Free: Contests & Raffles.
I've killed a couple of truck loads of deer with my old K-4 and K-3 but once I started using my first Weaver V-4.5 you could never get me back in a 4x, even a 3-9 on 3x makes me feel closed in. I lived where we could take up to six deer a year living a subsistence lifestyle at the time, venison, rabbits, raccoon and beaver were our daily staple. I like my game close, the closer the bigger the rush and a much surer kill. Sniping them at long range is pretty boring, been there and tried it, not much different than going out in the pasture and killing a steer. Spending the day on a track learning a deer and then out thinking him for a shot or still hunting slowly through the forest, relying on stealth and ability to spot a deer before he sees you to the kill, that's satisfying. Sitting in a stand and killing one over a pile of apples, grazing in an alfalfa field or ambushing one on the other side of a valley, no thanks. Shooting in a rifle match is more of a rush at least you can lose to someone that is a better shot that day, hunting at longer range or from a stand you only lose if you make crappy shot and you sure don't want to admit that.. Having a critter outsmart you after spending time on a track or still hunting is worth a story back in camp.Weaver V-3 25-204 100gr NBT at 70 yards My target scopes used to be fixed powers, 10x, 12x, 15x and 24x they are all gone in favor o 6-18x, 6.5-20 and 8-32x and have never wished one of the fixed ones back.