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Rifle Scopes Bushnell or Vortex?

EL34

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 25, 2011
194
2
AR
Need new glass for a 20" Savage .223 Rem. I use it for steel to 600yds. and a varmint here and there. I've narrowed my choices down to the Bushnell LRS 2.5-16X42, and the Vortex PST 4-16X50. Ideally, I could get a look at both before the purchase, but there is'nt any place remotely close to me that handles scopes priced above $300. Both are priced pretty close to the same. Illuminated reticle doesn't matter to me, and it has to be SFP. Does anyone know where the Bushnell is made? Any input from Bushnell or Vortex owners appreciated.
 
Bushnell is made in Japan, had an ET45305, took about 800 rounds to break it. Although I did print an 8' group at 1k.
With the Vortex you can get custom turrets, I'd recommend the Vortex.
 
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Ive got a Vortex Viper PST 6-24FFP with mrad radical and i love it. Id def say go with the Vortex if you can find one, great quality glass good durable design and ive got roughly 1500 rnds of 300WM out of it and has never lost zero. Also if anything ever does happen like dropping your rifle on the scope and god forbid it breaks vortex will cover it. Also i personally recommend springing for the FFP so you have ranging capabilities and correct holdover on all power settings eliminating the possibility of missing because your scope was on 8 power not 10.
 
I have the vortex viper PST 4-16x50 FFP. So far I love it. And after reading the warranty, I don't think ill ever buy anything else. Its got a forever warranty. If I break it, throw it away, some bum finds it in 20 years in the land fill, they will give said bum a new scope. No receipt, no warranty registration, or proof of purchase necessary. I really like that. I was looking at Bushnell, limited lifetime warranty for original purchaser and I'd imagine there are a few hoops to jump through.
 
Bushnell is made in Japan, had an ET45305, took about 800 rounds to break it. Although I did print an 8' group at 1k.
With the Vortex you can get custom turrets, I'd recommend the Vortex.

ET = Elite = lifetime warranty.
It's not like I've never heard of Vortex scopes breaking.

What does being made in Japan have to do with it?
LOW in Japan produces scopes under contract for a number of upper-midrange optics comanies including (IIRC) Bushnell Elite Tactical, Nightforce and Vortex Razor.

Joe
 
I would bet most would be surprised to find out what is made in the same building as the New Bushnell products.

My vote would be the Bushy but remember, I am biased! Also to be honest I have only looked through a couple Vortex Scopes and with limited exposure, found little complaints.
 
I have an Elite 10X and liked it so much I have the ET 6-24 ET6245FJ on the way. Bushnell upgraded me for $300 for an old scope I paid 300 for many years ago, first I went for the 4-30 but didn't like (need) the 30 power so they took it back and sent me the 6x24 BTR . In reading this forum and recently getting the 1-4 PST for my 308 AR I decided to go for another Viper PST 6-24for my 300 WSM, closed the deal with Scott at Liberty last night, great guy to deal with. I will do a side by side after get back from Europe later in Feb, will also include my Sightron III 6-24. Man this sight cost me almost 3 k in scopes in the last 4 months, I guess its better to spend money on optics right now vs over priced Ammo.
 
I own the 2.5-16 Bushnell Elite; its a nice scope for around $500. I dont think you should have an issue on a 223. They have a lifetime warranty as well.

My hesitancy to recommend it:
-I'd call it an 'over built' 2.5-x or a less purposeful x-16. I know that may sound odd but some of the selling points to me are the ability for a 2.5x to magnify further, 10 yard parallax adjustment and smaller 42mm objective. With magnification being geared solely toward the top end the scope is less useful and impressive in my eyes.

Some thoughts:

The turrets are pretty good, the design is nice and easy to grab/manipulate. Clicks are tactile and audible but not always consistent and impressive than some in its class.

-Glass is nice, produces bright image with decent clarity

-Eye relief and eye box are fairly generous and constant

-120 MOA elevation

-Only standard mil reticle

-Made in Japan

In the end I believe its a nice scope. Im happy with it but its not for everyone.

Good luck with your search
 
I would bet most would be surprised to find out what is made in the same building as the New Bushnell products.

uh, let me guess.... some Nightforce, Vortex Razor HD, better Weavers, newer SWFA SS models (FFP and 10x HD)?

I don't have the 6-24x model of either, but have the 3-12x FFP Bushnell with the G2 and am very pleased with it. The only thing I would improve is the feel of the turret clicks, apart from that it's one of the best sub-$1000 scopes I've handled. At the moment I also have the Viper PST 4-16x50 but it's being returned in a day or two. It's fine, but the optical clarity doesn't seem as good as the Bushnell, and for $900 I expect a lot. There are two issues I can tell - eye position is extremely sensitive at 12x or higher so to avoid severe CA and milkiness you have to have your eye just perfectly right; and even with your eye just perfectly right, it's still slightly behind the quality of the 3-12x Bushnell or a Burris XTR 4-16x50 I also have, both of which don't require positioning your eye within a 0.3mm window.
 
Good consistent turrets is pretty important to me. I hadn't thought about stepping up to the 6-24, I'll give that a long hard look as well. Thanks for all your imput this far, some great info here.
 
Id like to elaborate on my previous comments...

The turrets on the Bushnell are not bad. When I said inconsistent, I was referring to the feel throughout ghe adjustment range and in between the windage and eleavation.
2X Eg.
1) my windage turrets is sanppier than elevation
2) ie. During a revolution, one or two clicks of .25 moa may be less audible and tactile then the rest.

Im not referring to its repeatability.

The 6-24 may be a nice alternative. Its made from all the same components but with a shorter erector. But here... you have reticle options, illumination FFP, etc... but iys the same glass and turrets. I believe the 6-24 is also offered in SFP (I beleive whatvyou said you were looking for) but im not sure if anything other than the standard mil reticle is available.

Again, they are very nice for the money. After re reading my last post I just wanted to make that clear
 
Thanks for clearing that up BobD, I did indeed confuse tactile consistancy with repeatability.
 
I have an ET6245FG (FFP, G2DMR reticle).
It's on my "precision" AR (waiting on a Kreiger barrel for her).
It's really a great scope for the money, but it only has 19 mils elevation, no zero stop, no illumination.
The turrets are good, but could be better.

For well under $1000 you can't have everything, though.

Joe
 
I have an ET6245FG (FFP, G2DMR reticle).
It's on my "precision" AR (waiting on a Kreiger barrel for her).
It's really a great scope for the money, but it only has 19 mils elevation, no zero stop, no illumination.
The turrets are good, but could be better.

For well under $1000 you can't have everything, though.

Joe

No but you can get close, the 6-24 pst ffp is 949, has illumination, and has zero stop, but it has the same 19mil of travel as your current scope.
 
No but you can get close, the 6-24 pst ffp is 949, has illumination, and has zero stop, but it has the same 19mil of travel as your current scope.

But the Viper has (reportedly) inferior glass and (definitely) a lot of shrouding of the FOV near the elevation limits.

Illumination does not interest me, and with a canted base, a 100 yard zero is close to the bottom of the travel; no zero stop needed.

Add to that the excellent G2DMR reticle and the Bushy emerges on top IMHO.

I paid $825 shipped for my ET6245FG, BTW.

Joe
 
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Vortex Vortex Vortex. I have one and will probably never buy anything else. Already had to use the warranty (my stupid fault) and there customer service is second to none.