Sorry, Ray, that's simply not so. A typical 3x riflescope (whether fixed or variable) has a field of view at least 30 at 100 yards. This means that at 20 yards the FOV is 6 feet, more than enough so that not "all you see if brown." At 30 yards it's 1.5 times as wide as at 20, 9 feet. I know this not just from theory but by shooting big animals at those sorts of ranges with 3x. It's easy to pick the right spot.
Of course, if the magnification is less than 3x, the FOV is even larger.
I haven't tried it, but can a scope that is set a 3x be focused at 20 yards? In my relatively narrow view, in the bear and moose country where I live, I prefer a riflescope such as 1-4x, 1-7x, or 2.5-8x. I could be wrong, but a compromise must be made relating to riflescope power and the type of hunt one plans to do (long shots versus close shots, and small animals versus large ones (or even dangerous ones). A 1.5x riflescope delivers around 66-feet of FOV at 100 yards.
I have never been charged by a bear, but according to some hunters who have, the such FOV of a riflescope is reduced to nothing during a charge. I am a big chicken, so my riflescope is set at its lowest magnification during the moose season in Alaska.
