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Rifle Scopes Limited Run Elite Tactical HDMR II-CR (Close Range)

Team RCBS & Bushnell

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Hey all - We have a few HDMR IIs that have a 25-yard parallax we just put on Bushnell.com. We're looking to get input on if folks are interested in the closer range in the ET line and if it's something people would want to run for NRL22 or PRS Rimfire, or just to have closer focus. Market research, if you will, for the next iteration of Elite Tactical. These also have a few other subtle changes. The knobs have the .5 markings and they have the newer style font/logo on the bell.

    We'd love to hear your feedback on these and what you'd like to see/have in the next Elite Tactical scopes.

    Check it out here: https://www.bushnell.com/riflescope...tical-hdmr-ii-cr-3.5-21x50/BU-ET36215H25.html And if you're military/LE/first responder make sure to sign up for the VIP as that pricing is available on these.

    Thanks in advance for any feedback/comments!


    _DSC0080.jpg
     
    Please bring back the lrhs!!!

    I would really like to see a floating dot center instead of cross hairs on the G3 reticle and would like to see .2 mill hash marks on the horizontal for the first mill on each side of center, then leave the rest of the reticle alone.
     
    Last edited:
    Please bring back the lrhs!!!

    I would really like to see a floating dot center instead of cross hairs on the G3 reticle and would like to see .2 mill hash marks on the horizontal for the first mill on each side of center, then leave the rest of the reticle alone.
    There might just be something in the works there. Thanks for the feedback!
     
    Hey all - We have a few HDMR IIs that have a 25-yard parallax we just put on Bushnell.com. We're looking to get input on if folks are interested in the closer range in the ET line and if it's something people would want to run for NRL22 or PRS Rimfire, or just to have closer focus. Market research, if you will, for the next iteration of Elite Tactical. These also have a few other subtle changes. The knobs have the .5 markings and they have the newer style font/logo on the bell.

    We'd love to hear your feedback on these and what you'd like to see/have in the next Elite Tactical scopes.

    Check it out here: https://www.bushnell.com/riflescope...tical-hdmr-ii-cr-3.5-21x50/BU-ET36215H25.html And if you're military/LE/first responder make sure to sign up for the VIP as that pricing is available on these.

    Thanks in advance for any feedback/comments!


    View attachment 7450527
    I will tell you that, from an LE perspective, the 50+ yard minimum parallax is an immediate disqualifier.
    I do have a 4.5-18 LRTsI on a personal rifle that I like VERY much.
     
    There might just be something in the works there. Thanks for the feedback!

    Which of the items might be in the works? I’m going to be purchasing a new hunting scope as well as a new dmr/xrs for a 223 trainer hopefully soon but would like to know if I should be patient on one or both of those purchase if there is changes coming.......
     
    Which of the items might be in the works? I’m going to be purchasing a new hunting scope as well as a new dmr/xrs for a 223 trainer hopefully soon but would like to know if I should be patient on one or both of those purchase if there is changes coming.......
    More or less all of the above. There's a lot of changes coming for ET.

    If you're also wanting something for a hunting scope a little sooner, we have some stuff that's going to be hitting the site probably tomorrow that might fit what you're looking for. We have a bunch of EU models that we decided to release to the American market on Bushnell.com. Illuminated German #4 reticles, big main tubes, big magnification factors, made in Korea, ED Prime glass . . . I'll make a post for those when they hit the site. The last EU scope we put on the site we sold out of in a few hours - We were quite amazed.
     
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    Have been quite pleased with both my LRHS and LRTS, illuminated or not, with the one exception of the thickness of the center of reticles. Something more in line with the DMRII Pro reticle, or a .2 floating dot would allow just that extra bit of precision at distance. Oh, and drop 6 oz from 3-12 or 4.5-18, and you have my wish list. Anxious to see what’s in the Skunk Works.
     
    You know, if whoever designed the SWFA scopes could get them to focus down to 6 freaking yards, you guys should be able to get down to 10.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: thejeep
    Hey all - We have a few HDMR IIs that have a 25-yard parallax we just put on Bushnell.com. We're looking to get input on if folks are interested in the closer range in the ET line and if it's something people would want to run for NRL22 or PRS Rimfire, or just to have closer focus. Market research, if you will, for the next iteration of Elite Tactical. These also have a few other subtle changes. The knobs have the .5 markings and they have the newer style font/logo on the bell.

    We'd love to hear your feedback on these and what you'd like to see/have in the next Elite Tactical scopes.

    Check it out here: https://www.bushnell.com/riflescope...tical-hdmr-ii-cr-3.5-21x50/BU-ET36215H25.html And if you're military/LE/first responder make sure to sign up for the VIP as that pricing is available on these.

    Thanks in advance for any feedback/comments!


    View attachment 7450527

    Bring back the LRTSi.
    Make all your Elite Tactical line parallax adjustable down to 25 yards.
    Offer the HDMR II Pro with an illuminated reticle and with the H59

    John
     
    That's pretty good. I personally think the g2/g3 reticle is a bit outdated because it lacks 0.2 mil on the windage, and doesn't have a center dot. I have 2 of them currently and those are the things keeping me from getting more.
     
    Here are my 2 cents added up.

    Having owned several ET optics...I have been thoroughly impressed with $$$ to performance ration however here is what I'd recommend focusing on.

    1) Chromatic Aberration ... in the LRTS line ... the glass was amazing ... specifically in the 3-12 setup ... when I "upgraded" to the DMR II ... the CA was terrible. Much much worse than the LRTS line. So I sold my DMR optics and went back to LRTS...

    2) Reticle. I think the G3 reticle is about perfect if you would add these features: floating dot and shoulder wide ranging bars from 200-1000 meters. Get rid of the .1 mil spacing on the windage side of things...I think .2 would be better...honestly I really like the Deploy MIL reticle setup on my Nitro that is on a Mk12 build...just make the Deploy MIL better with .2 holds...

    3) Reticle Alignment. This is more QC than anything but I had back to back to back ET scopes last year that had either severe cant or misaligned reticles installed...had one that was almost 2 mils off to the left. Bushnell CS took care of it but still...something to watch.

    4) Turrets...there is nothing I would change per say...except a pop up rev counter that can be felt in low light...otherwise...they were one of my favorite turrets.
     
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    I practice with 1/2" dots at 100y. The G2H is fine enough to quarter them. Whats the problem for a hunting scope? The G3 in my LRTS makes it a little easier to see that you have them quartered, and a little harder the to focus on the center with a moving target. The tiny dot in my XTRIII and Tango 6 is so small I can't use it well until about 12. I don't really like that. Lets not confuse the word modern with the word popular.

    I think it would help to keep some of these things separated in our minds. A jack of all trades does more stuff OK. If we want a FFP scope that is great for hunting the requirements are a little different than one thats great for precision rifle shooting. The LRHS is the best FFP hunting scope that has been done to date. Most everything else have been PRS inspired scopes taken into the field. IMO

    I am interested to see the new offerings.
     
    Here are my 2 cents added up.

    Having owned several ET optics...I have been thoroughly impressed with $$$ to performance ration however here is what I'd recommend focusing on.

    1) Chromatic Aberration ... in the LRTS line ... the glass was amazing ... specifically in the 3-12 setup ... when I "upgraded" to the DMR Pro ... the CA was terrible. Much much worse than the LRTS line. So I sold my DMR optics and went back to LRTS...

    You must have had a DMR or DMR II, probably not the DMR II Pro. The Pro has a much different optical system with ED prime, you'd have to try to get bad CA with the Pro model. I have heard of it plenty with the older DMR and DMR II models though.
     
    You must have had a DMR or DMR II, probably not the DMR II Pro. The Pro has a much different optical system with ED prime, you'd have to try to get bad CA with the Pro model. I have heard of it plenty with the older DMR and DMR II models though.

    Correct...DMR II sorry...not the PRO....
     
    i'm in for an lrhs 4-18(5-20 'd be amazing) with a G3 illuminated ret. with a floting center dot!i've a 4-18 lrhs and 3-12 lrtsi,best cross over scope i've ever have!

    Im in for one of these as well, I love my LRTS but it’d be even better with an illuminated G3 with a floating center dot!
     
    I picked up a CameraLand closeout 3-12 LRTS, and I'm a pretty big fan. @Team RCBS & Bushnell since we're laying out wishlists - here's mine for an updated LRTS:
    • Please update the G3 reticle. Floating dot, 0.2 mil hashes, 0.035 - 0.045 mil thickness 'inner reticle', simple tree that starts 1.0 mil down from center, "bold" & solid horizontal lines starting at 6 or 8 mil from center.
    • Don't go for the ultra short/high zoom ratio. Pretty niche use (although the market seems to disagree) that has too many compromises. Keep a 4x or 5x zoom ratio, and a 'normal' length.
    • If you can drop some weight from the LRTS designs - awesome. But the 27oz range is still a good weight for hunting set-ups.
    • Keep the locking windage and zero stop.
    • If you can make the turret adjustments a little cleaner - great. The LRTS that I have isn't bad, but it is on the mushy side.
    I'm not an optical engineer, but I am an engineer & I'm available to beta test :LOL: :ROFLMAO: :LOL:.........but seriously 🤔
     
    Hey all - We have a few HDMR IIs that have a 25-yard parallax we just put on Bushnell.com. We're looking to get input on if folks are interested in the closer range in the ET line and if it's something people would want to run for NRL22 or PRS Rimfire, or just to have closer focus. Market research, if you will, for the next iteration of Elite Tactical. These also have a few other subtle changes. The knobs have the .5 markings and they have the newer style font/logo on the bell.

    We'd love to hear your feedback on these and what you'd like to see/have in the next Elite Tactical scopes.

    Check it out here: https://www.bushnell.com/riflescope...tical-hdmr-ii-cr-3.5-21x50/BU-ET36215H25.html And if you're military/LE/first responder make sure to sign up for the VIP as that pricing is available on these.

    Thanks in advance for any feedback/comments!


    View attachment 7450527

    Is the only difference the parallax adjustment? Any reason these couldn’t be used on a long range centerfire rig?

    John
     
    You know, if whoever designed the SWFA scopes could get them to focus down to 6 freaking yards, you guys should be able to get down to 10.


    This is my complaint across all the high end scopes with a few exceptions. My buddy was digging through his safes looking for a .22 scope and ended up with a PMII on his rim-x because all the nightforce, bushnell, leupold, and sig scopes he had didn't parallax to 25 yards.


    I run a sightron SII BS 6-24 on my indoor .22 for 1 reason, it will parallax at the 50' range that we have for indoor small-bore.

    I have a burris black diamond 6-24 on my kids .22, because it will parallax at 20 yards.



    I do love throwing a tiny little 1/4" swinger at about 12-15 yards if I'm setting up our outlaw shoot. It's way too fun to mess with the guys trying to focus rather than back their scopes off.
     
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    Kudos for Bushnell dipping their feet into rimfire scopes at this price range and more so for looking for feedback. I would have bought one in a heartbeat (especially at the .mil price), but the H59 doesn't do it for me on a rimfire. I have an XPS with H59 on a 7.62 and love it, but I want something with more breathing room (like SKMR 3) for rimfire.
     
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    If you're also wanting something for a hunting scope a little sooner, we have some stuff that's going to be hitting the site probably tomorrow that might fit what you're looking for. We have a bunch of EU models that we decided to release to the American market on Bushnell.com. Illuminated German #4 reticles, big main tubes, big magnification factors, made in Korea, ED Prime glass . . . I'll make a post for those when they hit the site. The last EU scope we put on the site we sold out of in a few hours - We were quite amazed.

    Those 34mm Forge models look pretty sweet. The reticle pics are not coming up for me though. Do the turrets lock like the FFP models? If so, I may have to pick one of them up for a hunting rig I put together recently.
     
    Those 34mm Forge models look pretty sweet. The reticle pics are not coming up for me though. Do the turrets lock like the FFP models? If so, I may have to pick one of them up for a hunting rig I put together recently.
    I'm digging into the image issue now. If you scroll down further on the pages they show the reticle down further as well though.

    The turrets lock the exact same way as the other Forge scopes. Same zero stop design as the other Forges and the ET line. There's a few huge differences on these vs the other Forge scopes though. They are:

    Made in Korea vs China
    ED Prime glass
    34mm Tubes
    Obvious EU CM-based turrets

    I've handled these things and they're much more robust feeling than the other Forge scopes.

    2-16x50
    3-24x56
    1-8x30

    And then there's a few EU Engage scopes we put up as well:

    2.5-15x50
    3-12x56
    1-4x24

    The Engage ones are made in China, FYI. The pricing certainly reflects that though. That 3-12x56 is sure to make some low-light hunters happy.

    All of these are set up for military VIP pricing already as well, so if you qualify you may want to log in to your account and check that out.

    Here's the reticle on the Forges:

    1603372767658.png
     
    Noob question, but how does one use that reticle with a capped elevation turret? I'd expect a BDC or hash type reticle and a capped turret for holding elevation, or a simple reticle with an exposed turret for dialing elevation. This has a simple reticle with a capped turret. So it doesn't seem like one can hold for elevation with the reticle or dial for elevation with the capped turret.
     
    Noob question, but how does one use that reticle with a capped elevation turret? I'd expect a BDC or hash type reticle and a capped turret for holding elevation, or a simple reticle with an exposed turret for dialing elevation. This has a simple reticle with a capped turret. So it doesn't seem like one can hold for elevation with the reticle or dial for elevation with the capped turret.
    I'm not sure what the thinking there was, something apparently the European market wanted.
     
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    I'm not an optical engineer, but what I've been told is we're bringing the new ETs down to their limits of their optical designs.

    That scope is from a different OEM and in order to get the focus down to that close of a distance, you kinda need to design them that way from scratch.

    If the optical system is not designed for that, you can still do it by sacrificing infinity focus, which is not something you want to do.

    As a practical matter, if I were you, I would talk to your technical team and see if they can claw it down to 20 yards without any significant modifications. With scopes that are designed to go down to 25 yards, with most OEMs, about a third do not quite make it there on the highest power. On top of that, if the user does not get the eyepiece set up just right it will also make a difference.

    If I were doing this, I would get the optical system calibrated down to 20 yards, but list is as a 25 yard scope to leave a little margin.

    ILya
     
    That scope is from a different OEM and in order to get the focus down to that close of a distance, you kinda need to design them that way from scratch.

    If the optical system is not designed for that, you can still do it by sacrificing infinity focus, which is not something you want to do.

    As a practical matter, if I were you, I would talk to your technical team and see if they can claw it down to 20 yards without any significant modifications. With scopes that are designed to go down to 25 yards, with most OEMs, about a third do not quite make it there on the highest power. On top of that, if the user does not get the eyepiece set up just right it will also make a difference.

    If I were doing this, I would get the optical system calibrated down to 20 yards, but list is as a 25 yard scope to leave a little margin.

    ILya
    You're in the neighborhood of what's happening on the backend.
     
    Many european hunters, especially the older guys, let the gunsmith zero their rifles at a 100m and never touch the turrets again. Since most hunting distances are within 200m maybe 300 max, holdovers are minimal.
     
    Noob question, but how does one use that reticle with a capped elevation turret? I'd expect a BDC or hash type reticle and a capped turret for holding elevation, or a simple reticle with an exposed turret for dialing elevation. This has a simple reticle with a capped turret. So it doesn't seem like one can hold for elevation with the reticle or dial for elevation with the capped turret.
    This German #4 reticle would be best utilized by sighting in for max point blank range. Same way that Gramps always used to zero 1.5" high at 100 yds with his trusty .270 Win and duplex reticle.

    Different reticles for different purposes.
     
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    Here's the reticle on the Forges:

    Forge_reticle_as_advertised.png

    I ordered the 2-16x50 Forge and it arrived yesterday. I hate to do this, but I've got to let you know that the reticle in the scope doesn't match this picture. It's close, but the center aiming dot in the actual scope measures 1" at 10x at 100 yards (tested against a grid target). This picture shows the center aiming dot being about the width of the thinner stadia, but this isn't the case. I've tried to get a picture through my cell phone of the actual reticle.

    Forge_2_16x50_reticle.jpg


    There's more to say about this scope based on the short time that I've had it, but I wanted to put this up so that everyone is aware of the actual reticle versus the one that is shown.

    Again, I'm not dogging the scope - there's a lot to like for the price - but I wanted anybody thinking about it to know what they are actually getting.
     
    Had I known how much I'd like the 3-12 LRTSi I'd have bought two or three. Instead I have one LRTSi and one LRTS (yes, I almost insist on an illuminated reticle, but I knew I'd screwed up and didn't buy another "i" model before Doug had sold them all - hence the LRTS. Great scopes!!!

    I'd agree the with the center dot, maybe some ranging marks (prefer a "known" width or "height"), and maybe as other have said different windage and/or Christmas tree...but not too busy (that's what I like about the G3).

    I'd really like a 3-18 or 3-15 in similar vain of the 3-12. 3-18 would be absolutely perfect sitting on a 308, either bolt or semi-auto - just my opinion.
    And a home run would be a 1-10x based off the 1-8.5x but with better reticle with wind holdovers or basic tree.

    I'll add that the turrets are damn nice. Every once in a while I have an issue getting the "zero" to line up perfectly though. However, I like the fact I can "zero" the turret and can fiddle around and come back and actually hard-set the zero at a later point in time.
     
    Last edited:
    I'm digging into the image issue now. If you scroll down further on the pages they show the reticle down further as well though.

    The turrets lock the exact same way as the other Forge scopes. Same zero stop design as the other Forges and the ET line. There's a few huge differences on these vs the other Forge scopes though. They are:

    Made in Korea vs China
    ED Prime glass
    34mm Tubes
    Obvious EU CM-based turrets

    I've handled these things and they're much more robust feeling than the other Forge scopes.

    2-16x50
    3-24x56
    1-8x30

    Questions about the 1-8x30:
    * Are the clicks 0.2 MRAD or 0.1 MRAD? Bushnell.com says 50 CM per turn, but EuroOptic.com shows 1 CM per click (one must be wrong).
    * Is illuminated dot "daylight bright" or just "daylight visible"?
    * CR2032 battery?
    * Estimated battery life?

    Thanks!