DWilson050,
I am going to give you an answer you won't want to hear.
I have no clue what to suggest for your use. There are certainly lots of great scopes out there, but I have no idea what your sweet spot is.
Too often I have seen some people who just don't click with a scope with a great reputation. Others will go on and on about a $99 special they picked up. Some of this information is a bit of a basic primer, I apologize to any super-scope Gurus out there who are bored to tears.
Lets talk about Time of day the scope will be used.
Bright sunlight, middle of the day, you can get away with smaller tubes (like 1 inch), and smaller Objective, such as 40-42mm (the front) glass. Morning and evening (low light) use is typically experienced by hunters, or target shooters that are forced to set up their range in heavy woods. You will likely be looking for a scope which has a larger main tube (30mm or more), and bigger Objective lens, perhaps as big as 50 or 56 mm. Light transmission of the quality of the glass itself, will also be more important the lower the light is.
Realistic Magnification is often defined by either, how far you are shooting, or how small of an object you wish to resolve. I have some scopes which go up to 34 magnification, I use them to scan downrange when I am hunting, they keep me from having to carry binoculars. Personally, for actual shooting (hunting), I have never felt the need to go higher than 24 Magnification for the actual shot. Most people are quite happy with 10 to 20 power maximum. This is an area where simple preference is the deciding factor.
Illuminated reticle is frequently useless in full Sun, but benefits people shooting in less than ideal lighting situations. Cheaper scopes can get a colored image halo from the reticle illumination.
Focus/Parallax adjustments come in two basic flavors, those scopes which perform this with an adjustment on the side of the scope, and those which perform it by rotating the Objective lens on the front of the scope. Some airguns are hard to load with a big sidewheel on them, others are a snap. Some people hate having to reach all the way forward to the objective to adjust their focus/parallax. They feel like it unsettles their shooting position. Once again, your airgun defines whether a side focus/Parallax scopes will work for you.
Weight is really important to many people, especially for hunting rifles. Keep in mind, all things equal, a Great scope which weighs half as much, frequently comes at Twice the cost. Even though my scopes are mainly intended for hunting, I don't mind the extra weight. A light cheap scope frequently will not hold a zero. I like beefy scopes.
Cost is the real estate version of "location location location". You NEVER get more than you paid for. You are always trading one thing for another in scopes under $400. Decide what you are willing to compromise on, if your budget is under $400.
And of course, this wouldn't be complete without mentioning Second Focal Plane (SFP), versus First Focal Plane (FFP) scopes. The skinny, FFP scopes have a reticle which changes size, depending upon your magnification. However, at all magnifications, one mil dot remains exactly one mil dot (roughly 3.6 inches at 100 meters). This can make some reticles appear too thick under high magnification. Second focal plane scopes gain a reticle which appears the same at all magnifications. However, the mil dots on the reticle are only accurate at ONE magnification, typically 10X unless stated differently in the manual. This means at 5X magnification, a mill dot is twice its value, and at 20X it is half its value... you must do a bit of math with SFP. No math is needed on FFP.
Some other common features include locking turrets. Some people are concerned the knobs on their scopes will become bumped under handling, or bumping branches while walking through the woods. For those people, turrets which have a locking knob are appealing. I just choose to avoid bumping my knobs. I also lift and reset them back to Zero for their neutral settings, this way, if they get bumped, I turn them back to Zero, problem solved.
This is not an entire list of things a scope can do. Some things, such as Warranty are a non-physical characteristic, but is important. If you fire back with YOUR sweet spot for these factors, I suspect several people can suggest a scope which will likely please you.
I think we can all safely assume you want non-foggy glass, and turrets which repeat and will pass the classical Box Test. You desired price range will adjust the suggestions significantly.
