Hmm. Maybe we should look at this from a long-term standpoint in monetary terms, too? I'll keep it simple:
My deer rifle, from 80's to today:
Redfield 5-star (archived as a spare scope)
Tasco WC (utter crap, sold)
Bushnell Trophy (broke down)
Nikon Monarch (retired and donated to a family member)
Zeiss Conquest (on a plinker now)
Meopta (current, should've bought one to start with)
Moose rifle, from early 90's to today:
Bushnell Trophy (moved to a rimfire)
Leapers (a big mistake, couldn't even sell it, gave it to my son who hates it too)
Leupold (dependable but you can't see a thing in dark, on a lever action now)
Nikon Monarch (broke down)
Zeiss Victory (great scope, better suited to my grouse gun)
Zeiss HD (current, should've bought one to start with)
So... if I think of this as what I'd like to have in the first place, avoided all the frustration in the woods, some unexpected QC-related problems, maybe unnecessary boxes of ammo sighting them in after unexplained loss of zero and so on, the SMART thing to do would've been to stop clowning around, get one Meopta and one Zeiss to start with, and be done with it.
This is how I see it now when I look back and realize what I did earlier.
My deer rifle, from 80's to today:
Redfield 5-star (archived as a spare scope)
Tasco WC (utter crap, sold)
Bushnell Trophy (broke down)
Nikon Monarch (retired and donated to a family member)
Zeiss Conquest (on a plinker now)
Meopta (current, should've bought one to start with)
Moose rifle, from early 90's to today:
Bushnell Trophy (moved to a rimfire)
Leapers (a big mistake, couldn't even sell it, gave it to my son who hates it too)
Leupold (dependable but you can't see a thing in dark, on a lever action now)
Nikon Monarch (broke down)
Zeiss Victory (great scope, better suited to my grouse gun)
Zeiss HD (current, should've bought one to start with)
So... if I think of this as what I'd like to have in the first place, avoided all the frustration in the woods, some unexpected QC-related problems, maybe unnecessary boxes of ammo sighting them in after unexplained loss of zero and so on, the SMART thing to do would've been to stop clowning around, get one Meopta and one Zeiss to start with, and be done with it.
This is how I see it now when I look back and realize what I did earlier.