Scope recommendation: Leupold EFR vs. Bushnell Elite 4200

[MCG]

First of all, thanks to all who replied to my previous postings.

My smallbore rifle is almost done!  Lots of people like the Leupold EFR socpe, but also lots of people seem to like the Elite 4200.  I'm told the quality is equal to Leupold, but cheaper.  Plus, I'm told that eye relief is constant.  Turn up the magnification, and you do NOT need to get closer to the rear lens.  Turn up the magnification with a Leupold, and you must move your eye closer.  True?

Anyways, opinions concerning the Elite 4200, of any kind, are appreciated.

[lucho]

[GeoNLR]

Opinion, did someone ask for an opinion?....LOL


OK we have covered this before, scopes are like Women, people have different tastes, and We know that Dave Imas likes them skinny with out hips!

My take in a nut shell....

If the magnifacation, reticle, and MOA adjustment are acceptable in a 4200 for you, why pay more?

I own all leupolds, reasons..

They can be "bumped" to 40X(or 50 if you care to)

They have 1/4MOA adjustments (you get 14mins on a sngle plane)

The reticles are cheap to get changed by Premier

They hold their value! I have sold, and have seen it with others, 18-40 boosted scopes for MORE than I paid for them new. Man, I'm 32, I'm not talking about stuff I bought back during the depression...LOL

Warranty service. Have only seen it used one time and was impressed. Granted ALL scopes fail at some point, right now I have a 6 month old 18-40 VX-III that's reticle "blew up" on me the other day and quit tracking in one direction.... How they handle things is impressive to me (Both Premier and Leupold)


Like I said first, if the above mentioned items on a Bushie meet your needs, I think the glass is there. Many well respected folks here shoot them!

[shootingpaul]

4200 has a very relaible repeating of the target knobs I also think that the optics quality is better than leopolds, they come from factory with 1/4 min/angle dot, 1/8 min clicks - which is no reason to complain as you can easily get addapted to it fro example the settings are in minutes, so you just crank it up or down according to minutes and not clicks, the only down side of 1/8 clicks is that you need precise rings to get your zero right in the middle of scope adjustments,
I go with 4200 !!!
shootingpaul

[CB]

Just a thought, but of what age group does your vision fall into? The 4200 has tiny numbers, gold colored on petite little turrets. Good glass, tracks OK, but I couldn't see those tiny numbers even with my glasses on. Leos now, can see with shooting glasses (barely). I put the Elite on wifes gun.
 Carroll

[EdgeHit]

The Leupold EFR wins over the 4200.

I like the 4200, especially for the price (even more so if you can find a used one).  But if you're really serious about silhouette shooting there are a few shortcomings.

1. the target turret is tiny and only provides 9 moa in one turn.  Should you need more than 9 moa from chicken in Ram (most don't), you're in big trouble.  You can get "lost" and loose track of setting.  The print is tiny and there is a color scheme to keep track of.  Other than that, it tracks very accurately.
2.  The 4200 is really long, which looks odd on hunting rifles.
3.  The 1/4' dot isn't big enough for my eye.  I like a 5/8 to 3/4' dot.

another option you don't mention is the Weaver T24 with 1/2' dot.

[eroyd]

4200's (6-24) is heavier than the 6.5x20 leupold. An ounce is an ounce.

The close focus range is a nice feature in the EFR for dry fire practice in the basement.

1/8 min clicks on a mini-turret takes a little more messing with and if you have to go all the way around it can be a little confusing. Marks on the turrets can be hard to read.

To zero the 4200 there is a very shallow finger screw on the top of the turret which is hard to loosen or tighten. Leupolds have allen screws on the sides of the turrets.

The objective parallax settings marks are very nicely layed out on the bushnell.

[dave imas]

not that it matters but the 4200 tracks more reliably than the leupold. (perhaps the only thing that really matters)  also brighter and more clear.

[DanDeMan]

Gentle Persons,

Click on the link below to read my say about this issue.  Much work was done to determine the results of the testing refered to in the article.

http://www.shootingpaul.netfirms.com/ScopeTestingReport.htm

[GeoNLR]

I SURE hope these guys from WA and CA know what they are doing... I have (4) of the bushnell scopes having dots installed as we speak...LOL. If not, I'll be riding them like Zoro come April!!!

CHicken

[dave imas]

Chicken...  if you don't like them i'll be happy to buy one from you.  and just wish i could buy four of anything at the same time!
dave

[GeoNLR]

So let me get this straight...you buy your tires one at a time?

[dave imas]

isn't that the way everyone does it?

[rich5674]

With the Leupold 24x BR-D the AO lens lock was a minor problem and the fact that you had to go more than one full rotation from 40 meters to 100. I now have a 8.5-25x40 and use a 50ft adapter lens for close range practice, I'm happy with this setup. None of this is a problem wit the 4200.  My 8.5-25 cost me $525 used and I first need to add a dot reticle, my next puchase will be a 4200 w/1/4" dot reticle for about $400. No adapter necessary. The rifle I'm putting it on (Sako Finnfire Varmint) can use the scopes weight to get near but not above standard weight limit.