Let's get this out of the way first - It doen't sound like this rifle will be meant to compete against the rifles one might find described in the sniper forums. The kind of quality and features necessary in those applications far exceed most hunters' budgets. You're talking optics mounts almost as expensive as rifles.

second - I have to agree that it's not necessary to take shots over 300 yards at western game provided one is even moderately competent at stalking.

I'm a bit concerned that some of the hype lately is leading hunters to purchase higher magnification rather than higher quality. Most optics manufacturers offer a number of lines and price points. I'd recommend that you first decide on how much you can reasonably spend. If you're looking at a VX3 in 4.5-14, you may want to look at a 3.5-10 in the Mark 4 line for a bit more. Same could be said of Burris, Nikon, Zeiss, ... Shop around. Big box stores rarely offer the best price.

Good optics aren't necessarily the ones with the highest magnification. For your application, I'd suggest that you'd be perfectly fine with a 3-9x. Your next dillema will be choice of reticle. MilDots and their variations might be "tacti-cool", but if you're not willing to develop the skills to use them, they're wasted. I've also become a fan of Leupold's TMR.