Before there were Nikon Monarchs, the scopes were just called Nikon. These were great scopes and comparable to the Vari-X III. In fact, they used to be the same price (back in 1989 or 1990, the 3.5x-10x-50mm Nikon and Vari-X III were $399.) Both of these scopes, the Vari-X III and the Nikon, had light transmission of about 88% per lens.
Later on, Nikon came out with the Monarch, which has 95% light transmission. So, what about the "new" Nikon Buckmaster? Well, actually it is the same scope it was back in 1989 or 90 or so (let's just call it "Pre-Monarch"), except they just called it their Buckmaster line. It still has 88% light trasmission, but the price dropped dramatically. Also, Nikon didn't make the same magnifications in the Buckmasters, but the glass is essentially the same it was pre-monarch.
As such, rest assured that the buckmasters are exellent scopes for the money, and comparable to the Elite 3200s.
Zachary