You know, years ago I would have agreed with your line of thinking, but not today. Most companies are really geared toward making a decent variable since this is what most will buy now a days. I would say they really make their bread and butter of the 2-7 and 3-9 power variables.
It is true that a fixed power scope is less complicated and will have less to go wrong with it, does that you mean you will get twice the scope for the money, most likely not unfortunately.
I did a quick look on cabela's website, I didn't see a fixed power buckmaster listed, which doesn't surprise me, fixed power scopes are getting harder to find these days since less people want them. I did however find some fixed power scopes in the Pro Staff line up. I'm not telling you they don't make a fixed power buckmaster scope, just that cabela's doesn't carry it and I want to compare prices for you.
Looking at the Pro staff scopes they have a 4X for $110 and a 2-7X for $130. Other than the magnification the specs are pretty much the same, especially if you set the variable at 4X and compared them. They have the same objective, reticle, eye relief, field of view, length and pretty close to the same weight. Maybe not exact, but so close you wouldn't be able to tell. The only real difference is the magnification.
They will use the same lenses, same coatings and same internals for adjustments. I highly doubt one will look any better than the other, if anything the variable will look better because you can turn the power down farther which will make it brighter and more crisp to your eyes.
The price difference is only 20 bucks and the only thing you gain or lose is the ability to change the power of the scope. I'm sure it cost a lot less to make the fixed power but you are not seeing much of the benefit from it, they just make more money off from them is all. They don't offset the price by using better optics or anything.
Where you would see the difference would be switching from one line up to another, or from a cheaper brand of scope to a better one. Like instead of getting a 3-9x50 Pro Staff for $200 you settled for less power and a simpler design in a better grade of scope, like a 4X40 or 4X32 in a Buckmaster or Monarch. You lose features, but you gain better optics and possibly build quality.
This really holds true when talking about high powered scopes. QUALITY magnification cost money, period. Good quality simple 3-9's start around $200, maybe less if you get a good deal on one. So you can't expect to get a 6-24x50 varmint scope with adjustable parallax and other bells and whistles for 175 bucks. You might get one that is usable, but I wouldn't call it "good". And you won't either if you look through one that cost more and compare them at the highest settings. To get a quality scope of that caliber you would probably have to spend at least twice that.
Here is a good scenario for you. I am thinking of getting a centerfire rifle. I'm thinking a .243 so I can varmint hunt and deer hunt, I might even get a .270 or a 7mm. I'm probably going to pay $500 or $600 for the rifle. I'm poor though, so I have to sell stuff or trade it in to get it so cost in very important to me. Now I need a scope and I can't afford to drop another $400 or more on a scope.
I can get a BSA target 8-32X target scope for around 200 bucks with mil dots and adjustable parallax. That would be cool because the .243 can really reach out there if you want it to. But it's a BSA, they are ok for the money, but lets be honest they are not known for high quality optics or stringent Quality control
. Or for around the same money I could get a quality 3-9 or 3.5-10 like a Nikon, Cabela's Alaskan Guide, Bushnell 3200 or a Burris. Or I could get a Bushnell dusk to dawn or Trophy scope for nearly half that and it would still be better than the low priced high powered scope. It just wouldn't have oodles of magnification or all the fancy options.
I know that is more info than what you wanted, but do you get what I am talking about now?
Good luck,
Paul