Re: Bushnell Optics

[bigdaddytacp]

Hey guys,

does anyone else on here like Bushnell optics?  i have gotten 2 recently, both 3x9 Banners and they look and track great!  i had intentions of replacing them with better optics when i could afford it, but i dont know if i will now  

how do you guys compare the 3200's and the Trophy's and the Legend's to makers like Burris and Leupold?

.........The problem with Bushnell has been extremely variable quality control...they make some great products and then put their name on some lines that have had poor performance and the variable -quality makes many people afraid to trust the name alone.....Burris is less variable and a safer bet and Leupold is the standard by which other American optics are measured and their quality and product support is first rate.....the new 3200 and 4200 are getting great reports......BUT they are still Bushnells and are saddled with the subpar products of the past that Bushnell marketed......this is OPINION and feedback from years of selling/trading and opinions expressed by users and buyers I know.......right or wrong it is still what I hear expressed and the equipment list of major competitions and sales numbers seem to support? good luck and good shooting!!

[WNY_Whitetailer]

While I cannot argue with bigdaddy's experience with Bushnells, I can share my personal experience.

The first Bushnell scope that I purchased was a Trophy 1.75-4x32 for my H&R 12GA Ultra Slugger.  The scope is really clear and bright.  I liked the circle-x reticle and the amber bright optic feature.  As a matter of fact, I liked this scope so much that I bought a second one for my 12GA Rem 870 with the fully rifled cantilever scope mount barrel.

The third Bushnell that I purchased was a Banner 3-9x40 for my 50cal Huntsman muzzleloader.  Another very nice scope...Not as bright as the Trophy but very good for the money.  I don't have as many shots through this gun as I do my sluggers but the Banner has held zero just fine for use it has seen.

I have a fourth Bushnell on order but I have yet to receive it.  It is a 3-9x32 22 Rimfire rifle scope.  Only time will tell if this was a wise purchase or not.

[Bushnell Boy]

If you like your banners then you would love the elites. They are a considerable upgrade from the Banners although the banners are a good value for the money.

Bushnell does put there name on some less desirable scopes but they have to make a product for everybodys price range. People just need to understand that if they spend $50 on a scope then that is exactly what they got, a $50 dollar scope. Bushnell product lines for riflescopes go as follows. From lower end to upper

Sportsman
Rimfire
Banner
trophy
Legend
Elite 3200
Elite 4200

The main differences between the sportmans through the legend is than when you go up a level in quality you are going to get a brighter more durable scope.  When you get into the elites you get into a whole other class of riflescope. All Elite riflescopes are made from a titanium alloy which makes them 30% stronger than standard scopes even luepolds best which are made from aircraft grade aluminum. Also you get the Bushnell Raingaurd coating which makes the elites the only scope on the market that is truely fog proof. All riflescopes whoever makes them are fog proof on the inside but not on the outside, Bushnells are. Also the elites are the only scopes that I have seen with an advertised recoil test. The 3200 held 1 m.o.a for a 1000 rounds of .375 H&H and the 4200 held 1 m.o.a. for 10,000 rounds of .375 H&H. One of the most impressive things about the elites is there brightness. The 3200 has 92% light transmition and the Elite 4200 has 95% light transmition which is brighter than any leupold made.

[Robert]

I have been watching all the posts for scopes lately, I'm gonna need another new one for my fall hunt.  I have an Elite 2-7 on my Ultra-Mag, and I was very pleased with it.  However, I would still like a little more light and eye-relief.  How do you think the 4200 Elite will be on my 35 Whelen with 250 gr bullets?  I have already drawn blood with it (my own), but that was with the el-cheapo scope that I put on it temporarily.

[Bushnell Boy]

unfortanitly most of the elites have just average eye relief around 3.3 inches. The 2-7 has 2.5 and the only other scope that is longer than that is the 4-16x50 4200. It has 3.6 inches of eye releif. There is a considerable difference in brightness though when you step up to the 4200.

EX: I was hunting hogs last year and two hours before sun up a I could hear some hogs moving around. I pulled up my nightvision and the batteries were dead. So I looked through my 2.5-10x40 elite 4200 and I could see the pigs. It was pitch black outside. Without out a spotlight or any other help other than my scope I placed a perfect shot at 110 yards on a 200 pound boar. If it wasn't for the brightness of that scope I would have never gotten him. If you can live with standard eye relief then you will love owning a 4200.

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[Robert]

I have tried a few 50's, and thought they were just too big.  Especially with something pushing magnum loads.  I just don't feel good about having to use such tall rings.

[Gratman]

Bushnell Boy

I bought a Banner series for my 11 yr olds sons .243, and he and I both loved it.  He took his first deer with it and it has held zero ever since. I liked it so much, I put another one on my .270   Now tell me , if I like this scope this much, how will I feel about the Elite series?   I have a .22 that I bought my son, and was actually thinking of shifting the 3x9 Banner to the 22 ( overkill maybe?)  and getting an Elite for my .270      What price range does the 3200 and 4200 fall into?


Thanks

Gratman

[Bushnell Boy]

Robert: I don't like the 50mm either almost all of my scopes are 40's

Gratman: I am glad to here that you have enjoyed the banner scopes. First I usually don't recomend a scope like that for a .22. It is designed for longer range shooting and you may run into some parrellex and focusing problems. Second, you will notice a difference btween the elite and the banner. In low light you will see a big difference in brightness.

[RandyWakeman]

how do you guys compare the 3200's and the Trophy's and the Legend's to makers like Burris and Leupold?

Bushnell 3200 and 4200 scopes are about the best for the money on the market, made in Japan by Light Optical Works-- one of Japan's finest OEMS.

The 3200s are every bit as bright as VX-II's, the Elite 4200s are noticeably brighter than Vari-X III's. Burris, I have little positive experience with. Bushnells have wider power ranges than Leupolds-- and generally wider field of view, and tougher tubes. And, RainGuard that works well.

Leupold is neither glass-maker nor lens-grinder-- they assemble. While perhaps the better (or best choice) 7-8 years ago, no more. Sightron has also been very, very impressive to my eyes.

[maroondog]

If you had a choice between

Bushnell 3200

Simmons Atec

or others in this price range you would take a Bushnell?

thanks, in advance :eek:

[HogFan]

It would be the Bushnell hands down. I had to sight a friends rifle in that had a Simmons Aetec, and that was the worst scope I've ever dealt with.

Hudge

[Zachary]

I have had similar experiences with Simmons, and BSA.  I just cringe when I hear those names. :?

Zachary

[DannoBoone]

I have a Bushnell Banner 4-12x40 AO and a Trophy 3-9x40.  Both are
excellent scopes for the money.  These, and I believe the Legend, are
made in Korea, while the Elites are made in Japan.  Really, has there
ever been a Japanese made scope in the last 15 years that was NOT an
excellent scope? I have a Japanese made Tasco 4-16x40 AO
Rangefinding scope that is one of the sweetest scopes I've ever used.

But as far as their Chinese made scopes, I wouldn't bother to take one
home. Nothing against  China, but I did try the Sportsman which
couldn't be inspected until that hard plastic wrapper was cut away from
it. The focal adjustment would only screw in or out and would not
adjust. There were also loose filings inside the scope.  I promptly took
it back and got the Banner.

I don't care for the 50mm scopes, either. Not only do you have to get
used to the high scope rings, the "mirage" factor is tremendously
increased in the warmer weather without the use of that rediculously
long tube to decrease the heat mirages.

Would I get another Banner or Trophy? Probably. I'd like to put an
Elite 3200 4-12x40 AO on a new 10MLBSS-II, though. Wish that
AO didn't increase the cost of the Elite so much!!

[maroondog]

So between the  Leupold VXI or II
 

Vs.  Bushnell 3200 Elite

Which would you take? :?