It's hard to go wrong with either Vortex or Nikon. Whichever you choose, you'll get great glass from a great company.

I've got 4x Prostaff that I just LOVE perched atop a .22lr, and a Prostaff 3-9x40 on an AR-15. The 2nd one isn't the finest scope I own, but it's more than serviceable, and would do all I needed it to do for a lifetime. I'd have no reservations taking it on an expensive hunt, if I didn't own anything better.

I also had a 2-7x33 Vortex Viper on a Remmy Mtn Rifle, that was just about perfect for that application. I'd still have it if my buddy hadn't begged & pleaded me to sell it to him. When I bought it, I compared it to Leupold, Zeiss, and Nikon scopes, and I still went with the Vortex.

It's hard to READ about which scope you'll like best, just as it would be impossible to READ about which shoes you'd find most comfortable. You have to try them on, & see what's best for you. Find a place where you can look through scopes side-by-side (outside, at dusk, if you can), and see which you like better. Then place your rifle on the counter, & hold both scopes up to the gun, to see if they look "right" up there, or as you've already seen, if they'll even fit up there in the rings you want to use.

One note about being "high enough up in the product line": when you can't see any difference between one product and the next one up, that's when you know you're high enough up! My buddy couldn't see any difference between a Viper & a Crossfire (but I sure as Hell could!), so he opted for the latter, & he's as happy as the proverbial Clam.

FC