Thanks for the responses. You've definitely swayed me ... now I'm somewhere in the middle. I also found that amazon has a a Leupold VX-3i 1.75-6x32 for a very good price. What are your thoughts on that?

Once I pick out a scope I will spend some time shooting the rifle to get more comfortable with it. I think that will help my accuracy at distance far more than a larger magnification scope. I have been shooting a 17 hmr with a 4x fixed scope for a little while and on a good day I can shoot about a 1" group at 100 yards on a bean bag. (Don't ask be about a bad day). Kidding aside, I know the larger rifle is a different story. But my thoughts are that if I get consistent with it at 100 yards then 300 yards shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, I can see the appeal for a variable power scope. What are your thoughts on the VX-3i I just mentioned?