[Dogbert41]

If you buy a cheap optic:

don’t expect a repeated zero, or able to even keep zero - even if you baby the thing.

Don’t expect waterproof/fogproof glass.

Don’t expect precise repeatable clicks with your elevation and horizontal knobs.

There are deals to be had with guns and optics, but for the most part, you get what you pay for.

Buy once, cry once and keep it. A good scope can last a lifetime and find a home on many rifles over the years.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Interesting because I’m going through the same thing with spotting scopes for bird and wildlife viewing. I keep drooling over Kowa and Swarovski at the upper end, then move to mid-range vendors like Vortex and Meopta and some other upstarts like Styrka. Then I jump back to the top dogs, panic at the price, drop back to the mid tier, and eventually think “Maybe I should just get the Styrka or Celestron.” Wash, rinse, repeat ad nauseam.

[familyop]

"Don’t expect precise repeatable clicks with your elevation and horizontal knobs."

Dogbert41 has a very good point there. Check with users about that before you consider buying any particular optic. I've known people who had cheap optics with fairly good glass and solid mounts but poorly machined (inaccurate or wrong type threads, wrong metals). It's a Midwestern hillbilly thing. ;-)

Also knew at least one young man, long ago, who was a near equivalent of the banjo player in "Deliverance" but with firearms instead of music (phenomenal with old fashioned hardware).