RE: simmons scopes
The revised (2007 and newer?) Simmons Aetec Master Series isn't a bad scope at all.Nowhere near the Tasco/Barska/BSA stuff. The new design (fromformer Leupold engineers, as I understand it) on the Master Series won several awards from the NRA anda few gun mags. For about $200 it will hang right in there with anything in that price range (Leupold, Burris), if not outperform & outlast it.
That being said, however, I would probably spend another $30-$50 and get a Bushnell Elite 4200 3-9x, which, IMO, is far and away the best bargain in scopes.