I'm pretty much a Leupold user. Not to say that I don't own a few less expensive scopes on rifles, but I tend to only buy Leupold now. For me, the difference is where and what I'm hunting. If I'm hunting deer where I can go home at the end of the day and change rifles if I have a scope mal, then a less expensive scope can be OK. If I'm chasing elk around in the Flat Tops area, it's pretty tough to run out and pick up another scope if/when that cheaper scope fogs up. I've sort of subscribe to the theory of a less expensive rifle and better optics will probably shoot better than an expensive rifle and cheap optics. Just my $.02