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Comparing Nikon and Bushnell

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macky View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote macky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Comparing Nikon and Bushnell
    Posted: July/13/2006 at 06:58

Yesterday, after work, I headed over to my local gun club.

 

I brought with me my Savage .223 with a mounted Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24X40mm, a Nikon 6.5-20X44mm new in the box, and several "test patterns" used for testing lens resolution, contrast, and color rendition.

 

I walked out to the 100 yard backstop and tacked up the "test patterns", and back to the "shoot shack" to set up

 

I setup the Savage on a Hoppes bench rest and sandbag and "velco strapped" the nikon to a piece of wood sitting on top of a small camera tripod.

 

First thing I did was adjust to setup the new nikon ..... got everything to look the clearest ..

 

So on to the comparison ....

 

Using the resolution pattern ... which is black on white (I printed it on High Quality Portrait Paper) .... the Blacks were blacker, the whites were whiter, and the lines (where black met white) were more crisp and clear through the Bushnell Elite 4200 .... not a ton, but noticeably

 

Using a contrast pattern .... which is again black, white, and shades of grey in between ... the image was blacker on the black end, and whiter on the white end, hard to tell the difference on the grey shades except to say that the Nikon was a tad milky while the Bushnell was crisper.

 

On to the colors .... more of the same .... the Bushnell just seemed a tad more vibrant ... the Nikon slightly flater.

 

It was cloudy out ... not super bright .. and I didn't do any low light comparsions cause I'm interested in range shooting so real low light isn't an issue to me ...

 

As a side issue ... the Nikon had an illuminated mil-dot reticle ... I've never tried an illuminated one ... for my purpose it reall didn't buy me anything.  Thr targets were bright enough that the recticle didn't really show up illuminated even at the highest setting.

 

The Nikon had a real nice feel to it ... and a nice finish ... I was disappointed that the lens cover strap was only on one side and tended to cause the cover to sit tilted on the lens.

 

I didn't do any repeatability testing ... I didn't want to be playing with knobs on a scope that I wasn't sure if I was keeping or not .... I was only trying to compare optics at this time.

 

I have done repeatibility testing on my Bushnell and it works fine ... I can draw boxes with it ...

 

So that's what I found .... I give the Bushnell Elite 4200 an edge on what I've tested.

 

Oh yeah ... BTW, the comparisons were made at 12X and 20X

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ceylonc View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ceylonc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/13/2006 at 08:31

Thanks for the review.  I assume that the Nikon tested was from the Monarch line (not a Buckmasters)? 

The 4200 is a great scope.  Glad to see you got the right tool for the job.

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macky View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote macky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/13/2006 at 08:39

It was a Monarch

 


6605 Nikon 6.5-20x44 Monarch UCC Riflescope Nikon 6.5-20x44 Monarch UCC Riflescope
  • Matte
  • Illuminated Mil-Dot
  • 1"
  • Adjustable Objective
  • Target Knobs
SWFA: $629.95
More Info... Buy Now

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Roy Finn View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/13/2006 at 09:22
Great post macky, thanks for sharing that with us.
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Trinidad View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trinidad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/13/2006 at 10:43

Cool Macky, great post.

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hotshot110 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hotshot110 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/14/2006 at 00:37
GREAT POST I enjoyed reading it thanks macky
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koshkin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/14/2006 at 12:24
Thanks for posting this.  That has been my experience with these two scope lines.  Both are good, but Elite 4209 glass is slightly better.  Do you by chance have any Burris Signature Select scopes to compare?

ILya
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macky View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote macky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/14/2006 at 13:16

ILya,

 

No, I don't have any Burris Scopes .... I have a Zeiss Conquest, Bushnell Elite 4200, and an older Weaver Classic K4 ... I returned the Nikon and ordered another Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24X40 AO (not side).  I plan on mounting the second Bushnell on my new .308 Savage 10FP LE2B.

 

My plan is to compare the Zeiss and Weaver to the Bushnell as well as soon as I get time. 

 

Have you checked out the Burris Signature Select in the past or are you thinking about getting one and wondered how it compared?

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koshkin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/14/2006 at 13:38
I've played with Burris Signature Select a fair bit, but not with a high magnification model as much.  I've looked at 3-10x40 and 1.5-6x40 Signature Select side by side with other competing scopes (Elite 4200, Monarch, VX-III, Sightron S2) and I thought that they were quite good and comparable to Elite 4200.  All of these scopes were pretty close though although I think that Signature Select and Elite 4200 were a bit better than others.  Interestignyl, I thought that Burris 1.5-6x40 was actually better than Elite 4200, while the 3-10x40 was similar to 2.5-14x40 Elite 4200.  This may be due to the normal production line variation between scopes or due to different makers optimizing their optical system at particular magnification ranges. 

Basically, I am not entirely sure how the high magnification scopes would compare side by side, since the results I got with lower magnification scopes would not necessarily translate directly.

ILya
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Trinidad View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trinidad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/14/2006 at 14:02

It is my opinion that 4200 and Signature Select offer the best value in the optics market at this time.

4200 has the Rainguard and Burris has the Reticles, glass and construction of both scopes are great.

 

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koshkin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/17/2006 at 15:54
If the price for the new Elite 4200 3-9x40 with Balistic reticle is not a typo it is the best deal in the world of scopes by a solid margin.  Doea anyone know if it is already available?

ILya
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Trinidad View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trinidad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/17/2006 at 15:59
Hello Koshkin , yes it is available, and the price is right. What a value.
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Roy Finn View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Roy Finn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/17/2006 at 17:54
Macky, I for one, would be interested in your take on how the Conquest and  4200 compare. Someone here compared them recently I believe and thought they were too close to say that one was "better" than the other. For hunting purposes, I feel the 4200 with Rainguard coatings makes a better deal for the 4200. If the 3-9 4200 comes along with FireFly reticle down the road, it will be a tough act to follow for all 3-9 currently on the market.
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macky View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote macky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/17/2006 at 18:39

Roy,

 

I'll make sure to post after I compare the Elite 4200 and the Conquest.  I'm kinda side tracked right now.  I went to the club yesterday with a CED Chronograph ... had never used one before .... and my AR-15 and some of the loads that I had success on my Savage VLP with ... only with the ballet seated to magazine length.  Even though the groups weren't terrible, they didn't compare to the Savage.  And some of the 5 shot groupings had velocity numbers with Standard Deviation up near 50 (most were between 10 and 15 but a few weren't) .... not the high point of my day.  So now I'm back reading about load development ...

 

But like I said .... I will post once I make the comparison

 

Also ... in the meantime, my second Elite 4200 6-24X40 should be here Wednesday .... and right behind it should be my new Savage 10FP LE2B (in 308) ..... too many toys ???? (never)

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