I'm a big vortex fan. Their mid range offerings are probably no better than other companies when it gets down to it. What other companies don't offer, however, is the ability for you to use that scope as a baseball bat, sell it to me, and then let me exchange it for a brand new equivalent model if they cannot repair. Or, if you are walking along and slip and fall and trash the scope? Replaced.

MOA or Mil is more personal preference than anything, but you need your knobs to match the reticle (no Mil ret/MOA knobs). I prefer Mil, though I suspect it's more due to familiarity than anything.