Apologies and thanks in advance, I tend to be verbose. Working on it.
Been shopping for a Bergara HMR in 6.5CM for a while and came across a deal too good to be true yesterday, so I picked it up. As a lefty, there aren't too many similar options without spending substantially more, so go easy on me.
So, now I need some new glass for it. As I'm aging, my eyes are declining and I've learned that I really appreciate good glass and higher magnifications than just a few years ago. I have a pretty bad astigmatism. Primary use will be whitetail from about 50-500 yards. Would like to try ringing some steel at 1000 also. Shots always seem to be in the last 5 minutes of shooting light with corn as a backdrop, so not terribly ideal for visibility.
I've been shopping scopes for the last couple months and am having analysis paralysis. None jump out at me as the right choice/check all the boxes.
Preferences (in order):
Around $1000 (I have access to deals with Vortex and Leupold, possibly others)
Good glass, especially in low light
MOA
15-18x upper magnification range
~3x lower magnification range
Simple reticle, I tend to like a #4 or a simple holdover. Don't want a christmas tree for this application.
If windage turret is exposed, must have lock
Exposed elevation turret w/ zero stop/lock
FFP
Things I don't care about:
Weight. Not carrying it more than a few hundred yards, so lightweight isn't necessary.
Illuminated reticle. Not legal for hunting in my state and I have learned that with my astigmatism, illumination with systems like the Leupold VX5HD firedot looks like 4 dots stacked vertically.
I haven't found a FFP that checks all the boxes, particularly the lack of christmas tree. There are several SFP, and I'd consider that.
VX5HD-I have a good friend that's a huge Leupold fanboi and it kinda turns me away.
Meopta Optika 6-sounds like the reticles on the 3-18 are fairly unspectacular
Zeiss Conquest V4-narrower zoom range, probably have to go demo to hit my price range
I'm sure I'm overlooking something, but this is long enough for now. Thanks!
Been shopping for a Bergara HMR in 6.5CM for a while and came across a deal too good to be true yesterday, so I picked it up. As a lefty, there aren't too many similar options without spending substantially more, so go easy on me.

I've been shopping scopes for the last couple months and am having analysis paralysis. None jump out at me as the right choice/check all the boxes.
Preferences (in order):
Around $1000 (I have access to deals with Vortex and Leupold, possibly others)
Good glass, especially in low light
MOA
15-18x upper magnification range
~3x lower magnification range
Simple reticle, I tend to like a #4 or a simple holdover. Don't want a christmas tree for this application.
If windage turret is exposed, must have lock
Exposed elevation turret w/ zero stop/lock
FFP
Things I don't care about:
Weight. Not carrying it more than a few hundred yards, so lightweight isn't necessary.
Illuminated reticle. Not legal for hunting in my state and I have learned that with my astigmatism, illumination with systems like the Leupold VX5HD firedot looks like 4 dots stacked vertically.
I haven't found a FFP that checks all the boxes, particularly the lack of christmas tree. There are several SFP, and I'd consider that.
VX5HD-I have a good friend that's a huge Leupold fanboi and it kinda turns me away.
Meopta Optika 6-sounds like the reticles on the 3-18 are fairly unspectacular
Zeiss Conquest V4-narrower zoom range, probably have to go demo to hit my price range
I'm sure I'm overlooking something, but this is long enough for now. Thanks!