Every Simmons I've ever owned (each came as a part of package deals from Savage Arms) have been garbage. Optically, they're somewhat opaque, especially when compared to the Leupold VXIII, Bushnell Elite 3200, Bushnell Legend, and Nikon Buckmaster that now sit atop my rifles.
I have heard good things about the Aetec and .44 Mag scopes, however, I've no personal experience with either of the two.
The Simmons that came with those Savages didn't last long. One gave up the ghost within the first two boxes of factory .30-06 ammo, another lasted a year before the cross hairs went bonkers.
Most scopes that come on those package guns are the cheapest or near the cheapest scope the company makes. No surprise they gave up the ghost early on.
I had a Simmons Master Series ProHunter 3-9x40 on a Ruger M77 308 I recently sold and I liked the scope just fine. I had no problems with it's durability. I did however think it didn't track well while adjusting it, but it could have been me and not the scope. Once I had it set up and zero'd, it never had an issue holding zero, never fogged, no issues whatsoever.
I have an original ProHunter 2-7x32 that lives on my Ruger 77/22, same deal there. No issues and that one tracks fine for adjustments. I've put a few thousand rounds down that 77/22 while the scope has been on it. I also had the same style 2-7 on a muzzle loader and it too was fine. I sold the muzzle loader and the scope a couple years back. That scope now sits atop a different muzzle loader which belongs to a bud. It still performs perfectly after a several hundred rounds of 50 cal which pounds a scope pretty good.
These are just my exeperiences, and IMHO if you're looking for a budget scope, I wouldn't hesitate buying another.
