Hey all,

Reading through Ryan Cleckner's book and have watched his series. I'm interested in getting a scope for my 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger American (real good shooter) that may turn in to a Tikka one day. I mostly plan to do range shooting 500-1000yds, with the option to hunt with one day.

Anyone have experience with a Mark 4 4.5-14x50? I found one new for $700. I know they are discontinued, but it seems to have a solid reputation. Would also consider Vortex, Burris, and other, but $700 for a scope with a track record seems like a good deal.

I'm more focused on clarity & tracking rather than pure magnification abilities. This would be my first mid-high end scope, only dealing with sub $250 scopes right now.

I have used the MK4 quite a bit. Its a solid optic for sure and the tree isn't too terribly busy like some of the other options that you mentioned. I have an Vortex Razor and a Burris 4x24 and both of those have trees that are very very busy. $700 for the Mk4 seems like a pretty solid deal and you can't go wrong with it. The only caveat to that is the warranty. Vortex has by far the best warranty program of any other company, so if you plan on beating it up a little bit, I would start looking at their product line for that reason alone.