bushnell, leupold questions

[coltguy]

Hi folks, I'm wondering what's the difference between Bushnell 3200 vs 4200 line of scopes. Is it mostly the quality of glass? Between Bushnell 4200 vs Leupold Var-X III, which line of scopes would you people prefer? Thanks.

[Argonaut]

I have shot Bushnell when I couldn't afford Leupold and they worked fine but no one ever regretted buying a Leupold. Bought 2 Bushnell 4 X scopes at Walmart last week for 12.00 each......

[maxicon]

I'm a Leupold fan due the the generous and flexible eye relief, but I've never used a 4200. Lots of people like them, and it's my understanding that the glass is better in it compared to the 3200.

Here's SWFA's on-going rating comparison thread, where they rate the 4200 roughly equivalent to the VX-3:

http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=8185

2009 Riflescope Rating Scale

Leica ER, Swarovski Z6, Zeiss Victory

Kahles C - CL & CSX, Premier Reticle, Schmidt & Bender

Kahles KX, U.S. Optics, Swarovski PH & American Lightweight

Bushnell Elite 6500, Leupold VX-7, Nightforce NXS, IOR Valdada, Vortex Razor

Bushnell Elite 4200, Leupold VX-3, Nikon Monarch & Monarch X, Zeiss Conquest

Leupold Mark 4 VX III & VX-L, Meopta, Nikon Monarch Gold & Titanium, Sightron SIII & S2 Big Sky, Vortex Viper

Burris Black Diamond Signature Select XTR & Euro Diamond, Pentax Lightseeker, Trijicon Accupoint, Weaver Grand Slam

Bushnell Elite 3200, Leupold VX-II, Millet Tactical/Buck Gold, Nikko Stirling, Nikon Buckmaster, Sightron SI & SII, Vortex Crossfire & Diamondback, Super Sniper Fixed

Burris Fullfield II & Timberline, Leupold Rifleman & VX-I, Leatherwood, Mueller, Nikon ProStaff, Simmons

Barska, Sightmark, Swift, Truglo

BSA, Tasco, Yukon

ATN, Leapers, NcStar

While helpful, this should be taken with a grain of salt, as (for instance) they lump the Leupold VX-I with Mueller and Simmons, and I'd take a VX-I over any Mueller or Simmons hands down.

Be sure you're comparing the right scopes, though. The Leupold Vari-X III is an older model, and is roughly the same as a VX-II. The VX-III is a better scope (with glass like the Mk4 series), and then there's the VX-3, which is a newer version of the VX-III, and has some other improvements.

[Stringer]

First off: The SWFA rating scale is suspect. I think it should be disregarded unless you are blind and have no other options. How could they even rate the Vortex Viper or Leica if they have not even been distributed?

Second: I had a choice between Vari-X III and Bushnell-anything or new-Leupold-anything, I'd go Vari-X III.

Third: I own a VX-III. The eye relief is long, no doubt. Yet, I find it inflexible and intrusive because at the high and low magnification extremes, the ERs don't overlap enough that you can avoid changing your cheek weld.

I'd sacrifice a long ER for one that doesn't change too much with magnification. (So long as I'm not shooting 30-06 or smaller.)

What kind of rifle are you putting this on?

[Clodbuster]

I can't really tell the difference in optical quality between the 4200 and VX-3.

Both are good quality scopes. Depends on what / how you plan to shoot. The Leupold has a larger adjustment range than the Bushnell. But I like the 4200 because of the 1/8 MOA click vs the 1/4 MOA click.

If you need to "reach out" with a Bushnell 4200, you can get the mil dot and use that for the extra distance.



Clod

[coltguy]

Thanks for all the input folks. I have a 20" barrel .223 and would like to do some target shooting. I'm thinking something up to 14x magnification so that I can actually see the holes at 100yrds. I used to have a Var-X III 3.5-10x M3 LR IR for my .308 but simply don't have that kind of money anymore... so sad...