Magnification from 0-20x
One problem that any hunter already knew was using too much magnification meant slow target acquisition, especially at close ranges. Field of view is even more important in combat than in hunting. In Combat you may be looking at a bad guys face with your reticle right on him, but 6ft to his right is a guy with his sights right on you that you can’t see. I’d have to say that I belive that 3x-4x is probable the best of both worlds. Trijicon knew that even an optic with zero magnification like the Eotech had an edge in some situations so now they have Trijicon ECOS which has a red dot optic which sits on top of the scope. This will eliminate the problem of magnification in close quarters situations.
As The United States has been engaged in military operations since Sept 11th, there have been major changes in gear and combat optic for the Infantryman. Most M16 rifles had iron sights on them, but now the vast majority of rifles being used are using some kind of Trijicon ACOGs on them. I still see the occassional hunting scope from Leupold and Designated Marksmen are common in every team. The Eotech is still an extremely popular close quarters combat fighting optic due to its zero magnification and easy to track gun sight, but there are drawbacks, namely the battery operation. Magnification has helped our men and women identify targets, wires, explosives ect. from safe distances and give the ability to put fast followup shots by using bullet calibration on their Trijicon ACOGs.