I find the Monarchs to be excellent for the price, but until recently, I hadn't owned a lower line Nikon. When I bought one of the Vanguard rifles for $399, I wanted a cheap scope that would still offer decent service, so I purchased a 3-9x40 Prostaff that was on sale. It isn't a Monarch, bot for under $200, it is actually decent optically, and it tracks quite well. I don't like the plastic turret covers, hopefully they won't get brittle and break in the cold, but plastic turrets are quite common in this price range.