I will soon be upgrading away from my Primary Arms 4-14x44 scope into something a little bit nicer for mixed coyote hunting and precision target shooting use.
My budget is in the $700-$900 range, and I am coming down to these two scopes based on my following criteria:
[ol]
[li]2-3x low end (for predators)[/li][li]12-15x upper end (for target shooting at distance)[/li][li]30mm tube[/li][li]ffp, mil/mil, exposed turrets (the standard stuff)[/li][li]Basic mil dot reticle is fine for my amateur needs[/li][li]Illuminated reticle[/li][/ol]
Curious if there were any strong thoughts either way. Have yet to read anything negative about the Weaver. Read both good and comparatively (to other scopes) middling reviews of the Bushnell - but those reviews were several years old by now. Curious if that still stands in the middle of 2015.
They both have great glass but he weaver is a tank and if you plan on carrying the eifle long distance that may become a burden. I had the 1-5 Weaver tactical on an AR and it was close to 2 lbs even though the manufacture website said less.
If illumination can be sacrificed then i would look at the swfa brands as an option as well. Nice scopes for the budget minded.
Weaver is known to be good but I would go with Bushnell because they’ve really upped their game.
If for no other reason than in addition to the lifetime warranty (which both have for the original owner) Bushnell also offers a 1 year, no questions asked money back guarantee. If you don’t like it just return it and get something else.
The Bushnell Elite series is high quality Japanese made. The high end Weaver is also Japanese made from what I understand.
Bushnell took over the Elite series from Bausch & Lomb IIRC.
I own examples of both, and both are very good scopes. The Bushnell has a nice reticle option in the G2, but it’s not illuminated. Weaver offers rather plain mildot reticles but you get good illumination in the EMDR version. Both have very good glass. They are made in the same factory (LOW) in Japan, and while they are slightly different it’s kind of like Chevy vs. Pontiac (when Pontiac existed), not like Ford vs. Daihatsu. I can recommend both of them over the other main player in that price range, the Viper PST.
I also have an LRHS, which is a very nice scope that has somewhat better glass and a 10 mil/rev elevation turret, but it’s above the price range you’re looking at.
Although it has a 34mm tube the Burris XTRII 3-15x50 meets all your other criteria and it has a zero stop, unlike the others. Even better than the mil-dot reticle, you can get the SCR reticle. Currently, Burris is offering a 100 dollar rebate. The Sniper’s Hide has good reviews of this scope.
Between the Bushnell and the Weaver, everything I’m reading appears to be an even wash between the two when it comes to peoples’ preferences.
Weaver has the locking turrets, but is a half-inch longer and several ounces heavier. Is that an okay trade off?
How is Weaver’s warranty and customer service? I’ve never heard much of a stink about Bushnell and they have the limited lifetime warranty when new.
Reticles. As I said in my OP this is for a mix of precision paper punching and coyote hunting. I suspect a simpler mil-dot will work better in the field on coyotes, but that’s based only out of my own ignorant supposition. So I’m okay with either reticle, but the Weaver has half hashes between the full mil dots, which is another think in its favor…
At the same time, I have yet to read of anybody’s Bushnell failing, but have run across a couple anecdotes about guys’ problems with the Weavers.
You also have the option of the BTR reticle (model ET3124FJ). It isn’t illuminated in as many places as the green mil dot but does have half mil hashes. If could own another besides the G2DMR (model ET3124FG) I own, it would be the BTR.
Retail price is $1049.00, you can probably find it cheaper if you look around. Throw in the $100.00 rebate and you’re only $50.00 over budget. With the features and reviews the XTR II scopes have, to me $50.00 would be well worth it.
There is a mistake on the Opticsplanet website (not the first time). The 3-12x44 scope is not available with BTR-1. It is available with BTR-mil, which is an improved mil-hash reticle with illumination. Details at:
The BTR-1 and BTR-2 reticles are, as far as I know, only available in the 1-6.5x24 scope (which is awesome).
Bushnell uses some confusing names, codes and product numbers and you basically have to reference the Bushnell website vs. the exact product model number you are looking at to be sure you are getting the item you want. And the Bushnell website isn’t that great. However, the scopes are great.
For tactical scopes from $500 up to $8000, generally the most numerous reviews, and the fastest reports of problems, are on the website Sniper’s Hide. That’s also where you may find a problem reported as being serious that may have only occurred one time, so read it with a grain of salt. The reports on the XTRII are generally very positive, but there have recently been a handful of reports of turret issues on some models, probably the most recent production or hardest used.
The Weaver has been around for several years, and the only reported issues I’ve seen are a tiny handful having turret issues.
I don’t think I’ve read of ANY issues with the Bushnell model discussed here, or most other scopes from their Elite Tactical line. They don’t have the cool guy creds of Nightforce or German/Austrian makes, but they seem to be very solid in quality.
OK, Optics Planet has the correct reticle I’m used to seeing just mislabeled as the BTR-1. My fault for not checking it.
OP,
I couldn’t find any videos of the BTR-Mil reticle. This video, though it’s a bigger scope, gives you a good view of the G2DMR reticle which I highly recommend. I got over not having illumination pretty quickly.
Well, I’m still working through this one, guys. Can’t make up my mind.
I’d like to go with the Weaver on account of the better turrets and high end magnification, but the reports about their turrets breaking and the company’s less-than-stellar customer service are putting me off.
I have yet to run into anyone complaining about the Bushnell itself or about the company’s customer service. So, for safety’s sake, I’m leaning towards the Bushnell right now. But that may change.
