Shooting at longer distances has become popular, and many hunters like the idea of having added reach. This preference has spawned a new breed of precision rifles light enough to carry into the backcountry. It’s also produced a new strain of variable-power riflescopes that help make getting hits at longer distances easier. However, most of these rifle-scopes are much heavier than conventional designs. Consider that the top three deer hunting riflescopes recently named in an online list had an average weight of 27 ounces. But are scopes this heavy necessary for most hunters?
In his 1970 book, “The Hunting Rifle,” celebrated gunwriter Jack O’Connor wrote, “I rather doubt if more power than 4X is needed for any big game
