When I had mine, it wore a Leupold fixed 6x (FxIII 6x42). The cartridge is a 300 yard capable round, so I'd want at least 6x on the high end, if not 12x would be good. For under $500 I'd look at a Leupold VX Freedom 3-9x40 or a used Vortex Viper 3-9x40