To me, a scope on a handgun is not necessarily to increase the effective range, as this is mostly limited by the cartridge and barrel length in my opinion. I prefer a good, hand gun scope of 2X even for close shots - 25 yards to 65 - because I can sight much better than with open sights. My eyes are about to go on Medicare (in August), and can use all the help they can get. A red dot is good, also, but just a bit of magnification helps me with the sight picture. Shooting with both eyes open, the scope does not really "block" much out, and target acquisition is faster for me. Shot placement is very important to me when hunting.
