>>518394
Vortex has a few models between $300 and $500 that are solid for the price. They're commonly used in competitive settings like 3gun for entry level builds. There is a noticeable difference in the quality of a 300 scope and a $1000+ one, but diminishing returns kicks in hard at the low thousands. There's little appreciable difference between a $1500 scope and a $4000 dollar one. The sweet spot is right around $1500 for maximum quality, and with sales you can find things like the Vortex Razor 1-6 for under a thousand if you're patient.
The inexpensive scopes are perfectly usable though, especially if you're not going to be running through the woods with them, slamming them into all kinds of rocks and trees.
Make sure you find a reticle you like, some of them are absolutely retarded, and the shitty reticles show up even on scopes that cost thousands of dollars.
For about $300 I'd go with the Vortex Strike Eagle, and about #700 I'd buy a Vortex Viper. If you can swing the extra $300 I'd wait for a black friday sale and snag a Vortex Razor 1-6. I'm shilling Vortex because that's what I have left after selling off other brands, I didn't care for any of the other scopes around $1000.
Make sure you actually want to run a variable power optic to begin with though, you can use a red dot out to 250m without much trouble and the target acquisition is generally superior at close range. You can always upgrade later with a 3x or 6x magnifier if you really want to push out past 300 yards. You can pick up a Trijicon MRO for around $400 shipped during any major holiday sale. Aimpoint has comparable options at that price with the PRO being a little less expensive, but coming with a really shitty mount and twice the weight. The Aimpoint H1 series is a little over $400 during sales and is significantly less heavier than the PRO, while coming with a better mount.
Coming from someone who owns thousands of dollars in optics, I have gravitated towards using the Trijicon MRO most of the time. I don't live in a place where you can ever reasonable expect to take a shot over 300m, and my eyesight is good enough to make the red dot work up to about that distance without magnification. You'd be just as satisfied with an Aimpoint offering, I just like the larger field of view on the MRO, though there is a downside of slight distortion in the image. I haven't really bothered with any of the cheaper red dots, as to me spending an extra $200 or so dollars is worth the increased battery life and durability. If you exclusively shoot at a range, you'd probably be fine with one of the primary arms microdots.