I'll second that motion! Too many folks are "over-scoped" these days. If you're hunting in the open areas, on the prairies, etc., then higher magnifications may be useful.
But, if you're in the woods you don't need all that magnification, and it can actually be
a handicap if you have too much. Too much, and it limits your field of view. On those close shot opportunities you won't be able to see the deer for all the hide/hair.

A good big game scope is one of 1.5 - 5x (20mm), or 2 - 7x (32mm), or as noted above, a 2.5 - 8x. Max., I wouldn't go more than a 3-9x (40mm).

Let me get this right. You have a 300Weatherby Mag and not sure what what scope powers mean? Wow, did you learn to drive a auto in a 18 wheeler?

I know it sounds strange. I got an incredible deal on it from a store going out of business. I also have a couple of Browning Citori's and some other guns that were my grandfather's, but I grew up in the city and my dad is not a hunter so I never got a chance. Now at 25 I am trying to learn and get started.

Nothing wrong with asking questions and this is the place to ask

I am always willing to help someone out but I have to say that the 300wby is not a great choice to start with and try to learn with.Recoil and the high cost of factory loads will prevent most people from shooting as much as a beginner should shoot in order to develop his shooting skills.

jbradley

Suggest you might want to check out Leupold's web site. Lot's of good information there.
For prices, or at least a guide, check out SWFA.

Links: http://www.leupold.com/main.htm

SWFA: http://www.riflescopes.com/store/default.asp

Also: http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2i.scopes_optics.htm

Stumblejumper , has very good points. The 300Wby is an excellent cartridge but wouldn’t my choice on learning how to shoot. If the recoil becomes a problem this could create some bad habits when shooting.

Well, bud, I am not knocking you. I would just hate to see you get a bad taste in you mouth in shooting by not getting the desired results. I know it would have been difficult for me to start on something like that. When I started shooting, it was a 243 and 270 and I had a hard time learning the basics, cause number one, nobody taught me.

Keep at it. I would consider a 7mm-08 to learn on and keep that weatherby handy. They can be a handful.

When I started out scopes were seldom used in wooded country, and in open spaces 3 power were the standard and 4 powers were just coming into widespread availablity. Then came the varilable craze, not strictly necessary but handy a scope of 2-7 power with a 32 or 33 mm objective lens in adequate for just about every type of medium or big game hunting that exists in the U. S. Varmints, of course, are different, some are small and shot a very long ranges so the higher powers are quite helpful. As for the brightness one way to judge is by the exit pupil. It is easy to figure, and the formula doesn't change with the coatings used. Divide the size of the objective lens by the power the resultant is the size of the column of light that leaves the ocular lens. There is no need to have an exit pupil that is larger than the one of your own eye. Young folks will have pupils that are capable of expanding to 6 or so mm. Older folks can't get theirs open that far. A 4 power scope with a 32mm objective lens would have an exit pupil of 8mm, or more than anyone could take advantage of. The scopes with 50 mm objective lenses would be well suited to use in moonlight with relatively high magnification. Varmint hunting if you'd like to do it at night might require such a scope. In exchange your face is lifted off of the stock, and recoil of the rifle can smack you one in the cheek and make you wish you had a smaller scope. Additionally the scope would tend to tilt the entire rifle, or cant it. This can be detrimental to accuracy. In scopes, bigger is not always better.