Analysis paralysis. That's the state I'm in right now. Give someone that's cheap & not good at making decisions access to the Internet and it's easy to get that way (at least for me).
So, I've been studying this way longer than I should have. I've seen where I can get a new Burris XTRII for $550. The link that Kracken McGraw posted will get me in a PST Gen II for $680 and honestly, they seem to be the go to for this price range. But for some reason, I keep getting drawn back to Athlon. Well, one reason is their reticles. I'd still be in that same price range with an Athlon...$500 - $700. All of the side by side comparison videos that I've watched, they look as good or better than some of the others they've been compared to. And when I say Athlon, I'm talking about the Midas Tac HD (5-25 Gen 1 or 6-24 Gen II) and the Ares Etr (3-18).
I keep trying to decide on magnification also. This is no different than building a hot rod. Haha... Trying to be honest with yourself on what you need vs what you (think) you want. There's places around me that would allow long shots. The chances of me ever being there are slim to none. The ranges I have access to are 600 yards.
Maybe I'm wrong (there a good chance of it), but I feel that the optical quality would be better on the lower powered Ares with the UHD glass vs the higher powered HD glass. I like the clarity of my SIII that I have on another rifle and the S-TAC is pretty good too up to about 18x and then it starts getting a little hazy. I don't know if the Athlon will beat it, but I've about talked myself into buying one and seeing if it will.