not sure how far you're talking about when you mention long range, but the guys that got me into distance shooting steered me toward 6.5mm. they said there weren't any good long range bullets in 25cal. i went with the 6.5 creedmoor because hornady made some pretty accurate ammo with the amax bullet. the 6.5 hasn't disappointed, but neither did my 25-06!
as far as glass, for the most part i believe that's one area where you really get what you pay for. lots of scopes work well in the day. the low light conditions are when you begin to notice, especially if you compare them side by side. one thing i'd mention, if you think you might hunt feeders with lights on them, i'd consider an illuminated reticle. just make sure the feeder lights are a different color than the crosshairs.
