I'd simply get a 3-9 SWFA HD....
Thanks Greg. That's definitely a candidate. Not THAT much cheaper than the NF, though.
Edit: plus, it's FFP. I have not used or owned an FFP scope. "I hear" that the MQ reticle gets pretty small and hard to see at low power settings in lower light and with a messy background? Dunno. Definitely don't want to give up low-X performance.