I am looking for a scope for my AR as the one I currently have on it is going to a friend.  I do not know much about the different brands.  The local gun store was recommending BSA brand as the one to get.  I have only about $200 to spend and I have been looking for one that I can be accurate from 50-600 yards and it be strong enough I can see the hole in the target since I dont have/cant afford a spotting scope.  Any suggestions on brands and such would be appreciated.

I owned a BSA for about 45 minutes.  

For a low cost scope, I have a Tasco Mag IV 50 that works very well.  As for seeing the holes in a target, a .22 caliber hole is pretty tough to see even with a 20X scope with a 50 MM objective.

TRG

www.natchezss.com has a Bushnell Scope Chief Line on sale. It's a 8-32x. For $189.00. Cant comment on quality but would expect it to be better than BSA.

I agree, I have a couple of Bushnell scopechiefs and for the money they have been great scopes.  Plus Bushnell has been around forever,and will stay here.  I also have had generally good luck with the better grade Simmons scopes, just be sure to look at the optics before you buy, I have seen a few that were noticably substandard, probably slipped by QC.  Plus, I had one 2.5x8 that the guts fell apart.  I sent it back, within 3 weeks I had a brand new one, never a problem since,that was about 6 or 7 years ago.  Simmons' warranty is standard for scopes, but they really came through and quickly for me.   HTH