In my youth then The scope to have was the Optima Moonlighter 3-9x45. The early ones sometimes need reparallaxing for x9 at 30m. Though they came with a BDC the BDC aren't really up to the job. Later versions came with AO but this bulked them out and the general quality wasn't that marvellous. I have kept two earlier ones even though I have stopped collecting. Just in case I start afresh; these are increasingly hard to find, the rifles are easy.
The Optimas are in truth rather average.
I have a 4x40 on a FWB Sport 127 with Apel mounts and to me is the perfect combo for looks and the rifles intended use. Circa 1984.
My favourite Tasco is a 4-16x40 AO with a plex. No rangefinder reticle or magnification multi animal ring. My last one I sold with a Theoben SLR 88. I missed a mint one the other year; I'd rather like another. Circa late 80's early 90's.
A Tasco I'm keeping is a 6x40 with the Stag head. Reparallaxed to 25m its on my tuned HW95 and what might be considered just a superior FWB Sport combo. Circa 1986 to 92.
One of my favourite scopes, and longest, is the B&L 6X24X40 AO. I have one, but deciding on the right rifle. It was on a Venom 77 but even for that was on the long side. Circa 1992.
I have a little 2-5x32 B&L on my Theoben Fenman .177 and a complete joy. That had to be reparallaxed for 25m too. Circa 1991.
AO at the old mass market level bring as many issues as they solve. Shift of POI is common when switching distances. To work as they should, they really need to be well made and stay correct. Which at this level of materials and quality control becomes more luck than much else. A few will do it, but not all. I've given up on them bar the odd exception as noted. There are less issues with side parallax scopes as found on more modern designs.
A whole host of collectable rifles really are undressed without a matching period scope. Sadly the scopes aren't as robust as the rifles. There are a lot of tatty, or even busted ones out there; very few mint.
Much can be said about mounts. Apel and Hilver mounts are hard found. They look best on HW's, FWN Sports, Webley Omegas, BSF's, and customs. There are a few one piece that look OK. Sportsmatch can look a bit bulky.
I've let most of my stuff go, though kept the "impossible to find" choice pieces. It has been fun doing the "been there done that".
Most "budget" scopes were pretty "average" and all built a bit soft. Wire cross hairs break. OA could cause issues. Light transmission not exactly blinding, and age doesn't improve them. A very few were properly bright, or as bright as a far more expensive Leupold. Early 90s the Simmons WTC arrived and showed up how "average" the market had got. Sadly even those weren't that bright. By the time Deben took up a big chunk of the budget market then cheap optics showed how cheap they were; things just didn't get better. Later the Chinese products hit the market and at the beginning they were poor. Things are better but all the old issues are still there if buying too cheap. Its probably as hard now as it ever was to find a "good" scope as it ever was. Just too much choice and far too much "average" done. Its quite hard to do a good scope. Most annoying when you find one the manufacturer goes and messes with it.
Modern shooting becomes more and more deliberate now. Its all about pin point accuracy and how long a shot takes to do is secondary. That puts great demands on the scopes. Its always been that the scope might well be as much as the rifle, 60 to 80% easy; even in 1985.