Depends on what you are doing with the scope.
- twilight performance
- tracking to zero quickly(1 shot zero techniques)
- tracking to get on target at extreme range
- FFP which is clear and usable for ranging or holding off
- high magnification which is clear and doesn't shift POI
- hunting(picking a brownish gray deer out from a brownish gray background)
- Advanced turret features - 0 - 1000yds in one turn
- Use it as a hammer durability
- Brand which will fix your scope(some brands just give you another low spec scope when you break your low spec scope)
If any of the features above sound useful to you, you need to pay some serious money($700+) for your scope.
If you just want to zero at some point blank range zero, shoot some high recoil 300 Rem Ultra Mag out to like 400 yards max, hunt during normal lighting(accept lower performance at dawn and dusk), a $200 - $300 scope will work fine. Actually, if still made a 6x fixed scope would be ideal.
BTW
My hunting rifle is a $650 scope on a $600 rifle with a $150 scope mount.
My AR is a $200 scope on a $200 mount on a $1200 AR. As you can see, I devalued the scope because it is a point and shoot scope. If it breaks, I can discard and go to back up sights quick.
- twilight performance
- tracking to zero quickly(1 shot zero techniques)
- tracking to get on target at extreme range
- FFP which is clear and usable for ranging or holding off
- high magnification which is clear and doesn't shift POI
- hunting(picking a brownish gray deer out from a brownish gray background)
- Advanced turret features - 0 - 1000yds in one turn
- Use it as a hammer durability
- Brand which will fix your scope(some brands just give you another low spec scope when you break your low spec scope)
If any of the features above sound useful to you, you need to pay some serious money($700+) for your scope.
If you just want to zero at some point blank range zero, shoot some high recoil 300 Rem Ultra Mag out to like 400 yards max, hunt during normal lighting(accept lower performance at dawn and dusk), a $200 - $300 scope will work fine. Actually, if still made a 6x fixed scope would be ideal.
BTW
My hunting rifle is a $650 scope on a $600 rifle with a $150 scope mount.
My AR is a $200 scope on a $200 mount on a $1200 AR. As you can see, I devalued the scope because it is a point and shoot scope. If it breaks, I can discard and go to back up sights quick.