I have three Leupold VariX III 3.5-10x 40 mm scopes on my .243, .25-06, and .30-06. The oldest is 2.5 years old, so I haven't put much wear on them yet. It heartens me to hear such positive stories about Leupold reliability (gun dropped on rocks in Africa) and customer service. There may be better scopes, but thus far my Leupolds have been more than adequate for my uses. The light is too dim for me to dare to shoot -- need to confirm target and backdrop, it seems to me, before targeting and shooting -- before I lose the ability to see the target and crosshairs in the Leupold scope. What would a more expensive scope buy me?