My crotchety old man has shot untold numbers of game using a straight 6x Redfield on a beat up 6mm Remington. I've seen him knock down more than a few coyotes on a quarter mile fence line to say it was luck. He absolutely refuses to use a variable power scope. Try as I might to sway him he wouldn't have it. I even left my 3-9 on 6 power all season once to prove a point, but it didn't sink in. For me I keep my scope on lowest setting until I get to my stand as I have jumped quite a few deer on the way. Once there I'll generally crank it up. How far? Depends on the situation/stand. If I had my druthers I'd be overlooking a picked corn field with plenty of open terrain, and in that case I'd have my scope on full magnification. With my current setups that would be 9, 10, 12 or 14 power. (Personally, I wouldn't be afraid of more, but that as high as the respective scopes go.)