For the record I'm a glass addict. And I've owned a bunch of the higher end scopes and binocs. But as opinions go, this is just mine and mine alone.
What is the main purpose of the rifle? Will u be carrying it far?
How do you prefer to navigate your bullet path? I dial mine with the turret, but others prefer a reticle with holdover hashes.
For me, if u plan on dialing, a busy reticle is useless and obstructs your view. I know there are some great reticles out there that folks say don't block the target, but how can it not?? It's right there, in the way.
So picking a reticle is next. If u want to use a long distance reticle and shoot that way, then much of my advice is irrelevant, but not all.
After years I've learned that a simple duplex reticle or German #4 works best for me.....but I really strongly must have it illuminated. Some will say that the glow impairs the brightness or clarity when it's activated. They have never used a really hi def system of illum. My eye just naturally focuses on the red dot and it makes for more accurate shooting with less target panic. I use it during the middle of the day, on the daytime setting and of course in low light times.
There are other factors such as solid defined turret clicks, zero stop, overall build quality in terms of ruggedness, and lastly the weight of the scope.
I owned the NF Atacr.....got it as a demo online and jumped on the price. My impressions were overall positive, but I sold it before ever taking it to the range or hunting. The clarity and brightness, edge to edge distortion, and depth quality was about an 8.5-9/10. The build quality was a 10/10. U could pull it off your rifle, use it in a bar fight, mount it back, and have zero worries. The deal breaker for me was the weight.....I think with rings and flips caps it was 40oz.....roughly. That's heavy and it made my rifle too heavy.....and it isn't a featherweight rifle.....its 8.5lbs naked. Also the reticle was decent but too busy for me. The illuminated feature was not user friendly compared to others. But for a rifle that's not being carried a lot, by the Hunter that wants all the holdover and windage hashmarks, it's a fine choice.
The Kahles just doesn't meet my odjectives so I haven't owned it. I have handled it and the glass was 9.5/10. The weight is less but I'm not sure how much. Again, I can't really suggest a long range reticle as I don't use them.
For me, there were 3 scopes that were built rugged enough, not too heavy, had the reticle I wanted, had a superior illuminated dot that was small, sharp and user friendly....and most importantly, I considered them 10/10 in glass quaility. In no particular order the Swaro Z8i 2.3-18x56, the Schmidt & Bender Exos 3-21x50, and the Leica Magnus 2-16x56. I ended up buying the Z8i and the Exos. The Exos is built more like the NF.....is optically a 10+/10, and it's illuminated dot is the best of the bunch....more user friendly and crisper in the daytime. It's only negative was it's weight. It came in at 32oz. Still 8oz lighter than the NF, but not a scope I'd want on a rifle that I was gonna walk a ton with.
The Z8i is lighter....around 26oz I believe and I thought Swaro hit a home run with their Z6 series.....but the Z8i is next level glass.
I didn't buy the Magnus simply because I found the other two for sale as showroom demos and saved quite a bit.
I really wanted to own a NF.....and I see why they are so popular with 1000yd gong bangers. But my application just isn't that.
So honestly, if the S&B was 7-8 oz lighter it would be my blue ribbon winner. No better optics than the Z8i, but just as good and built like a brick $&i7house.
good luck
