In a perfect world, high magnification is usually not necessary in making a long shot at 1000+ yds. Many do it with a 10x scope. Having said that, we must also recognize that conditions are rarely perfect when making long range shots in the field. For many of us, the higher magnification of our scopes are used to read conditions (wind) along the intended path of our bullet. With a 10x scope, I can see the elk at 1000 yds and hold the crosshair steady on his shoulder. What I cannot see are the leaves and stalks of vegetation at 500, 800 and 1000 yds. They give me clues as to how the wind is acting (mph & direction) at those distances. For this reason, I use the 5.5-22X NXS scope. When I am out hunting with it, I just pray that nothing walks in at less than 200 yds. At closer ranges, things tend to happen rather quickly and trying to find a deer in thick vegetation at 5.5x power certainly makes your hunt become "interesting" in a big hurry.