Wayne,
Just back from a hunting trip so have not been on this site for several days. One scope that we have mentioned a lot in the past that would be very interesting for your .223 is the Bushnell 3200 10x Tactical. This scope is very reasonably priced (190 dollars or so) and has performed well on several rifles that I use and friends own. It is not a Nightforce, but it is sharp and bright and the turrets work properly. I would put it into some Warne Maximas on steel Warne bases and you would be good to go.
There are several good moderate to medium priced scopes, the 3200 is sort of a sleeper as it is so moderately priced. Nikon also has some pretty good scopes with turrets, and also I have a great Burris Signature 3-9 that is very reliable, has good brightness and definition. Can't go wrong with Leupold, the more money you spend the better as the Vari X 111's are definitely better scopes than their low-enders. They make a Vari-X11 tactical with nice turrets that would be nice on a .223.
Bottom line is that the really high performance scopes are not cheap, but they are worth the money in reliablity, repeatability, optical qualities and warrantee backup.
Guys here suggest spending about the same $ on your scope/mounts as you did on the rifle. The 3200 lets you beat that usually.
Good luck on your scope decision.