my opinion of last years vari x III vs elite 3200

[brramer]

Let me first say I am a die hard leupold fan.  After reading all of the positive posts regarding the elites I thought I would go to gander mountain and see for myself.  I have to say I was impressed with the 3200.  I didn't take it outside at dusk.  I compared them inside the store and from my simple test I could not tell any difference between the two.  I also like the guarantee bushnell offers.  Use any elite for one year.  If you don't like it, send it back to bushnell for a full refund.........no questions asked.  I think I need to compare the two scopes outside at dusk and see how they perform next to each other.  For now, I am considering buying the 3200.  What would I do with my leupold clothing?

Just my opinion,  
Bruce

[Zachary]

You could place it under your garbage can so that it doesn't get scratched-up by the hard driveway floor.

I've been telling people over and over again that the Elites, especially the 4200s, are much better than the Leupold Vari-X IIIs.

Now, I must say that I have no idea about the NEW VX-III, which is supposedly even better than the 4200s - at least as far as light transmission goes.  

Yea, don't get me wrong - Leupolds are strong scopes.  It's just that they are expensive and not that great compared to the Elites (again, I'm not talking about the new VX-IIIs).

Nevertheless, I'm glad to hear that you like your elite.


Oh, BTW, it's okay to look at a scope from Gander Mountain - or any large retail outlet for that matter - but I strongly suggest buying scopes from our sponsors - not only are they less expensive, but you can save a bundle on taxes. :wink:

Zachary
Zachary

[Bushnell Boy]

This is interesting I didn't know Leupold was advertising a scope at 98% light transmition which would be brighter than the elite 4200's. I looked into to this a little further and discovered that they don't say at what brightness they are getting this 98% where Bushnell always tests at 550nm. After making some calls I did find out that when the VX-III is tested at 550nm there is almost know difference it and an elite 4200 in terms of brightness. Now you do get the titanium construction and the raingaurd which you don't get with the leupold.

[WNY_Whitetailer]

I don't think that most shooters would even know the difference between the two.  I would probably opt for the Bushnell simply for the rain guard if everything else was close(i.e price, performance).