Gangly,

I own both a Prostaff and Buckmaster, and have looked through the Monarchs.

The Prostaff represents a good value. Thought not fully multicoated, the optics are brighter than all other $100.00 scopes I've seen. I worry about the quality of the reticle assembly and how it might hold up to recoil over time. A gun store owner I know told me that of all the Nikon scopes he sells the Prostaffs come back for repair far more often than the other lines.

The Buckmaster 3X9X40 that I have on my Omega is possibly the brightest scope I own (comparing it to a Burris Fullfield II 3X9X40, an "older" Redfield Illuminator 3X9X42, and a Bushnell Elite 3200 4X12X40). It has functioned flawlessly and the adjustments are spot on. After two seasons on a relatively hard-kicking muzzloader (I use 120 gr. loose 777 with 300 gr bullets) it still holds zero. I can strongly recommend the Buckmaster as providing excellent optical performance at the $200.00 price point.

If you can afford the Monarch by all means buy it. It is head and shoulders above the other two in optical performance.

It comes down to what you want to spend and the application. For the muzzleloader, 200 yard shots are my maximum and the Buckmaster provides all the scope I need for that rifle. If I were buying a varmit scope or needed higher magnification and resolution I would lean toward the Monarch. If I were on a very tight budget and could only afford to spend 100 bucks then I would get the Prostaff.

In my opinion one reaches a point of diminishing returns in scopes at roughly the $200.00 price point. For this price one can get (in 3X9X40) the Burris Fullfield II, Bushnell Elite 3200, Nikon Buckmaster, Sightron SII, and some others. If you can find one of the "older" (Nikon recently redesigned the Monarch line) Monarchs at this price grab it. Occasionally you can find one on ebay and SWFA had some on clearance.

Another point: I've read mixed reports about the warranty service for Nikons. For this reason my recent scope purchases have been Burris and Bushnell Elite. I think the Burris Fullfield II is a great scope from an American company that stands firmly behind their products. This scope has fully multicoated optics and the reticle assembly is built tougher than the competition at this price point (double springs, steel-on-steel turrent adjustments). The Bushnell Elite 3200 is also a very nice scope and the rainguard feature is amazing. I recently bought the 4X12X40 on Ebay with the ballistic plex reticle new for $240.00(retail priceis $399.00)

If you can afford the Bushnell Elite 4200 I've read several reviews that claim it to be the best scope you can buy under $400.00

Good luck this season,

Mouthcaller