RE: Good inexpensive scope
Actually, $300 is hardly "cheap" for a scope. $50 - now THAT would becheap.
Granted, we've all taken the top end of the guy's spending range & conveniently bumped right up against it. But a good quality 3-9 is perfectly adequate to ranges most people have no business shooting. Is it the perfect setup for consistently shooting to the far edge of the .300 WSM's range? No. That would lean toward a 12x or 16x magnification, and probably a 50mm objective. In other words, a target scope.
In the original post, however, the rifle was purchased for use on Elk & Mule deer. While some shots may be at 400+ yards, the vast majority are inside 200. And crawling around through thick timber isn't fun to do with a giant scope on one's rifle. Actually, trying to get a rifle with a large scope into a saddle scabbard isn't much fun, either.
In my eyes, a Bushnell 4200 is a pretty fine setup for his rifle, & what he says he wants to do with it.
Just my $.02.
FC