High-Power Rifles with Low-Power Scopes

[Still Shooting]

Looking for a small patch of hair

I like my Leupold 3-9x40's, and as others have said they are mostly hunted on 3X...but when on a deer watch, when there might be a buck out there on the edge of my vision (we're talking Northeastern mountain woodlands), I like to be able to turn up the power to study the little patch of something that might be deer through the cover. There's less disturbance and movement than reaching for a pair of binoculars, and it helps my 66 year-old eyes...

 

[Driftertank]

This is why, when i started looking for scopes for my rifle, i lamented the fact that most variable scopes with ranging reticles (i.e. mil-dot etc.) are set up with the reticle, in the second focal plane, scaled so as only to be accurate at or near max magnification. The guy (kid really) at the counter asked me why i'd ever be shooting at less than max power....

Now, my rifle will likely spend 99% of it's life as a target rifle, but i also intend to use it for big game on occasion. Hence my desire for a scope which would offer features optimized for LR target work without being useless afield. Hoping the Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 FFP i ordered will do well. 4x is a little high for min. on a field scope, IMO, but it gives almost a 30'/100yd FOV at low power, according to the literature.