@redneck2 - I agree with the Kahles at that price point. It takes a bit of practice to get used to the left side windage and top ring parallax, but now I absolutely love it.
The Burris XTR II, III, and III Pro haven’t terribly impressed me for their price point. I have the II and have shot the Pro and III this spring and summer side by side with my Bushnells, NF’s, and my Kahles - and yes, the III and III Pro are better than the II, especially the new .25mil reticle, but I don’t find the Pro or III to be commensurate clarity or color truth to its price point. Super cool features on the Pro, and I WANT to like it a lot, but side by side, it’s not as much scope as the K525i.
Vortex Razor GII’s can be had for less than that mark as well, and would do very well for the task. EBR-7c reticle. The new higher magnification GIII’s are a lot more expensive, and if I were spending that much more, I’d buy Kahles or Tangent Theta.
The Tract Toric is a lot cheaper than $2500, and I do like the .2mil hashes and floating center dot of their reticle, but I’m not convinced the brightness or resolution are as clean as the Bushnell XRS II (1/2mil reticle) or III (with .25mil reticle). Definitely more “blue” than the Bushnells/Vortex/Kahles/NF/Leupold.
The Leupold Mk5HD with the PR2 reticle is another optic I would consider in this class, as is the Nightforce NX8 F1. You’re also getting pretty close to a Nightforce ATACR 5-25x F1.
The Kahles, NF ATACR, Leupold, or Bushnell would be my prioritization order at $2500 and less.
I’m lost as to the point you’re trying to make here, kinda seems like you’re picking at my words just to argue.
Kinda seems like you’re not interested in answering the guy’s question, but rather in telling him his buddy doesn’t actually have use for the rifle he owns or the optic he’s trying to put on top of it, simply because you don’t.