I would assume that anyone who would look through a 3x9 at you would also look through a 2x at you. Idiots are idiots no matter what scope they have.

I understand taping a scope to a fixed power for a child. Children, and some adults, are always fiddling with stuff. Fiddlers with scopes are the ones who are held up as an example because they are the ones with the scope on 9x when the animal is 25 feet away. They are not the rule though, rather the exception.

The correlation to this is the fellow who has a fixed 2.5 and has an animal in some bush 250 yards away. Still cannot find a shot. I once shot a wounded Grizzly at close to 300 yards in the brush. If I had not had a scope that would go to 7x I would never have been able to pick out a kill shot. Yes it is, IMO, better to take a shot like that than try a sneak through the willows and tag alders on a wounded bear.

Options, that is what a variable will give you. Just because it says it has 9x does not mean you have to use it. On a Double a lower combo is fine as the rifle is limited in range anyway. Also lighter and less likely to change the poi.

Agree on claw mounts 100%. I also like some of the Euro pivot mounts for retainability.