Burris 2-7x35mm $139 supposedly good AND cheap too
Burris 3-9x40mm $189 same as above, bigger and slightly higher mag
Nikon Buckmasters 3-9x40mm $240 basic
Nikon Buckmasters 3-9x50mm $330 same as above, bigger exit pupil and brighter for low-light shots.
Nikon Monarch 2-8x32mm $300 high-end MONARCH, good enough lenses to compensate for small objective and mag though?
Nikon Buckmasters 4-12x50mm SF $389 slightly high mag for up close, but more reach, more $$$
Nikon Buckmasters 4.5-14x40mm $300 huge on my youth rifle, almost too much mag up close, small exit pupils.
I REALLY like the 2-8 monarch and 3-9x50 buckmasters, however that's not a lot of mag/reach for $300 plus. I wonder if the MONARCH line really makes the image so much better that I'd not have to worry about the image being slightly darker or 1x mag lost to a "bigger" buckmasters. The primary concern is deer, secondary squirrels. I do not want to be "over-scoped" on up close deer that "ninja" their way up to me on stand, nor do I want to be over-powered on a close up squirrel. I want to be able to pick a squirrel out up in a tree from 200yds and thread the needle to hit them with a varmint bullet. That precludes the higher-quality generalist scopes and forces the choice to a buckmaster... but it's hard to give up the big exit pupil and forgiving, bright, 1/2hr earlier/later shots that might help me bag a good buck. Am I asking too much for a relatively cheap scope? Also, from what I've read the burris are built really similiar to the leupolds, but I've not had a chance to look through or examine any burris in person. Nikon prostaff and leupold rifleman are decent looking scopes and work but I am not impressed by the image quality, too fuzzy for me.... I gotta go higher end nikon to be happy, or burris (being supposedly sturdy like leupold but cheaper than leupold or nikon???). I know, I probably started a troll gathering, sorry. I've honestly never bought a scope before, I've just used hand me downs or as-is package deal scopes until this rifle (I'm not shooting at elevated targets without a scope I REALLY feel confident in, nor am I taking headshots on deer without that trust). thanks guys (girls too?).
