I recently picked up an Athlon Argos 6-24x Mil FFP for a Savage FCP in .308 with some amazon gift cards I had.
First thing I did was put it in a vise, put out a target at 100m and test to to see how well it would track. To my surprise it was dead on. Full disclosure I have been pretty busy and have only taken it out to shoot once but the glass quality is pretty good, not great, but way better than anything under $500 I have ever looked through(I haven't looked through the SS so can't compare). The turrets are my biggest, and really my only, complaint. They are pretty mushy and you really have to try to get it to stop on a mark.

Overall I am pretty happy with my Athlon, if I were to do it again I might go for the SS but that's also partly because I want more time with this optic before I recommend it to someone.

Also, don't buy a sightmark. A toilet paper roll mounted with duct tape would probably hold zero better.

I agree, I didn't like the turrets on mine. There's a video on YouTube that shows how to significantly help the turrets. Basically, the grease they put on the caps is too thick. If you take the cap off, clean it, and apply a thinner grease the clicks are more distinct.

Also, one thing that drove me crazy with the Argos was the location of the cat tail. When on 6 power, anytime I ran the bolt of my rifle I would scrape the cat tail with my hand. That was a big reason why I sold it because I hunt on 6x so I didn't want a mess up because my hand hit the cat tail.

Waaaa!?

But, but...

Thanks for all the input. I have thought about going over a bit on budget I've been looking at the Vortex Viper HS T 6-24x50. I have looked into the SWFA 10x scope and have watched great reviews on it.

I also found a good deal on a lucid 6-24x50 can't find much in review for to though.

And yes after I get my set up ready I plan on giving firemanjg a call to set up for a day of shooting

The viper hs will work fine. Just sure the turrets match the reticle.