I have a number of scopes in the $1200 and under range and had an Burris XTR Pro that i sold to my brother. My brother has a number of $2-3000 scopes (Kahles, US Optics Foundation, a variety of Steiner... and a few i can't remember). From what i have seen after sampling them along side my scopes, i don't compete and he does, is that i don't need more expensive scopes for what i do. My Bushnell DMR 2, Athlon Ares ETR and BTR and Burris XTR 3's (non illuminated) are just great for range day, and do just fine even shooting to a mile. Side by side with my brother's scopes, i just can't justify the extra cost for the extra performance. I have a number of low end scopes that can function pretty nicely, but always have something that just isn't right. Whether it is the turrets, tracking, glass resolution or CA, i just can't bring myself to buy more of the Athlon Midas Tac, Arken EP5, SWFA, and i may not get rid of any, but i probably won't buy any more of the Burris XTR2's or Athlon Ares BTR. Every one of those lower line of scope i owned i have taken to 1000-1500 yards, but to me it is just worth it to buy the next step up, and not worth it to go the next step beyond. I make pretty decent money, but it all depends on priorities and if you feel that you can just jump into a $3000 scope without hands on, you are a lot more of a risk taker than i am.
That all said, i hope that you don't plan to use a target scope for hunting. IMO the narrow reticles just aren't suited to low light, low magnification with a wooded background. I hate lighted reticles. I strongly urge you to not expect one scope to be able to do it all, get a hunting scope for hunting and a target scope for target shooting.
