Unlike you, I have had several variable scopes cost me game animals, though not because they were set on the "wrong" magnification. Instead they failed in various ways, and no, none were cheap scopes. All were in the $500-$1000 range.
I don't doubt it. I'm sure there have been plenty of fixed power scopes that have had some kind of malfunction that have cost a guy a animal too.
Like I said earlier, they ALL work, and they ALL break. A guy just has to find out what works best for himself, and for this guy it's a variable 99% of the time.
