I've hunted nearly 20yrs with a BLR-81 in 358 Winchester. I put a Leupold Vari X- III 2.5-8x 36mm scope on it when I first got it mainly because I had it and it was,and still is, my favourite scope. I 've never needed more or wanted less. I have used on 8x a few times but not for shooting long distance but making sure that opening in the brush was really open. That particular scope is one of the best a hunter could ever have in my opinion. I hunt in the woods mostly but occasionally set on a clear cut. The 358 is no long range wonder so I feel the scope has never been a limiting factor in the equation. The 308 can shoot quite a bit flatter but I still think you will have enough magnification for hunting. The folks at Leupold seem to think very highly of this model also. One of my pet peeves is when someone puts a great big honking scope on a small rifle so that the scope appears to have a rifle attached to it. Just reading the opening post it doesn't appear that you were headed in that direction anyway. None of the scopes you mention would look out of place on a BLR. More importantly none of them would be inappropriate in the deer woods. There's my ¢2 .
