SmallCaliberCentral

Hi Guys,
I'm getting a CZ 527 soon that has a Bushnell 3200 Elite 10X on it. Have any of you tried this scope? I'm use to variable power Leupold's so this will be a first for fixed power for me. Comments pro and con appreciated.
Thanks, Gary

I didn't know they made a straight 10X. I have two Elite scopes that I think highly of. The Elite series are descendents of Bausch & Lomb technology since the two companies combined their efforts several years ago. If the reticle is tolerable, I'm sure the optics will be very good.

I have a 10x bushy on a .308 and think that it is a great little scope for the money; super clear, well defined reticle, holds zero and adjusts accordingly. The turrets are easily adjusted via a single set screw. The bad things that I can say about them is they don't have a zero stop so you need to keep track of where your initial zero is, and they don't focus below 25-30 yards or so, but other than that they are a great scope IMHO.

BTW even with a 20" barrel shooting 168 FGMM I have plenty of elevation (+25moa base) to reach 1k and further. I can't remember how much come up there is, but it's fairly good for a 1 inch tube.

I'm not too sure about being fixed power, but the 3200 is a great scope for the money. A buddy has one on his Omega shooting 150 grains of powder, and it holds up great to the shock (although his shoulder wasn't so lucky LOL).

I have a Bushnell 3200 Elite on my seven mag, I think it is a great scope and i love the rainguard feature! I've had it for three years and have had no problems whatsoever. I will buy another one as soon as i get another rifle.

I agree as well. The Elite series optics are hands down the best buy in the market today. I will be getting another one whenever I am in the market for a new scope. I did find out however that the Elite series offers a compact 3-10x40 that is an inch shorter than the standard 3-9. I guess I have been asleep at the wheel in my scope research.

Statelinerut: Be carefull with the short scopes. They tend to have a shorter eye releif to go along with the shorter length.

It can be a real pain to install them on some rifles, (Number 1 Rugers being a prime example).

Gary: As you know I'm a complete Leupold nut, but that said, I've never ever heard any negative comments about the Elite series of scopes. Most users like them very much, and as mentioned earlier, they employ the B&L technology which was always highly though of in optics circles.

For the money, they seem to be excellent scopes from what I gather.

Rick in Oregon wrote:Gary: As you know I'm a complete Leupold nut, but that said, I've never ever heard any negative comments about the Elite series of scopes. Most users like them very much, and as mentioned earlier, they employ the B&L technology which was always highly though of in optics circles.

For the money, they seem to be excellent scopes from what I gather.

Rick, have you ever compared the magnification of Leupold to most any other scope? My flagship scope is a VXIII, but I really think they exaggerate their magnification ratings. My Bushnell 3x12x50 on my Knight Disc blows away my 4.5x14x50 VXIII in magnification. The Lupey is a much better scope all the way around, but that's the one caveat I've found.

Berg: You're completely correct in that the advertised magnifications of most scopes, including Leupold, varies on either the low or high end compared to the listed magnification range.

If you look at their catalog, you'll see the actual magnification ranges, and they seldom, if ever match the magnification range on the box. You've heard of the Optical Triangle...meaning if you give up anything at either end of the scale, it affects the other end. The Leupold 4.5-14X is actually a 4.9-14.6X magnifcation. Depending on the actual construction of the scope, either the high or low end can/will be affected with more or less magnification. This most likely explains what you've found on your Elite series of scopes when comparing to other brands.

I'm guessing that your Elite is probably more 'powerful' in magnification than the box or engraved scope markings indicate. Sound about right?

Sounds about right. I'll have to dive in a little deeper to confirm your hypothesis. It'll have to wait until spring though, I'm too busy sitting in trees right now! I'll do some website digging tomorrow and see who's exaggerating more.

I have three Bushnell Elite scopes...2- 4200...1-3200 For the money I think they are GREAT. NO PROBLEMS so far. I liked my first 4200 6x24x40 so much that I got another one to go on my new REM 700 SPS Varmint 204. If our weather will ever clear up alittle I am going to try her out...

Does anyone have the "Firefly" reticle?

Does it offer any advantage over their "Multi-X"?

Only thing I can think of is that you could put something/moving animal, in the center easier.

Can the reticle be seen w/o charging it with a flashlight?

Thanks.