So this conversation got started as an email to one of our customers. I think this kind of snowballed from there so I wanted to take the time to throw my two cents into the ring regarding Optics needed to be competitive in PRS (Precision Rifle Series) or possibly NRL (National Rifle League) Hunter.
First off this will be a largely opinion based analysis as I have not done tons of research into all the different scope variations however i'd like to think I may have just a few years of practical application with magnified optics.
The best entry level scopes for PRS are: Caveat (These are all 34mm main tube or higher and all the Mil models).
Arken Optics EP-5 5-25 x 56mm FFP 34mm tube Mil scope w/VPR reticle around $525 for the scope (direct Arken)
Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25 x 56mm FFP 34mm tube Mil scope w/ EBR-7C reticle $799
Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30 x 56 FFP 34mm tube Mil Scope APRS1 Reticle around $850 on Amazon
Riton Optics Conquer 5 5-25 x 56 FFP 34mm tube Mil scope PSR MRAD reticle $799 on optics planet
The next step up in the PRS evolutionary scale is going to be what I refer to as the mid tier or production class scopes. In order to qualify for mid tier they must have at least a 34mm main tube and have a retail advertised price point below $2500. Also every scope here will have some sort of Christmas tree style reticle and will only be in mils. Why in Mils only you ask? Because anyone shooting in a match that requires elevation turret changes under the clock does not have time to dial a zillion MOA on a scope. Plain and simple. So a typical turret would contain around 10 mils for a full rotation of the turret. In most PRS calibers this is equivalent to about 1000 yards of dope YMMV. So with 10 mils spread out across your turret the numbers are typically large and easy to read and don't require multiple laps around the turret. A similar MOA turret would have around 36 MOA crammed into the same turret space, plus 1/4 or 1/8 slashes in between the numbers. If you have not surmised yet 10 mils is equal to 36 MOA roughly. and 36 minutes is a lot of dialing to get to an elevation or wind hold. Think 3 mils wind is around 11 MOA.
Production class scopes:
Athlon Ares ETR Gen2 UHD 4.5-30x56mm 34mm tube Mil FFP APRS12 Retail $1499
Athlon Cronus BTR GEN2 4.5-29x56mm APRS6 FFP IR MIL Riflescope 210115 Retail $1875
Riton Optics X7 Conquer 3-24x56mm FFP MIL Riflescope 7C324LFI23 Retail $1399
Leupold Mark 4HD 6-24x52 (34mm) Side Focus FFP PR2-MIL Riflescope 183823 Retail $1499
Leupold Mark 4HD 8-32x56 (34mm) M5C3 Side Focus FFP PR2-Mil Riflescope 183970 Retail $1599
Leupold Mark 5HD 7-35x56 (35mm) M5C3 FFP PR2-MIL Riflescope 180223 Retail $2399
Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25x56 (35mm) M5C3 FFP PR2-MIL Riflescope 180556 Retail $2199
Burris Xtreme Tactical Pro 5.5-30x56 34mm SCR 2 Mil Riflescope 202212 Retail $2199
Nightforce ATACR 4-16x42mm F1 ZeroHold Mil-R Scope C552 $2500
Leica PRS 5-30x56 i PRB Riflescope 51300 Retail $2499
Zeiss LRP S3 4-25x50mm .1 MRAD FFP ZF-MRi #16 Riflescope 522675-9916-090 Retail $2299
Zeiss LRP S3 6-36x56mm .1 MRAD FFP ZF-MRi #16 Riflescope 522695-9916-090 Retail $2499
My recommendation for best bang for the buck is in the Mark 4HD line in either (6-24 x 52 mm) ($1499 retail) or the (8-32 x 56 mm) ($1599 retail). Even though Leupold is draconian in the way they dole out their officially licensed dealers (Think big box stores and not the little guy. Or a better analogy is picture an 18 yo kid at Dicks or Academy that knows less than zero about Leupold's products and thats Leupold's target audience to represent their flagship products. Someone clueless about PRS or NRL or scope features.) With that said though this scope (Mark 4HD) in particular is too good to exclude them because their dealer qualification techniques and use of third party apps sucks.
Only look for the PR2 reticle in mils for all of Leupolds scopes. Also a Mil scale scope is essential for PRS where you may make lots of elevation changes in a single stage. Almost All of these scopes are 34mm main tubes (Arken, Athlon Cronus, Leupold Mk 4HD) (Except the Mark 5HD - 35mm main) so if you buy a solid 34mm one piece mount you can buy once cry once at least for the mount. We recommend Area 419 (Best), or the MPA or an MDT for strength and repeatability. Now there are other one piece scope mounts out there, but these tended to be the most prevalent. These scopes listed would be my best recommendation for your first through 3rd year of competition or if you are shooting in production, sportsman, or suppressed.
Also just as an aside, any person that shows up for "Production" class and is sporting an AI, Vision, Cadex defense, Barrett, ZCO, Kahles, Tangent Theta, most Nightforce, Schmidt Bender, Zeiss LRP S5, US Optics, or any other pricey scope is not in production class since the scope is $2500 retail published price. You will notice there are NO Vortex Razor Gen II or Gen III scopes on this list because they have lost their minds with their published retail pricing. The lowest retail pricing for a Gen II is $3999 and even though you can get them at a much much lower price (They give discounts to about 40% of the population) it's the retail price that determines whether it qualifies for production class. So NO VORTEX FOR YOU.