You certainly don't need that much magnification even for hunting out west.I find 10x enough for big game hunting out to 500 yards and the lower powers are sure handy when that 20 yard shot suddenly presents itself.
If you need to get a scope into a smaller budget I suggest looking for a Leupold Vari X III
The 3x9x40 conquest sells for about the same price as the 3.5x10x40 vxiii.