Movie quote from Mad Max - Speed's just a question of money, son. How fast do you want to go?

We can fool ourselves regarding what is a good value on optics. My recommendation is buy once, cry once.

If I could go back in time to find the 25 year old me, I would tell him - Buy one really good .357 revolver, one good 1911, one great .22 pistol, and a decent .308 bolt action with a German scope. Then, go hunt for 40 years and be happy.