Fella's;
I've bought a fair amount of glass in my years, everything from Chinese Tasco to Zeiss. With extremely few exceptions you get what you pay for. With that said, let's take a look at the O.P.'s situation.
He's hunting in New England, and using a 6.5 Swede, a cartridge I've got a lot of history with also. However, I'm in darkest Outer Montana & he's got more and thicker vegetation. Although he didn't give us a budget number, the choices he's posted would seem to indicate that the budget is around $200.00 I'd think. Considering the vegetation issues, and recalling conversations with people in New Hampshire who hunt, 200 yards would be a long shot, with most game taken in the 50 to 100 yard range.
If the O.P. agrees with me about the conditions, I'd think that 7 or 8 power on the top end would be entirely sufficient. Although if the better value were a 3-9X, I'd say go for it. And that brings me to the Vortex Diamondback 3-9X x 40mm that SWFA is showing for sale at the cost of $189.95 plus shipping. Which should bring the total cost to right about on the budget figure I mentioned earlier. Vortex is very decent glass for the money. In my opinion they now occupy the place that Sightron did ten years ago.
There's nothing wrong with a Japanese Weaver, but I'm not sure where the various scopes in their product line are built anymore. If the Classic V were Japanese the the 40/44's were Chinese, I know which one I'd buy & which I'd avoid. A 2-7 Leupold VX-2 is a helluva good scope, but would seem to be out of his price range. If I were shopping in the 350-400 range I'd also be looking at the Weaver Grand Slams and most particularly the Nikon Monarch 2.5-10X with the mil-dot reticle. I've got a fair amount of Nikon glass & am also really sold on the mil-dot system.
900F
