True, they are bright. Most of us really don't need bright but rarely. But this is our hobby. So we usually don't skimp.

I have tried and tried the cheap scope theory. It hasn't worked out for me. Most recently, I tried to get a fixed 2X Pine Ridge for my Muzzleloader. I got this about 2 years ago and used this combo for two seasons. The glare from the white sky in my eyepiece was horrible. Made difficult for early morning shots. Wouldn't happen with a higher dollar coating. Ok, then at the range, I needed to move the recticle down 2MOA and over 2MOA. It was all over the place. I looked at the adjustment thru a collimator and was shocked. Did not move smoothly at all. And 2MOA adjustement was more like 1MOA in one direction and 3MOA windage. So I just put on a Leupold VarX III 1.5-5X20 I got off ebay for around 300 dollars. Couldn't be happier. Now I am just bothered that I get all that residue on a scope worth more than the gun from my 209 primers.

This is only one incident out of 3 for me. I have always ended up changing to another scope.