Considering signing up for a what is listed as a mid to long range tactical carbine course. 223 only, 50-650 yards, steel targets. There's no bench shooting and they recommend a rifle <10lbs because we'll be carrying it around and propping off random natural terrain objects.

My eyes are 55 yrs old and I wear bifocals. I'm still a good shot and I'd rather be slightly over-magnified, than under, but I don't want to carry around an over-kill sized scope either.

Recommended max power for that range? I'm thinking 12-14, but I'm open to the voice of experience. I just don't have opportunity to shoot at those distances.

As mentioned, I'm leaning toward the Sig Tango 4 in either 4-14x44 or 3-12x42 , but don't want to get tunnel vision and miss-out on another brand that performs better in a similar price range.
The 4-14 comes in the DEV-L recital (which seems to be well liked in my research so far), the 3-12 does not.
4-14 with DEV-L runs ~$800

Am I overly worried about the 650 yard range? Would I be better off looking at the various 1-8 scopes?

One advantage I see to the 14x is that I believe I'll have a better chance of seeing where I'm hitting (or missing).

This is not a one and done. My goal is to spend more effort and look for opportunities to shoot longer ranges.

Thanks for your input!

PA 1-6x ACSS, PA 1-8x ACSS. PA 1-6 Raptor.

vortex just updated the diamondback series