RE: cheap scope for my needs, not sure what I need
I've had great luck with the bushnell trophy scopes as well. I had one on my ML for a while but took it off because I wanted a little more power. However I have one on my new slug gun now.
They are pretty decent scopes for around 100 bucks. Mine is the 1.75-4x32 circle X. If you don't want the circle X I looked at one that was pretty much the same but was 1.75-5x32 with a regular duplex cross hair. I spent about 15 minutes or so trying to decide which I liked better. I went with the 4 power circle X because to me it seemed crisper, brighter and the reticle was easier to lock onto quickly.
In my opinion I wouldn't go any cheaper than this. Especially on a slug gun used in crappy conditions. Nothing worse than having a scope fial on you during a hunt, or fog over while you are bearing down on a deer in nasty conditions. I've had it happen, and it sucks!
Good luck,
Paul