Deerslayer, is dead on about the 2 3/4s I have not found any 3in that shoot any better than 2 3/4s. Not to mention the extra recoil.

As far scopes, I had a Leuplod VX-II 1-4x20 and found that I never used the 1x magnification, but often wanted more on the high end. I then switched to Leupold 2-7x33 and am much happier than I was with the 1-4x.