$350-500 is a real nice price range for hunting scopes. You get a lot for the dollar. The Ziess conquest would be my choice butthe Burris sig select/Lupie VXIII, 3x9x40 Nikon Monarch and the Bushnell 4200 2.5x10x40are quite nice as well. You wouldn't wrong with any of them.

If you could forgo the 9X or 10X I saw that Natchez has the 1.5x6x36 elite 4200 on sale for $250. That would be a great scope for someone who hunts the thick stuff.