berger-king:
The groundhog hunting I do on the farms of NW OH do not require a 20x scope, even at ranges exceeding 200 yards. A 4-14x or 3-9x are more than adequate.
[Wintertime coyote hunting with a higher X scope may be more useful, as distances viewed may be longer without vegetation - that said, I do have a 6.5-20X40 Leupold for that, but it hasn't yet been used hunting as the rifle is still in the works.]
But, for GH hunting, the length of the scopes you mention are likely more an issue than weight, as I mostly shoot a Remington Model 7 and a Zastava Mini-Mauser, both "petite" size bolt action rifles which would look ungainly/handle poorly with as large a scope as you mention, especially in a 30mm tube. The scopes you mention are almost a pound more on those small rifles, and detracts from the manuverability they were designed for. Not sure how that length would accomadate mounting, either.
Often, due to terrain here, a shot is made from a close-up hide (natural blind) on GHs at 30-40 yards, and a 3-4X on a fast shouldering rifle is a preferred magnification in those instances.
Same for called in winter coyotes, especially when hunting at night with lights; lower power allows in more light in low light conditions; much more than 5X is about useless.....
For groundhogs, there is a lot of vegetation around here in the spring and summer, even in the Spring of the season, so that also cuts down the usefulness of large magnification scopes for long shots. And, as few make hay anymore as they don't keep livestock, there are few long range hay fields where an unobstructed long shot is possible.
I don't use bipods on my rifles, or cross sticks, and its pretty tough to hold a crosshair from field positions (usually sitting) that are higher than 12 or 14X.
So, even including winter coyotes, a 3-9, 3-12, 4-12, or 4-14 are about right for maximum versatility. IMHO.