I used to not hunt with scopes on any of my deer guns, since my maximum shot rarely gets beyond 75 yds. Last year when I purchased my CVA Wolf 209 / Beartooth, I placed I scope on it with the thought that if I was to not want a scoped gun, I could grab either my shotgun or my older inline. Five deer later, I have yet to use either of those guns. The only mistake I've made was not seeing a 1/2" branch, 6 ft in front of me. The bullet completelly cut the branch in half, but luckily stayed on path to find the deer!