Alex Gibbs wrote: what exactly am i missing here and why are they considered so crap?
i should add i am sure there is an advantage but where exactly is the quality difference?
If all you ever do is shoot rabbits in daylight, pretty much anything will do.
For me, the difference is at nigh and under the lamp or with night vision. A good scope buys you quarry identification where poor ones don't. At this time of year, the fields are full of roe kids. There are also a lot of doxes and fox cubs around, I want to shoot the foxes but not the roe kids. With good glass the difference is clear as daylight. With poor glass you can't see anything but eyes shining back at you, you need to wait for a profile shot.. which in long grass can be difficult to get.
I can ID a fox with my scopes at well beyond 300 yards with a lamp at night. This is simply not possible with poor quality glass and you find yourself squeaking in sheep, deer, cats and god knows all what