ive owned 1 barska i will never own another one, to me its worth the extra $$$$$ to buy good glass. lots of people say your rifle is only as good as the person shooting it, i also add a rifle is only as good as the glass you top it with. i would look at a Nikon the have some cheaper scopes that i love (Nikon Pro-Staff $150) they also have some higher dollar scoped that are great (Nikon Buckmaster $200-$400) and the price just keeps going up for the better scope, so for the average shooter look at the pro-staff and buckmaster scopes.

look through my recently asked questions i got many opinions on a similar question

ckRich

I did not know they still made Swift scopes. Thanks for that info. My son's Savage 99 .308 has a 4x Swift compact that has been a very good scope for 10+ years. Pretty sweet deer rifle set up!

If they are still made in Japan, they are probably still good quality.

I've been a Nikon fan recently.. and in that price range, the Buckmaster is a very very quality piece of glass. I bumped up to the newest Nikon Monarch and found a website that had it for under $400. I couldn't find that scope anywhere else for less than $499. The website is www.arcadian-sales.com and I was thoroughly impressed with the buy I got from them.

I am a huge Nikon fan. Great scopes, great warranty and decent price. Prostaff or Omegas are excellent.

I favor Leupold and you can find a 3x9 varixII for under $300. The glass is hard to beat for the price. Nikon is making very nice affordable scopes now also.
The Barska's are russian I understand and they are bargain basement models, so beware.
Scopes and binocs are two things you should splurge on if you can.

Barska ok if thats your price range but cant compare at all to Leopold or Nikon. For 300 you can get a decent scope with those 2 brands.

weaver grand slams have never failed me! great scopes for right at $300. would recommend buying the best you can afford because it does make a difference. but for the money weaver is hard to beat!