My suggestion is again go with something low power and good low light capability. I assume you are looking at something short action in 7m08 or 308 and focus on your regular hunting in the north island so sub 400 mtr. If you talk with most hunters very few will have taken game past 300 mtrs.
When the time comes for a south island hunt you sould be confident in your current rifle and setup and you will know its limitations.
Then you can take the next step of a custom tops rifle but again most would use the rifle they know.
if you are dropping down to 6 or 6.5mm short action then there is a case to be made for a 3-15 or better scope as they have the flat shooting and higher velocity high BC Bullets that make you want to reach out a bit further and on smaller game.
Z
Bookmarks