Rifle Scopes : Advice on new rifle scope

I can understand 4-16X, but 6-32X is waaaayyy overkill for most big game hunting. That's a good varmint / target scope, not a good all-around BG hunting scope.

Why pay the extra $ and have to deal with the extra weight and bulk of such a massive scope when you don't have to? How far do you intend to shoot at elk? A scope maxing out at 10X - 16X has more than enough magnification to take you well past the point most hunters have any business flinging lead at big game animals. An elk standing at 700 yards will appear as if standing 70 yards away through a 10X optic, and elk aren't small animals. A more moderate power variable scope will also provide wider field of view on the low end for when you're hunting in the thick stuff. If you have to make a quick shot at moving game up-close, you'll have a difficult time acquiring your target and may miss your opportunity with a 6-32X unless you have magnification turned all the way down because FOV will be too narrow. In addition, low light performance will be poor through such a high magnification scope on all but the lowest magnification settings due to a very small exit pupil. A quality scope with a 50mm or 56mm objective maxing out at 10X or 12X will give you the best combination of image "brightness" in low light without having to lug around a Hubble telescope.

Too many people seem to think "more is better" in everything, and over-scope their rifles unnecessarily.... and incidentally, having a bigger caliber rifle doesn't call for more magnification. In many cases, the exact opposite is true. Having more velocity and higher bullet BC, resulting in flatter trajectory, may call for more magnification to a point...but only if the rifle and shooter are accurate enough to truly exploit the flatter trajectory.