As we get to the end of the year, I go into my "if I could have only one" mode, where I reflect back on what I saw during the year and see if my previous year's selections changed.
I usually set up different scenarios, from "everything is banned and you have to adjust" to "my wife figured out how much my guns cost and I have to get rid of everything and keep just one" to "I love my kids more than my guns and since they need to go to college, I am on a budget"
I'll go into the firearms choices at a later point in future installments.
Given that I am the self-appointed Dark Lord of Optics, rather than of barrels and triggers, let's touch on the scopes.
There are are some new entrants here anyway. These are the designs I have losely dfined as "crossover": reasonable magnification range and light enough to put on a hunting rifle in a pinch. 3-15x or similar is a good magnification range here. I want these scopes to have zero stop and reticle illumination for low light use.
Starting with a "my wife does not know how to get into my safe" scenario...
For quite a few years now, my choice for a "money no object" general purpose precision/hunting scope has been Tangent Theta TT315M and that has not changed. This scope essentially defined this category and is still the best optimized option overall. https://bit.ly/41dz6c8 A slightly thicker reticle for low power use would be nice, but aside from that, I have no complaints.
Honorable mention goes to the new March 1.5-15x42. An updated version of it with an improved reticle is enroute to me at the moment. I suspect it will be the premier allround choice if you also use clip-ons. It is going to settle on my Fix in 8.6 Blackout as soon as it gets here. A true general purpose scope for a true general purpose rifle. https://bit.ly/48bftUC
In the mid-range ("I like nice stuff, but want to stay married" scenario), there are a couple of good options depending on what is important to you. If you want light weight, Vortex Razor HD-LHT 4.5-22x50 is still it https://bit.ly/41uPd5v and EuroOptic still has a 15% off discount on these.
Both Tangent and Razor are really intended for centerfire calibers, so they do not have a ton of adjustment. You do not need all that much adjustment to cover the supersonic range of 308Win or 6.5CM.
If you want to do a bit everything including subsonics and rimfire and do not want to pay for the March, the new Delta Stryker 3.5-21x44 stays within the general crossover size envelope while offering 45mrad of elevation adjustment for around $1600 https://annexdefense.com/delta-stryker-hd-3-5-21x44-rifle-scope/ This is arguably the most full featured scope of the crossover type available at the moment south of $2900 that still squeezes under 30 ounces.
Moving further down into the price range, let's call this scenario: "I want my kids to go to college and they not qualify for a scholarship"
This used to be pretty much where Vortex PST Gen2 3-15x44 https://bit.ly/489K8kZ lived alone and barely contested. However, now we have the illuminated version of the Tract 2.5-15x44 that is quite good https://tractoptics.com/riflescopes/toric-uhd-30mm-2-5-15x44-ffp-illuminated-mrad-mrad-hunting-rifle-scope for similar money. Vortex has notably wider FOV. Tract has more adjustment range and all the turrets lock up. Pick your poison. Vortex reticle is more precision oriented. Tract leans more toward the hunting side of things, but both cross over nicely.
Burris XTR3i 3.3-18x50 is a touch more money than Tract and PST Gen2, but less than Razor and Stryker. Performance-wise, it is definitely in this conversation and the weight clocks in right around 30 ounces (similar to the Tract). https://bit.ly/3XVF8Ld 35mrad of elevation adjustment range make it viable for lots of applications.
Going further down in price, you start losing some features, so you either have to put up with weird illumination schemes, strange reticle ideas, lack of zero stop, etc. That's probably worth a separate discussion. SWFA used to have a couple models squarely in this price range, but while they are getting revamped, the field is sorta open. There are some solid choices there like Element Titan 3-18x50 and Primary Arms GLx 3-18x44, but both have reticle-related quirks I find annoying. If you have to drop down in price a little, I'd steer you toward Vortex Strike Eagle 3-18x44. It also has a reticle illumination scheme I am not big on, but it is less objectionable here due to the reticle design https://bit.ly/3tOI03l
Going further down in price than the Strike Eagle, you start giving up on more features: no zero stop on SwampFox Warhawk or no reticle illumination on Element Helix, for example. Once you get into this budget level, shopping used will let you retain features without sarificing quality. If you mostly hold with the reticle, SwampFox Recce Mil reticle in the 3-15x50 Warhawk might be up your alley https://bit.ly/46UENgi
