After months of second guessing myself I finally bought (drumroll)...........[]
The Zeiss! Yes sir...Conquest 3.5-10x44. I was going to go for the 3-9 but there was a sale on and basically I got new rings for free. It really is a wedding gift from my bride to be, so as long as it was within the $1000.00 range, it was mine. I (she) paid $999.99 can. I figured go big or go home. Going out next weekend to sight it in, i' ll keep you posted on how well it works. Thanks for all the input (especially Woodseye)