ORIGINAL: The Rifleman
The rule of thumb is to find the scope with the largest objective and the largest field of view that will fit in your budget and on your rifle.
The 4200 Bushnell is a Target Practice Scope = not a hunting scope!
You do not need a 4200 to shoot a deer or an elk.
Most ethical shots are within 300 yards!
2 of us in last week's hunting camp had bulls called to within 10 yards. The longest shottakenwas 144 yards. I shot my bull@ 3x: that's where the guides told us to set our scopes, and I had no problem making him out at 70 yds. Where we were hunting, 15x wouldn't have been necessary.In fact, the lone bighorn hunter in camp came prepared with a Leupy 6x42, for those 300+ yard shots.
My understanding is that the 4200's are tough as anything else, and my experience is that they're incredibly clear for the $$$. I'd only classify them as a "target scope" if they were jacked up to a high magnification, & had an objective bell that was too big to shimmy into a saddle scabbard. Just my $.02...
Either the 3200 or 4200 would serve you well.One can find 3200's in 3-9x40 for < $200, and the 4200's for < $300. I believe there's better glass out there, but precious few better values.
FC