With a little practice, it's pretty easy to shoot a 4x pistol scope with both eyes open. I'll agree that it's easier done with a 2x, but I like the confidence that a 4x inspires in me at longer ranges. It's certainly not that you can't do it with a 2x, it just seems to be better with the higher magnification on longer shots. I guess a lot of it is reliant on how well you are able to place shots with the lower magnification.
I've had three failures with the 2.5-8 Leupold, and I'm a big fan of their scopes, so it does not inspire much confidence that the shot before the one that really counts isn't the one that broke it. I've got a straight 4x on a Encore barrel in .480 Ruger that I drive to the tilt with 420gr bullets, it's the limit of the recoil I can mange, and it keeps on ticking...well beyond the three variables it has decimated. One Leupold, one Burris, and one Weaver. Those where all "top of the line" scopes. In summary, I'd trust the 2x Leupold the same as I do the 4x, which is to say I don't question it, but it's a trade off of sorts.
