Both the Vortex and Arken are likely excellent choices for the NRL22 game. I've seen everything from S&B to SWFA fixed 10x at matches. We've got guys running Bushnell Nitro hunting scopes and guys running Razor Gen 2s, and just about anything you can think of in between. This last match there was a guy running a Simmons mil-dot loaner that was still doing okay. You can play this game with just about anything as long as you have some kind of milling reticle.
I shoot with a 3-18x50 Bushnell Forge and I can't ever blame the scope for my misses. Most stages I'm at 10-12x and only go higher for the KYL racks. For me, the requisites are:
- Repeatability
- Milling reticle (hashes are okay, trees are better)
- Parallax down to 25 yards
- Tactile turrets
Nice to have features:
- Low CA, high resolution, low distortion glass (who doesn't want this?)
- Zero stop
- Locking turrets
- Illumination
For me, I can save on optics for this game by getting something with max power in the 15-20x range instead of the higher powers because I end up running at 10-12x most of the time anyway. Combine lower max power with bigger objectives and it usually results in a more forgiving eyebox as well. I've got repeatability and reticle as #1 and #2 but those are really interchangeable. On stages with engagement at multiple distances I'll usually dial for one target or something in the middle and hold for the others, so repeatability and reticle are paramount.
I've had great experiences with Athlon optics, as well as the mid-tier and better Vortex optics (Diamondback Tactical and up). I'm also a fan of the Bushnell FFP offerings. I see plenty of Athlon Midas TAC, Ares, and Cronus at matches and also several Vortex PST II and Razors. There's a ton of good options for this game in your price range, and you don't need 25-30x on the top end for it. If you're a veteran, active, or LEO you can get excellent discounts from Athlon,Vortex, Bushnell, Leupold, and others.
Check out what
@gr8fuldoug at
CameralandNY has on sale. You can't beat his prices and he'll be happy to discuss options with you - Doug and Neil are good folks.
