and go from there. Don't let the budget dictate the parameters of the choice.

That said, $3k is plenty of room to get a great scope and mount.

I'd skip the ATACR 5-25x, look into street pricing for the Gen3 Razor
 
Is there a reason you want the gen 2? With where vortex has the gen3 I would just put that in the running instead of the gen 2.
not particularly although i did see some people on here mention something about a turret issue?
 
I had the Razor and now have the ATACR. If you are new I’d say go Razor Gen 2 or even 3 if you can and I’d strongly recommend you not to get the Tremor reticle. Go EBR 7C.
 
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looking for advice... I am brand new to precision rifle shooting currently have a savage 10 fcp sr 308 with a vortex viper pst 6-24 mrad on it im looking at taking my first class soon and would like to upgrade my optic and eventually upgrade my rifle and swap whatever optic i purchase to the new rifle. Currently have it narrowed down to the nightforce ATACR 5-25, vortex razor hd gen 2 4.5x 27, and leupold mark 5hd 5x25 looking to be out the door with mount for 3000 or less. Also could use some direction on magnification range as I've considered going with something like 3x15 to save some money to upgrade the rifle sooner... also if anyone can recommend a mount that would pair well with one of these options for and give some insight on choosing mount height it would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance for the replies

We'd be happy to help, give us a call at 916-670-1103 :)
 
not particularly although i did see some people on here mention something about a turret issue?
O that’s because the turrets didn’t have a positive click up like the gen 2 and would lock if you were dialing and putting downward pressure on them but vortex will fix them if you don’t like how they feel… shouldn’t be that long of a turn around but idk.
 
I'm awaiting shipment on a Sightron SV111 FFP 5-40x56mm. Rave reviews for this scope, equal to Nightforce ATACR glass. I have an ATACR 7-35x56mm, and it's Bad to the Bone. But Liberty Optics has this one on sale with an LRM reticle for $1699.00
 
No matter what optic you buy I would got threw liberty optics if possible
 
The EBR7C reticle Vortex offers is tried, tested & accepted as a good practical option.
The turrets aren't TT level but they're reliable & repeatable.
The Glass aint TT, SB or ZCO but, thousands of guys are using them & the optical performance is more than adequate.
The real question is; which company will repair or replace your scope free of charge courtesy of their "no fault warranty" if you drop it out the back of your truck?
If $3K is a doddle for you then I spose you won't really care but, if that kind of money is serious investment for you, it's a no brainer IMHO.