Since I favor the Excellent 6x42 Fixed power Leupold on my hunting rifles, it is fairly often that the Rifle is worth more than the optics. However, I have a number of high end Leupolds on Varmint/target rifles, and for most of them, the scopes are a bit more than the rifle, or close to the same price. As has already been said, it does not pay to go the "cheap" route with optics. Regards, Eagleye.