Oddly enough, I have never owned the classic 3-9 scope. Because of where I hunt, I liked the always the bridesmaid never the bride 2-7. So on my hunting guns, being a Leupold guy, I straddled the difference and have had extremely good luck with their 2.5-8 vari-x 3 & it’s replacement, the vx-3. So much so that it sits on 4 of my hunting rifles. Bought my first when I was 16 scrimping and saving for my first centerfire rifle, Rem 700 in .30-06. That rifle and scope has been all over the country and the only time I have wanted more magnification has been at the range. That scope range has been just fine for whitetails, mulies, antelope, and elk on various rifles. On my range toys I skipped over the 3-9 and went to the 4-5-14 or higher. Another reason the 3-9 is popular is it’s probably the most useful range in the typical 3x zoom range. Sure, advancements have led to higher zoom ranges. Accordingly I have outfitted three of my newer rifles with vx-6HD’s to take advantage of the broader magnification range, but more for the range than actual hunting. The magnification range all start with 1-, 2-, or 3-. Today, I think people have a tendency to over-magnify and to not match the scope and range to the cartridge or rifle. Sure, it’s not my money and everyone is free to do as they wish, but I have seen some odd mismatches (in my opinion which is worth exactly what you all paid for it) such as I have seen three 450 BM’s at the gun club (yup I live in Michigan’s slug zone) wearing 12x-14x top of the magnification range scopes as an example or the big target scopes on ultra lightweight rifles. But I also think of all the old-timers, many of which are not with us anymore, that I was privileged to share a campfire with. Many of them would turn their nose up at anything higher than a 3-9 and would even look at that with suspicion and they have accounted for more game than I can ever hope to bag.
I know, long winded, but the 3-9 was the standard cause it just worked and was a great compromise. You might wish the 3x was lower sometimes but it was workable, and you might wish the 9x was higher sometimes, but it was also very workable.
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