Originally Posted by
BrushyPines
Yea I'm a little confused myself
If I read NM the way I think I do, that is a common misconception.
Follow this link and maybe this will help clear it up:
http://www.leupold.com/resources/the...scope-for-you/ . Pay special attention to "Objective Lens Diameter".
BP-the yardage you believe you will encounter is not very demanding from a scope magnification standpoint. Generally speaking, if you've ever shot w/open sights on factory rifles at targets of say 50 yards, then a scope of 5x @ 250 will give a similar target appearance/perspective. 5/250=50. The more important factor is the hunt conditions you will encounter. If you are a woods hunter or hunt next to such cover, then you don't always know how close the target may appear to you. The Leupold 3x9x40 scope has a field of view(FOV) at 100 yards at 3 power of 32.3 ft. At 50 yards, that becomes 16 ft. FOV. At 25 yds. the FOV becomes 8ft. If the deer is that close to you, you need the quick target acquisition a smaller power scope can give you. That becomes even more important if the deer is not simply standing. Regardless of the brand you chose, if that is the hunting environment you encounter, I would keep the magnification in the 1x5, 1.5x6, or 2x7 at the most. These powers will easily handle the ranges you are likely to encounter w/ease. If you are close to a Bass Pro, they have a "Fall Classic" promotion coming in about 1 week. They will accept a trade-in scope and give a discount on a new one. The 2x7 VX-2 is great scope in your price range and you will get the trade in discount on top of that. Any scope larger that 2x7 really isn't required for the range you mentioned.