I'm stuck on a scope magnification decision. Input, anyone?

[Andrew Wyatt]

i'd get the 3-12, and make a concerted effort to always put it back on 3 power before putting it away.

 

[Rugby8]

C919. Re-read both of Uncle Mike's responses. If they are both 42's, the difference between 3 - 4 is negligible. In a test, the readings at the lower mag might actually show the difference as 3.4 and 4.1

The difference at the higher mag is substantial.

 

[redbullitt]

I honestly think that either will serve you very well. You mentioned it being a target rifle mostly, so I would err to the higher magnification. After all, the low end of 4x will be just fine for hunting. If it were an 8x on the bottom then it would be a different story.