If you're not wedded to a 3-9x scope, Cameraland has the Vortex Viper 2-7x32 on sale for $175. Here's what koshkin had to say about this scope on his Optics Thoughts website:
"For the money, this is probably my favourite scope of the bunch. Optically, it is quite good. Easily on par with Leupold [VX-3 2.5-8x] and [Nikon] Monarch [2-8x32]. I do not know if it is better (perhaps I will try to arrange a side-by-side), but it is certainly not worse. Eye relief is long and flexible. Similarly to the Monarch, it also stays constant with magnification. Eyepiece on this scope is fairly slim (smallest in diameter here, I think), but it is still of the fast-focus type. As far as reticle selection goes, I think Vortex has gotten it almost right and has an advantage over most of the competition. There are three reticles available: plex, BDC and C3. Plex reticle is quite thin. BDC is a fair bit thicker (thick lines are about twice thicker than plex), C3 is a little thicker than BDC and has a circle surrounding the center crosshair. Predictably, I like the C3 reticle the most out of them all. It is still not an ideal low light reticle, but the circle is a big help for fast target acquisition."
I would also add that SWFA has the Viper on sale for $170 - I don't recall if these prices are with or without shipping, however so you'd have to look to see who has the best price overall.
