SmallCaliberCentral

Recieved a new Bushnell elite 4200 6-24 x 40 model 42-6243A dot reticle ,I bought on e-bay for a very good price ($336.40 including shipping ) could not pass up this deal. The cross hairs are very fine for my + 50 year old eyes , I was going to mount it on my savage(204) walk around rilfe but now I am afaid I will not be able to pick up cross hairs quickly in the field or timber edges. I am now thinking I sould put this scope on my ruger target gray which I only shoot from the bench or pd hunting from bench (ruger now wears the same scope with milldot reticle) Does any one with + 50 year old eyes have any issues with the dot reticle scopes ??

My +50 eyes love the fine ch with a target dot. I grew up shooting 50' rimfire competition. Juniors couldn't use scopes but as soon as I was old enough to use a scope I have used the dot reticle. I hate any reticle that is big and course because it covers too much target. Give that dot a good try and I think you'll like it. If you don't, you can send that scope back to Bushnell and they will change the reticle for a small fee. Or you could sell it to me without losing too much. I do have one just like yours and I love it.

P.S. My 80 year old father shoots very well and he only uses a dot. So you can look forward to more than 20 years with yours.

I use one of the Bushnell Banner scopes which has an adjustment at the eye piece that makes the cross hairs larger or finer by turning. See if your scope has this!

I personally prefer a duplex crosshair, or cross hair with vertical post on a walking rifle. Mostly because both of these reticules work well in low light conditions. I'm in Idaho, and hunting hours are defined as 1/2-hour before sunrise, and 1/2-hour after sunset. There isn't always enough light to see the fine cross hairs, or a target dot at these times, and the deer are active then.

In general a fine cross hair or target dot reticule are less desirable for hunting situations, and preferred for target shooting. The two shooting disciplines are quite different.

The old Weaver K6, with post and cross hair reticule that I have on my 35 Whelen makes it a pain to site in, but quick and easy to get on the kill zone of an elk. Since I really dislike the recoil level on the rifle, and only shoot it at paper once a year to confirm that it is on target before hunting season, I really don't care that it isn't a good choice for a target scope.

As for your scope, try adjusting the ocular focus while looking at something fairly light colored, and close, (the wall in my gun room works well), with the objective distance set to infinity. If you try to adjust the ocular focus when the objective distance is close to in focus, your eyes will focus the background, and make it hard to adjust the ocular focus to give a clear focus on the reticule, when the objective focus is set correctly.

I have 60 year old eyes and wear bifocals (not while looking through the scope), but with my Nikon Monarch 6x24x50 with fine dot crosshairs, I have no problem because of the scope's clarity and light catching ability.

I had a Weaver Grand Slam 6 x 20 with fine cross hairs. Had to sell it and buy a scope with duplex hairs. If your hunting where there is any kind of brush that you have to deal with, those fine cross hairs will cost you shots guaranteed.