kappelmd

I have bushnell, tasco, and leupold scopes. I personally am sold on the Leupolds for Optical Quality and guarantee. I can't afford Swarovski, Zeiss, or Schmidt and Bender; and even if I could I would probably still buy a Leupold. IMHO it is hard to compare scopes inside a store. The early morning and late evening hours are the best time to compare scopes; however, most stores aren't open before sunrise and most won't let you take them outside the store for comparison either.

I have compared a friends mil-dot Sightron S2 3.5-10x 44mm (1" tube) with my Leupold mil-dot Mark 4 M1 3.5-10 x40mm (30mm tube) before sunrise to just after and just before sunset until there was not enough light to make out objects. I could definitely discern objects about 15-20 minutes longer after sunset with the Leupold than the Sightron. Both scopes are nitrogen filled and have equivalent guarantees; however, the Leupold cost more. It is a personal choice if that additional time is worth the additional cost. Isn't America great. Just remember that just because one can make out a deer before sunrise or after sunset doesn't mean it is legal to shoot. I would use the Sunrise/Sunset times by zipcode on the internet or use the Sunrise/Sunset times on your GPS.

A wise man and avid hunter once told me to expect to pay an equivalent amount for the scope as you pay for the rifle.

You wouldn't put a $1000 scope on a rifle you paid $300 dollars for; therefore in theory it should be equally true not to put a $200 scope on a rifle you pay $600 dollars for.

I have friends who have the Leupold Rifleman scopes, and they seem to like them fine. MidwayUSA carries the Rifleman scopes also, so I wouldn't consider them the Walmart Leupolds. Walmart does have them though.

The variety of choices confuses me too; however, I am glad we have the choices available.