Optics recommendations 7mm 08

Are you going for a light weight rig?

If not I’d go Meopta Meostar R1 3-10x50 for $899 and grab a set of rings and bases. Might be a little over your budget with taxes.

Maven RS.2 2-10x38

LINK

What I use. Also have a Bushnell Forge which is a little better glass then the Leupold

Leupold VX5 HD 3-15x44

may be the perfect hunting scope.
They will go on sale regularly for around $850

Set of Burris extreme rings and he will be set.

I prefer DNZ 1 piece mounts and I agree that you should stick to 40mm obj or less. Tons of good scopes for that money. It's discontinued but if you can find a Vortex HD LH (not LHT) you'll have $1k glass in a $600 scope.

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Maven

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I'm not familiar with this. How does this scope compare to a leopold?

If you guys don't mind, I'm going to expose my ignorance and ask maybe a dumb question here (since this is an optics thread):

I'm coming over from the handgun side of things, where scopes etc aren't a relevant issue.
I've recently added a couple military-style rifles just because, and they all have rails (and can mount optics).
AR's in 5.56 and 7.62x39, and a roller-delayed 7.62x51 (.308).

I understand that these all, particularly the 308, can have quite a long reach, where iron sights are basically useless for those with 50 yr old eyes.
I also understand these rounds will have different ballistics, different point of impact over different distances.

Are the better scopes designed and calibrated for different calibers? Do you buy a different one for each one (or class)? Or is it more of a 'one size fits all' thing?

How does that work? I'm curious, because in looking around online, I don't really see much option, other than magnification, and whether it can withstand the recoil of certain rds (and often they don't even address that). I'm looking entry level stuff, not 1k ... are they even worth it for beyond 100-200 meters?

The only thing that would be custom to a specific round might be the reticle. There are scopes that have built-in hash marks on the reticle for specific rounds, so if for example you're shooting a target at 400 yards with 5.56 there's a hash mark on the reticle for 400 yards, no guessing involved. It will be very clear in the description if it has a reticle like this.

But the short answer is "no". Any decent centerfire scope will work for your firearms. Unless you're shooting really long distances, which isn't that common in the SE, you zero at one distance and learn the holdover if you're going well beyond that. I don't know about the AK round but .308 and 5.56 both do well with a 200 yard zero. They'll be really close at 50 yards, just an inch or two high at 100, then back on at 200. Here's an example.

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Are the better scopes designed and calibrated for different calibers? Do you buy a different one for each one (or class)? Or is it more of a 'one size fits all' thing? How does that work? I'm curious, because in looking around online, I don't really see much option, other than magnification, and whether it can withstand the recoil of certain rds (and often they don't even address that). I'm looking entry level stuff, not 1k ... are they even worth it for beyond 100-200 meters?

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Somewhat simplified answer is.
There are scopes with reticles that are set for certain calibers that somewhat match the FPS of said caliber.
There are scopes with adjustable turrets for the caliber that you can adjust to a yardage based on distance.
There are turrents that are in moa/mil that you calculate and confirm your calibers drop and adjust accordingly.
There are some good YouTube videos showing and explaining the differences.

Thatd be a good fit. Never had a light up reticle. The 3.5-10x40 leupold is a good all around hunting scope. I've never owned one but know plenty of people who do and they all like them.

I'm a stubborn arse and the older I get the more I like small lightweight scopes.