In a way, you get what you pay for. I do think that some of the manufacturers overprice their stuff.
Here are my personal experiences:
When I got my 1st deer rifle (Ruger MkII .280), it came with a 3x9x40 Tasco. I ended up picking up a 3x9x50 Tasco World Class scope (approximately $125) and giving my dad my other scope (approximately $75). A couple of years later, one of the post literally broke off in the scope. That scope was replaced by Tasco, but the same thing happened two years later. My dad said the heck with it and bought a Nikon ($300). No problems since.
About 5 years ago, my scope took a crap on me at the moment of truth. The biggest buck I have ever had the chance to place crosshairs on stopped at about 75 yards in the woods, facing me. I placed the crosshairs on his chest and fired. The gun fired and that was it. The buck stood there looking at me. I kicked in another shell and slowly squeezed the trigger (thinking that I had jerked the trigger). This time, the buck took off when I fired. I gave him about 15 minutes before I went to search. I found a little bit of hair and some bark. No blood or anything. I let him go overnight. I resumed the search and found no blood. Later that afternoon, the same buck stepped out about 10 feet away. I swung the gun and fired as soon as everything was lined up. He went 100 yards and piled up. What I found is the 2nd bullet the night before grazed his side. The next day, I set up a target at 100 yards and 50 yards. I shot a couple of groups at each. I was shocked. At 50 yards, I was getting 6" to 8" groups. At 100 yards, the groups were almost double that. I checked the mounts and whatever else I could think of.
I sent the scope off to Tasco after deer season for inspection. They said the internals were shot. They wouldn't help me because they claimed the scope was abused. Then, they wanted to charge me for returning the scope back to me. I told them to keep it. The scope was never abused, the gun was never dropped. In fact, the scope was mounted by a very respectable gunsmith. I replaced the scope with a Nikon and have never looked back.
I now have 1 Nikon ($300), 2 Leupolds (1 was $850, 1 was $300), 2 Burris' (both about $300 to $350), 1 Tasco (this is on my .22, not enough recoil to damage it), and a couple of red dots. I do feel that once you hit the $200 to $300 range for scopes, quality takes a big jump. The Nikon is 10x the scope that Tasco was. The expensive Leupold has unbelievable clarity!
Glass clarity is way better on the higher end stuff too. At low power, it is noticeable, but it doesn't jump out at you. Crank the power up, and watch out! You would not believe the difference. There is no distortion, and no "fuzziness" around the edges.
I myself am on a budget. I have a wife and 2 young girls (the latest one is 2 months old). I try to save up for what I want, because in the end, a cheap scope will cost you more in the long run. Also, I like having the security of knowing I have a scope that will work when called upon. I was lucky that the buck showed up the next night!!!
