Certainly a person should get as much utility from his rifle as possible. The investment is large, and we like to see a return on our investments. Perhaps though in this case it begs the question, “What is it for?” You describe a target rifle, but your need, from what you say, is that of a general purpose rifle. I have carried heavy rifles in the field, and anyone wishing to do so is free to cowboy up. My preference is to keep the weight well under 10 pounds, and if I can manage it, under 8. The fact of the matter is that fatigue is not your friend. It messes with your alertness and your ability to move naturally. It also interferes with your ability to shoot well, which was the point of purchasing the rifle in the first place. Heavy, super accurate rifles are great fun to test on the range, but in the quest for big game, you are interested in marksmanship rather than the search for precision.
Precision is commonly associated with barrel weight, but it is not necessarily so. Accuracy is a function of small tolerances working together to produce consistency. A light whippy barrel can be an accurate shooter provided that the barrel is pointing to exactly the same point each time the bullet exits the muzzle. For this reason the ammunition for the light barreled rifle must be very uniform. While the light barreled rifle is unlikely to shoot a large group as well, in the same amount of time, as the rifle with a heavy barrel of equal quality, the first bullet out of the pipe can be placed just as accurately with respect to the aiming point, given suitable ammunition. A light contour short barrel can be as stiff and as accurate as the long heavy contour
barrel. If the bore surfaces share the same precision and finish, then the light barrel is the equal of the heavy barrel.
A low or medium power scope is not automatically inferior to a large scope. To the contrary, if you have the cash to layout for a S&B or Swarovski hunting scope, you should be getting a top quality product, that has better seals and repeatable adjustments that will outlast the owner. Due to it’s smaller size, the hunting scope is more useful on a hunting rifle than a high power target or tactical scope. The benefits of a larger range of adjustment made possible by a 34mm tube will not be realized by the average hunter. The human eye can only make use of so much light, so a 50 mm objective only increases the difficulty of a good cheek weld on a non-adjustable stock. The advantage of the scope is not magnification. The advantage is that the target and the aiming point appear on the same focal plain when viewed through the scope. Magnification is only to aid us in seeing the target. A given amount of magnification is only useful under the correct conditions. There are times when 4X is too much and other times when 20X is not, regardless of the optical quality.
WHen I say I'm not trying to pick a fight or argue with what you say, please take it as a debate rather then the other but I'm going to have to disagree with just about everything you just said.
More times then not, a lighter rifle is shot less accurately then a heavier rifle largely because a lighter rifle will respond to every tiny movement your body makes. for example, Glock handgun vs 1911 45ACP. Can they both be shot accurately yes. Does the 45 handle better based on it's weight? Yes
As for light countour barrels, barrel whip plays a huge role with a lot of the big boomers and for that accuracy falls off. A short barreled light contour barrel will have more ridgitity but it's rare you find a 16" light contour bbl.
Stock choice plays a huge roll in making the point in the same direction every time. If you can flex the front stock and touch either side of your barrel, guess what happens when you pull the trigger?
As for scopes, again, you get what you pay for. I've sold scopes to guys that don't want anything more then a 1-4x but they want quality and lots of light gathering ability so they get good glass USO, Leupold, Nightforce (2.5-10x24)
If someone came to me and wanted a bush scope as well as a target scope, I'd have to recommend either the Nightforce 3.5-15x50mm or better yet and 5.5-22x50mm.
From what you buy, will direct you a little more as to where you hunt as well. You get good with what you practice with and if sight aquisition at close range is your weak points, then practice.
Like I said, your style of hunting changes based on the type of gun you have or vice versa. If I'm in the bush and it's thick, use a shotgun. Why walk in there with a 300WM when you can almost reach out and touch the animal. In that case, open sights are your friend.
If you scope up with a little heavier gun and you've got a 3.5-15 or 5.5-22, you're going to position yourself beside a game trail maybe 100yds or so out of the bush along a fence line where you've got a great field of view.
As for not being able to get behind a 50mm objective vs a 40mm abjective. This is the old way of thinking that the reticle has to be as close to the bore as possible. Things have changed. If the gun doesn't have an adjustable cheek rest, I'll suggest a 50mm objective in a heart beat but I'll also install the scope so that the individual feels comfortable behind the rifle with a natural sight picture through the scope and this is very easily doable.
Things you pay for in a more expensive scope are things like reticles that mean something. An MOA reticle has got to be the most practicle reticle on the planet unless you have MIL rad turrets in which case a mil rad reticle would make sense. Without reference marks in the scope, you can't accurately hold over, you can't correct properly, chances are you don't have repeatable turrets. Also too, none tactical scopes don't have the total minutes of elevation or windage needed to make proper use of the scope in long range applications. Ziess come to mind. Great glass, limited elevation. Theres a lot more to getting a good quality scope then just the name. Also too, once you buy a good quality scope,
