ORIGINAL: npaden
I know eye relief is better with the 3-9x and I'm not going to be shooting over 400 yards so the 9x would be adequate for that, but when you are out walking with just you and your gun often I've used the rifle scope as a spotting scope and the higher magnifications can really help with that.
[:-]I'd advise aganist you doing that again. But in answer to your question, few people beyond varmit and long-range hunters will find any use for anything about 9x or 10x for practical hunting. I like Weavers a lot, and their Grand Slam series appears to be a nice line of scopes. Don't know if they fit in your budget, just throwing ideas out there.