In my opinion it depends on what you are going to do with the scope and the type of scope you intend to get. For close up shooting or big game hunting you can get a decent scope in the one hundred and fifty dollar and up range. As long as you keep the power down and the features to a mininum. Now if you are talking long range hunting or target shooting and want a high powered scope with all the bells and whistles it will cost you. Don't think your going to get a high quality target or tactical scope for a couple of hundred dollars When they normally sell for 400-1000 dollars. It simply isn't going to happen.

I personally think Barska scopes are junk, but I have heard decent things about the more expensive tactical models. It should work, but don't expect the optics to be as good as a similar scope that cost twice as much. If you were looking to save money I would have suggested a Meuller over the Barska myself. I have owned both and the meullers are very nice scopes for the money.

Do you need to spend as much or more on the scope as you did the rifle, no, but you have to spend a reasonable amount of money to get the quality you need for your application. In most cases more money actually does buy you a better scope. They will have better optics and better quality control than the cheaper scopes with the same features.

Good luck.

Paul