What are your thoughts on the VX-3i I just mentioned?

IMHO if you are talking hunting out west for elk, deer, or antelope I would be looking at a scope with an upper power of at least 9 and depending how your eyes are maybe even 12 power. A 6x IMHO isn't enough for long shots out west, but if you don't plan on shooting over about 250 to 300 yards max then the 6x will probably do you okay and that price they have on Amazon won't be beat anywhere!