One thing is for sure, you'll get no shortage of opinions. What you need to do is go to someplace that carries a good selection of optics and look through them. Then you can compare price to quality. I agree with what some have said about a price point, once you get above $3-400 the return in optical quality diminishes for the money being spent. Sure I think we all would like to be able to afford a Zeiss or Swarovski. The plain and simple truth is that the budget often time says Nikon or Burris. That being said on my guns from the high end working down I have VXII's, Vari x II's, Elite's, BuckMasters and even a Bushnell Banner ( my first scope purchase), Still works fine, is it as clear as the other's not quite but it gets the job done and it is on my loaner gun.