From the prospective of a precision shooter, no, you need the magnification if you are going for sub-MOA. One of my favorite shootin’ tools is an Anschutz 1913 Supermatch rifle in little bitty .22LR. This rifle is olympic grade and has been fired at Camp Perry nationals. You won’t find anyone shooting on Any Sight days with a scope having less than 18X, and we’re only shooting 50 and 100 yards with that itty bitty .22LR. In that sport, winning can be the difference in total X-ring counts (the target ring inside the 10 ring).
Everyone has their own opinion, but my favorite scope is a Nikon Monarch 6x24 with a 50mm objective, 1/8 MOA clicks, a side focusing knob, 4" sunshade, and fine crosshair reticle. They can be bought for about $530 online. I would buy this instead of the 8x32 since that scope doesn’t have as much ability to adjust for elevation. When going from 50 to 100 yards, I have to adjust up 68 clicks, or 8.5 inches of bullet drop. The higher magnification is going to present more"shake" movement to the shooter, too. If you’re trying to shoot an AR without a sling, I wonder why you would be using a scope of any magnification to begin with.
I have a 4x12 scope on a .17HMR custom build Savage rifle that I wish I had never bought. At 100 yards, it’s impossible to see the holes in the paper, and keeping the crosshairs on target is a lot harder.
I too have an anschutz. it’s model 1413. pretty old. my dad got it from an olympic shooter who needed the money. sad. but it’s with me now. It sports a 6-16x Tasco scope. but I really never shoot it much.
so going back to topic. an SPR Rifle for bench rest. would usually use a higher magnification. These are my choices… 2.5-8x MR/T, 10 x 40mm LR/T, 6-24x LR/T
I can shoot 100 yards in my range anytime. But if there are nobody around I can stretch that to 200 yards. Hopefully I can shoot in another range which has 300-500 yards. and the ultimate if I can get to the 800 meter range.
For 100yards I’ll probably be working on MOA hits. After that. it’s just hitting paper targets and steel targets.
If your goal is to get the smallest groups possible, then you must have a dead nuts scope that holds poi and it must have an AO. All parallax needs to be removed to shrink the groups.
Whenever testing new loads / guns, I’ll use a benchrest type scope in the 35x-45x range I trust and then put on an optic for the application of the particular rig. Extra magnification is certainly helpful as is the reticle and target type (bull) to get the same consistent hold.
If you want one scope for everything and not mess with the above, then you need to pick based upon what the gun is primarily used for…A br scope is horrible for most all hunting situations and no critter can tell the difference between a 1/4"gun and one that shoots 1/2".