Hee Hee - have you hunted in NZ's South Is, I've been there for over 35 years and I can tell you that I have seen many more animals lost while nerds fiddled with their varipowers than I've missed due to a 4x scope.

What you need to remember is that in NZ you usually stalk up through the bush to the tops, consequently a scope has to handle from 15 yards (have you ever tried to shoot something as large as a Red deer at 15 yards with a 6x scope - all you'll see is hair)to whatever is your max range. Being that its a 250-3000 I'm scoping, and by personal ethics, I don't bother shooting at animals over 300 yards, I've shot plenty of deer and chamois around this distance with a 4x and not too many have complained by disappearing unexpectedly !

A key feature of a rifle for NZ(IMO)is the ability to throw it to the shoulder for a shot in way less time than it takes to blink. To do this you need a non critical eyebox on a low powered scope and a well balanced and set-up rifle.

Thanks for your input folks.