Hmm. "Paying a little moe" to me means spending 300 dollars or more. When I buy a good scope, good mounts, and pay close attention to installing them, a big part of what I'm getting out of it is faith. Yes, faith-- much of the human world runs on faith. In this case, it is faith in the optic: If you miss your target, and you have faith in the equipment, you can totally forget about the equipment as a factor, which allows you to concentrate on adjusting your shooting technique. Its liberating.
When first starting out, you're at a big disadvantage. Did your shot miss its mark due to the rifle, the optic, the mounts, the ammo, the wind, your flinching, or your poor aim? Begin eliminating one possibility at a time, remembering that most all rifles shoot better than their owners.
I can remember being somewhat frustrated by all this. A big, big help would be to go out to the range with someone you know is a good shooter.
Finding the best optics you can afford, and then spending a little more than that, will be something you will not regret, as a beginner or as an experienced shooter. For your .22 mag you probably don't want a variable power scope like the classic 3-9 x 40. Something around 3x or 4x magnification will be plenty good for a combination of easy targeting and easy target identification. The higher the magnification, the smaller the field of view, which makes even finding the target through the scope more difficult, and I'll assume you're not shooting at four-inch targets at 500 yards anyway.
Having the good optics isn't a 100% guarantee however (faith should have its limits). I once spent a good part of my day at the range frustrated by my inability to keep any sort of decent zero. When I got home I realized that the adjustment lock collar on the rear (occular) lens had come loose and the whole lens bell was flopping around like crazy. This was a 350 dollar Leupold-- a great scope, but screws are screws, and they will come loose. You have to check things from time to time.
