Scope advice for night hunting needed

[Cypress]

I am looking into getting a new scope to hog hunt with this year to go on a new 300wsm. I'm looking to spend less than $400. I've never even shot through a $400 scope and have always done well with my cheap Bushnell Banner or my old Redfields. Most of my hunting is done at night with moonlight only so scope brightness is very important. I have no idea how much difference there will be between my 6-18X50mm Banner and the higher dollar scopes so I would like some input there. I looked at the burris 4.5x14X42mm but it's hard to get them to let you test drive one. Please no night vision or thermal imaging,nuclear powered,laser guided,self cleaning, gadget type suggestions. I AM curious how well the IR scopes work in total darkness. Seems like it would be harder to see the target with bright crosshairs. Anyway, I have also looked at Bushy 3200's, Nikon Buckmasters, and Leupold VX II and would like some comparisons between these if you happen to have several different models. The power needs to be a minimum of 14 as my daytime hunting ranges are pretty far at times and light transmission has to be good. Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

[younganddumb]

look at the new fire-fly recticle on the bushnell's

 

[Tarvis]

You need to understand the relationship between the objective lens and the zoom (iirc, may have 'em mixed up) as far as letting in light. I can't remember which magazine it was, but it had a great article on scope objectives and lens coatings in reference to light.

 

[jpwilly]

Nikon Monarch's have some of the best light transmission and contrast for the money.