The Leupold VX ! or II or their Redfiled line like Bruse mentioned will do you well for the price range you mentioned and they have a lifetime warranty that is hard to beat if you ever have a problem.

Burris FFII would be the best in that price range IMO. Vortex also has some nice offerings though.

yes .

Zeiss Conquest, normally $500 and up. I Just paid $280 for a 3x9x40. I can't find the same deal, the planets must have aligned that day but I have seen them for about $300 lately. Awesome glass! Hard to beat Karl Zeiss quality.

I bought a Bushnell Elite and love it. Payed $250 for it a couple of years ago and it hasn't let me down yet. Shot a nice 8 pointer with it the second year at 225 yards. It also has the rain guard on it and has never fogged up on me once. Can't say enough good things about the scope.

Nikon or burris............

I recommend you check out the Vortex Diamondback line. They are right in your price range, going from $170 up to $299 depending on specs. Vortex has a great reputation regarding build, warranty, and customer service. You might want to ask more at the Optics Talk site.

Right now, it looks like you can get the most scope for your $$ with the Sightron line from the link above.

Redfield just came out w/ a new scope for 2013. It's called battlezone and if this scope is anything like the revolution it's a good 200 dallar winner.

You can get into the lower end of the Vortex Viper line for between $250 and $300. Picked up a 3x9 a few months ago for $280.

When I went to Jager School, in Germany, my instructor said if my rifle cost $500.00 then spend $1,500.00 on optics. That rule still applies. A great gun with cheap optics is a waste of accuracy. Save your money and buy quality glass. Remember the low light shot you had at that huge buck.......... you couldn't see the target well so no buck! There is no ONE scope that does it all. Use determines choice. Good Luck, I know that rifle most likely cost more that $300.00, eh?