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badshooter View Drop Down
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    Posted: January/09/2008 at 22:13
I just bought an Elite 4200Big%20Grin. It seems very bright and clear, but when I showed it to a buddy of mine, he said " It looks clear but my $60 scope looks just as good".  He is one of those that thinks anything over $100 is too much for a scope or any other optic.  Is there a test I can come up with to show the optical superiority of the better glass?  Looking through both during the broad daylight at a tree or house is not really a way to see a difference. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bricat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/09/2008 at 22:46
badshooter, see my thread entitled "great scope-off of '08" there are some great ideas there.   Bricat
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 08:56
do stuff at last light or in the cold and then see whos better
They call me "Boots"
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God Bless Chris Ledoux
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote medic52 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 09:05
It looks clear but my $60 scope looks just as good".  SOME PEOPLE you just can not make them understand. They are so use to junk, they actual think thats the way it's suspose to be. The Elite 4200 is a quality scope that you will get a lifetime of pleasure out of.....
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." G.K. Chesterton
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 09:10
tack an acuity chart up at 100yds, you can read more lines as they get smaller with a higher resolution scope. Look at things right as light is fading away and you can measure in minutes the length of time some better optics can still see objects after others have lost sight of them. Pretty easy to compare good and not so good scopes in ways that cannot be denied, even by skeptics.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ed Connelly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 17:34
The next time you're out with your buddy hold up one of your arms and ask him " How many arms am I holding up?"         Whacko
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Big Squeeze Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 17:49
Ask your buddy to go hunting with you in some bad weather; preferably very wet with some sleet mixed in...............Then we shall see who has the last laugh when he loses a shot because the lenses of his cheapie $60 scope are distorted and unclear!!!...........I guarantee that he won`t be laughing!! YOU WILL!!! Roll%20on%20Floor%20Laughing...........$60 scopes are good for two things; for those to buy who don`t any better AND,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Down%20the%20Toilet   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ed Connelly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 18:00
Exactly.  If a feller is on a strict budget and needs a scope, he ought to just buy himself a nice, good condition, USED scope. E-bay is full of scopes that are three times better than the cheapie, NEW Asian models. They just may be twenty or thirty years old. Just try to get one that hasn't been abused. I have bought MINT CONDITION Weaver scopes on e-bay... ( a mid-70s K6 ) for $49.99!!  I have also bought fantastic 70-80s model Redfields for under $100.  I love all those bargains. They don't have the latest multi-coatings that lets you see in the dark, but they work just FINE!!  --Ed
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote badshooter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 18:34
I did a preliminary test this evening on my new 3-9x40 Elite4200 against a Burris fullfield II, a Leupold Vari-x II and a Elite 3200. All scopes set to same power and using a acuity chart I got from 6mmbr.com.  I have to say I was DISSAPPOINTED in the 4200.  All scopes were pretty well even, with maybe a slight edge going to the 3200.  The 4200 was not quite as good as the Fullfield II.  The brightness was fine but the resolution was not.  Whats up with that?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 18:47
You do understand that each scope has to be focused to your eye and focused to the very best position to read the print right? Quick with the euro focus ones and a lot slower with the lock ring styles. I use 100yds and set each scope on the same power usually the highest power of the lowest power scope. Than carefully adjust each diopter to your eye pausing every so often to let your eye relax until you can see the print, font, or numbers the clearest.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote badshooter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 18:55
Yeah, I adjusted the focus.  I thought that might be the issue but it still wasn't better than my 3200.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 19:21
Interesting to say the least.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 21:00
Very interesting, indeed, as I have looked through several 3200's and do not concur. The 4200 has much better glass than any of the FF's I have. I have found the 3200 to be closer to the FF.
Also, if that is VariX-II you are talking about, I sold all of mine because the FF glass was quite a bit better. The Leupolds were not only less clear but poor in low light.


Edited by tahqua - January/10/2008 at 21:04
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 21:35
Originally posted by tahqua tahqua wrote:

Very interesting, indeed, as I have looked through several 3200's and do not concur. The 4200 has much better glass than any of the FF's I have. I have found the 3200 to be closer to the FF.
Also, if that is VariX-II you are talking about, I sold all of mine because the FF glass was quite a bit better. The Leupolds were not only less clear but poor in low light.
i agree with you T, but i didnt sell all of my varixIIs i kept the silver one.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote badshooter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 21:49
I'm not doubting what you guys are saying, so I'm wondering if there is another test I can do to ease my conscious?  The 4200 is clear, I just couldn't make out as many objects on the target as with the others.  The 4200 and the FF are not mounted on the gun yet, so I don't know if that matters.  I think I will go ahead and mount the 4200 on my new Rem 700 SPS .308 tomorrow when it comes inSharp%20Shooter, after all the Bushnell does have a "no questions asked warranty for 1 year" right? 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/10/2008 at 21:52
it would help to look at the scope while its mounted, and i wouldnt worry about the warranty either, i was like you not to long ago and i just put one on my brand new m700 cdlsf limited run .264win mag and its a nice scope, if you dont like it plenty of people will buy it off you im sure of that
They call me "Boots"
375H&H Mag: Yeah, it kills stuff "extra dead"

343 we will never forget

God Bless Chris Ledoux
"good ride cowboy"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 8shots Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/11/2008 at 07:03
Wink
Originally posted by badshooter badshooter wrote:

I'm not doubting what you guys are saying, so I'm wondering if there is another test I can do to ease my conscious?  The 4200 is clear, I just couldn't make out as many objects on the target as with the others.  The 4200 and the FF are not mounted on the gun yet, so I don't know if that matters.  I think I will go ahead and mount the 4200 on my new Rem 700 SPS .308 tomorrow when it comes in, after all the Bushnell does have a "no questions asked warranty for 1 year" right? 
 
I think a lot of views on scopes (pardon the pun), would be different if we subjected them (and ourselves) to more controlled tests as just done by Badshooter.
I think we owe it to ourselves and other forum members to take a whole bunch of scopes and do the chart test. This may be very revealing as to which glass is actually the best.
I intend to test 4 scopes in this manner very soon and will post the results.
 
And if "my" scope did not perform well, I will try another rifle, maybe it is on the wrong rifle!!Wink


Edited by 8shots - January/11/2008 at 07:05
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/11/2008 at 08:52
The scopes must be unmoving, I lay them on a sandbag to test so there is zero movement. The acuity chart is to test resolution or clarity, the ability of the scope to resolve print or font clearly at a set distance compared to another. I always see at least one full line better with the 4200 over the 3200 scope with both on equal power, in perfect focus for my eyes, and laying perfectly still and unmoving. I see two lines better when comparing to a VX ll leupold scope. The conquest is the top resolving scope in my tests and always exceeds the 4200 by at least one line. Brightness is easier to test by looking at an object in the shadows as light fades and noting as each scope brand tested looses sight of the object. I measure this in minutes and a 4200 and a conquest will usually come out in a dead heat here, the leupolds will trail by a good bit (8-10 minutes) as will the 3200 elites. You could use the acuity chart and use the largest font and note when each scope could no longer read it. scopes need to be on equal power settings, lenses need to be clean and dustfree, diopters need to be focused to the testers eye, scopes need to be unmoving and conditions need to be equal ( don't test on different nights, different times, or different weather conditions)

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Edited by Focus - January/11/2008 at 08:55
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If Accurate rifles Are Interesting.....I've Got Some Savages That Are Getting Mighty Interesting......
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