I used to be in the mindset, you have to have optics in excess of 1500.00. Of course that was several years ago now before the whole optic industry got to where it is recently. To think, I have a small fortune invested in optics (NF,Valdada,Leica,Leopold,Burris,Meopta,Trijicon,Vortex,Zeiss) over the last twenty years nearly makes me ill. It's an obsession, like an addiction. You do not need a $2,500.00 plus scope nowadays. Spend a little time doing some youtube search and you'll see side-by-side analysis/comparisons against the top-tier 2500+. Look for Arkan Optics. Under $600.00
I wish I could sell all my high dollar optic for .10 on the dollar but no one wants five, ten to twenty year old glass nowadays even though, mine are crystal sharp, they don't have newest reticles new shooters feel they need.
Hope that helps.