I am going down the same road you are with the exception that I already have a monarch gold 2.5-10x56. Nobody makes a custom turret for the Nikon Monarch Gold that I can find. I was hoping they would be the same as the Monarch X but apperently not. I love the glass but figuring kentucky windage at 300 plus yds sucks. I am shopping for a new scope for this very reason. You can get the conquest 4.5-14x50 with factory target turrets as well as Kenton turrets and you can get turrets from leupold's custom shop for any of their scopes. I have been considering the VX3 4.5-14x50 with turrets from their custom shop. I, like you, don't want to go above 3x on the low end but the Conquest and the VX3's have gotten really great reviews and I would definately consider them. I really like the Minox ZA5 3-15x50 because it has more on both power ends and they have gotten really good reviews as well. Unfortunately, they don't come with target turrets. I emailed Kenton about turrets for the Minox and they don't have them yet but seem to have plans in the near future. They said the Bushnell 6500 turrets would fit if the Minox has a plastic elevation knob. I don't have one to check and have posted emails on various forums to see if any Minox owners can check. Another seemingly perfect scope for my needs which is literally a couple of yards off the end of my gun out to 400yds hunting and 600 yds target shooting, is the Bushnell 6500 2.5-16x50. The reviews on it are mixed. Its all very confusing which makes it hard for me to pry the money out of my wallet for fear of making a mistake and buying a scope that I will regret becuase I realized there was a better one suited for my needs.