Best thing about a fixed scope is that you only have to concentrate on making a good shot of it.

The biggest issue with variables is that they are complex and have moving parts. If nt made extremely well things tend to go wrong. Some of the budget ones aren't worth the price of the packaging. Even mid priced scopes can suffer from issues. Shift in POI for no apparent reason. High mag with all the parallax focus faffing. When I need a complex scope I pay the money. Tracking and perfect engineering is worth every penny.

Yes there are fake Leupolds, but a second hand genuine one is worth sourcing. Many were imported straight from the States. Basically buy from someone you know and trust. When a Leupold is good they are very very good indeed. Sadly the whole market is flooded with mid priced scopes and Leupold has mudded in to compete. Some of their offerings are still every bit great as ever, some could be better even if price competitive to other makes. Scope buying is a nightmare because its stuffed with those wanting your money. Making a very good scope is far more difficult than it seems.

Just looked through my collection of vintage stuff. Some jump out at being excellent. Most are at best average OK, even if thought the bees knees once. In truth its all in the build, soft aluminium parts don't do well once out of the shop.