I've had a 3-9x40 Leupold VX-1 on my Winchester 70, .270 for 16+ years. I think it was $199 mounted and bore sighted at the shop I got it at way back when. I believe the VX-1 and 2 are discontinued, replaced with the VX-Freedom, which appears to be about the same price. No experience with the Freedom, but Leupold makes decent stuff.
I've got plenty of Vortex optics, I like them all, they discontinued my favorite, and their best bang for the buck Diamondback HP line up. I've got a couple different Dimaondback HPs and love them. The Diamondback still exists, but if you want side focus/parallax you've got to get up into the Diamondback Tactical or higher lines. You may not want the target turrets that come with the Tactical on a hunting scope. They offer adjustable objectives (AO) on some of their lower end Crossfire models. I've got a 4-12x50AO Crossfire on a .22 Mag that's a fine scope for no more than it cost, but I MUCH prefer the side focus to the AO.
For a hunting scope, you don't need anything fancy though, something name brand from; Vortex, Leupold, Nikon (If you can still find one), Bushnell, Burris, Weaver, etc. pick something with decent reviews, with adjustable magnification, somewhere between 3-16ish and an objective lens around 40mm, it'll be hard to go wrong.
