Well. This may not help much. But when I think of "affordable scope," I think of Tasco. Unfortunately, when I think of Tasco, I think of the cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels, so, again, not sure how much help that was.
On a more serious note, I have a Redfield Revolution on my 243, and, while it's not awesome, it is acceptable. For the $250 I pad for it, I feel it was a good value. Unfortunately, Redfield went under (again), so they may be hard to find.
I have a spotter from the Vortex Diamondback line, and I feel the same way about it as I do the Redfield. (Actually, I think it's better.) So if you looked at a scope from that line, you'd still be in the $250 range and have a decent scope.