$699 for the whole set up. Not the best set up but if you are on a budget. If you go black or green stock it's even cheaper.
Im not saying the SFWA is a bad Idea, but when you do a pros and cons vs the Viper 6.5-20x44 BDC for 325 I think its considered "ballpark"
PRO's for Viper
Much better glass
Much better zoom
Cons for Viper
Less internal travel
Turrets not quite as good
Not measuring reticle.
Both are extremely durable,
I second the Vortex over the SWFA around the $300 mark. The glass clarity is good and you may find yourself wanting to change magnification for varying situations.
The reason I suggested the SWFA is due to the tracking. When someone says things like "long range", "sniper rifle", etc....., I guess I think of something capable of making predictable hits @ 1k meters +, on a man sized target. I realize that's probably not the case for most though, as evidence to all the suggestions for 556 or monkey'd with Mosin's in this thread.
In my brains proverbial long range rig, priority numeral uno is: perfect tracking. And I've never had an equally priced variable power optic track as well as a fixed power (mostly referring to the SWFA), including the Viper I briefly owned. That's not a knock against Vortex; They're great optics, and have a ton of cool features & options. But a variable is a more complicated design, and there's always some give & take within a given price range. From my experience, the tracking is impeccable with the the SS, and was very good in the Vortex. In fact, I think the SWFA tracks every bit as good as my M3A that cost me 4X as much.
Also, if we're talking long range (again, 1k'ish meter range), I want a fixed power or front focal plane, with a ranging reticle. If not for ranging, at least for wind holdovers (because it often changes faster than I can dial). Sure, you can set a sfp to a designated power setting where the stadia will be correct, but it's way too easy for my simple mind to forget or not have it exactly where it needs to be. And when you're shooting that far, close ain't going to cut it. I also tend to try and top out in the 10X range with a > $300 range optic, because generally much past 14X, there's too many imperfections in the lense and the clarity begins to really diminish. If we're talking about "sniper rifles", then we're talking about man sized targets, and a 10X is plenty for me. Now something like gophers or other small varmints, give me as much magnification as possible and keep your fingers crossed.
I know I'm preaching to the choir with you two. You're both really knowledgeable about this stuff from what I've read and I don't want to come off as a know it all, internet expert. Just speaking from my experience, and the KISS aproach that has worked pretty well for me so far. I'm still a little surprised that a $300 optic can track like this, and the ruggedness is incredible. I had an FAL that loved destroying every scope I fed it, and it's the only thing I found in that price range that could survive it. The fact that they've been able to keep the price the same for at least 10 years (maybe longer, my memory sucks), makes it a real winner in my opinion. Especially for a guy that wants to shoot stuff really far away, but is working with a tight budget. I remember back when they sold for much more money (pre SWFA), and guys wanted them because they were supposedly an issued Navy optic.
I am looking to purchase a budget rifle to put together a so called "sniper rifle" to engaged targets 100 yard and farther.
I was thinking of the 308 cartrage, possibly a Remington 700 series. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Buy a Mosin, a modern stock, assemble, add a scope. I've been meaning to do this.
Oh and ignore the "blasphemy" comments.