BUSHNELL, a solid brand

[Deleted member 48126]

So nobody wonders how I zeroed in the scope on the 7x61 eh ?

bent the barrel to line up with the crosshairs??

 

[6.5-300 BEE]

Keep trying.

 

[Litehiker]

You bent the SCOPE to align the crosshairs (which in those days were crosswires).

 

[Aoudad shooter1975]

I shot with a fellow a few years ago at FTW ranch..did not know him from Adam--but we hit if off and we both love typical 3x3 mule deer. His name was George Gardner. George let me shoot a prototype scope he was working on...it had a simple reticle good glass and mounted low. I had not shot a ton of long range at the time. I had used mostly a S&B PMII 3x12 and a 5x20 razor gen 1. I got behind it and loved it...loved the glass the low turret, and the simple Christmas tree...that scope became the LRHS 3x12...to this day I think it is the most well put together thought out scope for the price (around 1k) and made for hunting. I would love a 3x15 TT hunter but a $3800...that is a joke for most folks. I own 5 of those scopes 3 4.5x18 and two 3x12. I agree love the tactical elites.

 

[6.5-300 BEE]

B&L used etched reticles. And no, wrong again. You UTEs have ben spoiled.

 

[ElkSurgeon]

I've owned 5 Bushnell optics, 3 scopes and 2 rangefinders. only the "Yardage Pro 1000" let me down, but that was after falling off a truck roof to pavement!

So the point of this post is to say that I think Bushnell scopes can stand with (almost) any brand price for price.
Examples:
-> My hunting scope, an Elite LRTS 4.5 - 18 x 44 mil/mil with a G3 illuminated reticle has a lot of features for the $986. street price that I paid. Sure, no locking turrets but the scope is tough as nails with very good glass.
-> My friend's Elite XRS II 3.5 - 30 50 competition scope with an H59 reticle is as good as scopes costing hundreds more. ED glass and excellent turrets.

I said "almost" in price to price comparison for quality. One scope I have owned likely beats Bushnell's quality-for-the-money and that's SWFA.
And yes, certainly Nightforce makes about the most durable scopes as well as being of excellent quality - but you do pay for this excellence, much like Schmidt & Bendover.

Eric B.

Awesome post....I Love It! Since you stated "Bushnell Optics" I feel the need to mention their binoculars... Bushnell Legend "L" series, 10x42,....show me a set of binoculars that can compete for $300

 

[yobuck]

7x61 Sharp and Hart, wow, you are surprising me here Bee, you might just be a bit older than i thought. lol
That one left the deep dark hollows of the NC Pa hills even before the 6.5 Bee did, thanks to the 7 Rem Mag.

 

[DrDave]

Bushnell customer service outstanding. I sent an Elite 6-24, 1 inch tube back for repair due to problem with elevation knob/reticle. These scope have lifetime warranty. Three weeks later Bushnell sent a NIB 6-24 Nitro scope to me. Impressive.

 

[yobuck]

Awesome post....I Love It! Since you stated "Bushnell Optics" I feel the need to mention their binoculars... Bushnell Legend "L" series, 10x42,....show me a set of binoculars that can compete for $300

Ok i will, go onto Ebay, then type in used Bausch&Lomb Zephers.
Jack OConner could have had any optics he wanted, but thats what he used.
If your convinced that you need to spend large sums for quality optics, then spend about $100 for a set of those from Ebay before you do, and maybe spend a few bucks having them internally cleaned and maybe not.
There really hasent been any significant improvement in glass quality for many years, Coatings yes, but most good glass of the WW2 era had no coating at all, and yet even compare those to the modern ones.
We havent come quite as far as some might think.

 

[Litehiker]

gr8tfuldoug, It's good to hear that the Nitro models are made in Korea. I trust Korean quality control FAR mote than Chinese QC.

Eric B.

 

[yobuck]

Yup know all about B&L as I grew up in Rochester NY. Back in the day, it's said you would not be hired to work on the shop floor unless you spoke German.

Back when, B&L was the most expensive American scope made. They still hold up today. I have a pile including an experimental 2.5X mil dot made for the SMLEs retrofitted to 45 ACP with cans on them for jungle sniping.

Nobody seems to have noticed anything odd about the mounting on my 7x61. That BalVar8 has tapered CH and a dot, 1st I've ever seen ---- chuckle

View attachment 191242

To avoid the clunky B&L or Kuharsky mounts was the Buehler Micro Dial mount show here with another BalVar8 on my upgraded 721. Stith also made a very solid if ugly mount for these and other scopes w/o internal adjustments. (2nd pic) That's a 722 244 which has undergone a transformation. (3rd pic)

View attachment 191234View attachment 191235
View attachment 191237

Are you sure the reticle having the dot is an unaltered factory reticle?
I knew a guy now deceased, who had a 6x24 Balvar target model with a dot attached onto the original reticle which as you said was etched on glass. As i recall, he had sent it to Lee dots to have that done.

 

[6.5-300 BEE]

Box is so marked. I also once has a BalVar 24 that had 3 interchangable reticles.

 

[Savage 12BVSS]

Hunted with an old maine legend back in the day he and my Dad were BalVar8 addicts but he was a dot man. Sent his scope's to his friend T.K. Lee and had both fitted with Lee dots, great scopes a mile ahead of their time.

Bushnell 4500 Elites are the best lower cost scopes for holding zero and tracking I've found. I have a pair of 4-16's that I use for varmint and load work. Hope the new offerings from Bushnell continue the legacy.

 

[yobuck]

I think what sold many people on the old Balvar scopes was the adds seen in magazines showing them immersed in water. Water infiltration in scopes back then was an issue, and these were a good alternative.
Non the less, Bausch&Lomb were outstanding products quality wise in every way. Their Balscope spotting scope is still of a quality not seen in many far more expensive scopes of today. Opticly, a clean one side by side can still more than compete with the best out there today. And that also extends to the older Bushnell Spacemaster spotters. A large percentage of the LR hunters in Pa are still using both of those scopes in twin applications for hunting.