Scope Comparison

How do these 3 scopes compare?

Bushnell Legend 3-9x 40mm

Nikon Prostaff 3-9x 40mm

Bushnell Trophy 3-9x 40mm

 

I want to buy one of the three but can decide what the differences are other than price, length, weight and lense coatings.

TXBoy

I would not buy any of them unless it is for a rim fire.
They are made in Asia.
Get a Leupold or Burris or do without until the money is saved.
How do I know this?
I didn't listen when I read that on news groups 10 years ago, I had to learn the hard way: wasted money, wasted effort, wasted enthusiasm, and wasted time.

TXBoy,

Bushnell Legend 3-9x40....$124.95  The Legend is the only one of the bunch that is fully multi-coated.  It has a field of view at 18'-36' and a 3.5" eye relief.  The fast focus eye piece comes in handy and is a benefit.  This would be my pick as the best of the bunch.

 

 

Nikon Pro staff 3-9x40.....$149.95 The Pro-Staff by Nikon has multi-coated lenses, 11'-34' field of view and the longest eye relief of the group at 3.6".

 

Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40......$99.95 This scope has the widest field of view of the bunch at 14'-42'  and has a 3.4' eye relief.  In addition to multi-coating the Trophy also has Amber bright coatings for color contrast in the fall (makes animals appear to stand out from the background).  It also has a fast focus eye piece like the Legend.  This scope is a very good scope for the money but the Legend is better in low light with its fully multi-coated lenses.

The main difference that you would see if you compared these three in a hunting environment would be light transmission.  The Legend is third in the line of Bushnell scopes with only the two Elites being brighter.  It is priced in the middle of the three you have chosen and is the only one with fully multi-coated lenses.  Pretty easy choice....go with the Legend.

Edited by Chris

Thanks for the very helpful rundown on those 3 scopes. I have two more questions, simple as it may be. Eventhough each of the scopes has a 1" tube, 40mm objective, and 3-9x power, what accounts for the wide range of values for field of view at 9x (11' to 18')? Are these scopes a single piece design, in specific the legend? If not, how will this effect durability, etc out in the field.

thanks for the help.

 

txboy

 

txboy,

 

Field of view is determined by the ocular lenses in the eye piece.  Different factories and brands will vary in design and stats.  Decreasing the eye relief in a scope will widen the field of view.  So its a trade off one way or the other.  The Legend does have a robust high-durablity aluminum alloy formed one piece tube and can handle some abuse.

Thanks for all of the very helpful feedback.  I have been noticing the 3-9 40x bushnell banner riflescope that you have. Seems like a decent scope for the money. Is this particular scope water and fogproof? I would be putting it on a 308 win with the leupold rifleman rings and bases.

Yes the Banner series are all water-proof and fog-proof.  Good buy for the money and they perform well in low light.  The Banner line is fifth from the top (as far as quality) in the Bushnell line.

Bushnell Banner 3-9x40....$79.95

Edited by Chris

Clark wrote:

I would not buy any of them unless it is for a rim fire.
They are made in Asia.
Get a Leupold or Burris or do without until the money is saved.
How do I know this?
I didn't listen when I read that on news groups 10 years ago, I had to learn the hard way: wasted money, wasted effort, wasted enthusiasm, and wasted time.

I too am interested in where scopes are made.  I read that Leupold is made in Oregon.  It is very difficult to tell from the mfr's websites (including Burris) whether they are made here or overseas.  Any time I can find an equal or near-equal I will buy US made. 

 

Do you know which are the US made scopes?

As far as I know, Burris is the only large manufacturer that can lay claim to "100% American Made". Both the tube and the glass are made right here in the U.S. (Keep in mind Burris also manufactures scopes for Pentax, so this applies to the Burris made Pentax scopes as well). Leupold’s slogan (in my opinion) should be changed to "Made right, assembled here" since a major component of the scope (the glass) is purchased from the lowest overseas bidder that can meet their specs. They’re not very forthright about this fact, which is understandable the way the "Made in USA" moniker is pushed.  The Zeiss Conquest series also qualifies for the "Made in USA" label, but here again, I believe at least the glass is still made overseas.

Hope this helps,

Thanks.  I am surprised about Zeiss.  Thought it was European just by the name.

Quote:

Thanks. I am surprised about Zeiss. Thought it was European just by the name.

You’re welcome. The Zeiss VM/V scopes are still made by Zeiss in Germany. Only the " Conquest" line is partially made/fully assembled here in the US. The Conquests are as American as Leupold, IMHO.

6.5Mag wrote:

Leupold’s slogan (in my opinion) should be changed to "Made right, assembled here" since a major component of the scope (the glass) is purchased from the lowest overseas bidder that can meet their specs.

In order to legally use the term "Made in USA" any product must have a certain majority percentage of American made parts. You only see terms like "assembled in USA" when a product is made up of foreign parts.

hangfire wrote:

In order to legally use the term "Made in USA" any product must have a certain majority percentage of American made parts. You only see terms like "assembled in USA" when a product is made up of foreign parts.

I realize there's a lot of legalese involved in using the "Made in USA" label (percentages, etc.) and that Leupold is obviously still qualified to use it.  My point is that the glass (in my opinion) is a large part of the scope, large enough for me to think that label a little misleading, especially when coupled with the amount of "flag waving" done in their advertising.  If they were a little less vigorous in pushing "Made in USA" as a selling point, it wouldn't bother me so much.  Opinions aside, Burris has greater claim to the latter half of "Made right, made here" then Leupold does...

Always keep in mind your investment, if you are high in the Rockies on an expensive guided hunt, do you want to trust your investment to a guanteed waterproof-fogproof midline scope investment?