got my elite 4200 today

M

mdd

New member
Only took midway six days to get it from Missouri to Kansas :rolleyes: I know I know...they've always been super fast for me too till this time. Oh well. Everybody trips & does a lip skid now and again.
As for the scope: It is the 6-24x40 ao model & I'm impressed so far just from looking through it. The glass is as clear as anything I have & that clarity continues from the bottom to the top of the magnification. I could clearly discern larger objects with it at a distance of two miles. Looking straight east from my place, I could easily identify the people having a conversation in their front yard at just short of a mile.
That clarity on the higher magnification I'm sure is nothing compared to a high end Leupold, s&b, nightforce, zeiss, etc. But this 4200 was on sale for $360 so I'm pleased with it as much as can be at this point. Next week I expect my Ruger hawkeye tactical 243 will be here so this 4200 as well as a review of the function of both scope & rifle will have to wait.
 
I think you will really like your Elite 4200.
I recently bought the same scope and was impressed by the brightness, clarity and overall quality.

I have 5 Bushnell Elite 3200 AO scopes that I bought over about 5 years and was pleased with them. They have held up quite well and I have moved them from rifle to rifle as I added new ones to my collection. The Elite 3200 scopes don't come in 24 power versions so I bought the 6-24x40mm AO Elite 4200 when it was on sale.

The 4200 is a step up from the 3200 in clarity and brightness and I think it is less sensitive to parallax adjustments.

You got yourself a great scope.
Have fun with reaching way out and touching something with a lot of terminal kenetic energy.
 
I have nothing but praise for the Bushnells. I have the 4200 Tactical. I used A.R.M.S lever mounts to move it from rifle to rifle. It also allows easy removal for cleaning. Remounting it on the same rifle, it holds a perfect zero. Even moving it between different ones, it only takes a bout 5 rounds to re-zero it. The tactical has a FFP design that makes it especially easy to re-zero. The mil-dots are very easy to sight in, and 1/10th mil-dot adjustment is excellent, without any perceivable backlash when changing directions with the adjustments.
I also have a 3200, and it has performed very well despite less than careful handling.
 
I picked up a Bushnell 6-24x 4200 first focal plane Mil-dot reticle and turrets earlier this year for placement on a .308 Savage. I squeezed a .4MOA five shot group out of it so far and have been very pleased with the optic. I wish it had a bit more vertical adjustment. I knew it only had 48" going into the purchase....but having another 20 or 30 would have made it perfect, IMO.
 
I squeezed a .4MOA five shot group out of it so far and have been very pleased with the optic.
Click to expand...

I've managed the same with a 3-9x40mm 4200 on my Marlin XL7 (.30-06). The scope holds zero. The adjustments are crisp and precise. The glass has good clarity and color. It'll stay on the '06.

However...
I made the mistake of comparing it side-by-side with a Leupold Vari-X III 6.5-20x50mm (1985 or '86 production), and a new VX-3 3.5-10x40mm. Even without it's 6" sunshade, the Vari-X III doesn't transmit as much light as the Bushnell, but it's 25 year old optics are clearer, have truer color, and have never fogged on me. When compared to the new VX-3, the 4200 looks like a Tasco. A lot of people argue that the 4200 and VX-3 are a different class of scope, but I only paid $20 more for the VX-3 (watch those sale prices! ;)).

I agree that the VX-3 should generally be considered a higher grade of scope than the 4200, but Bushnell is marketing it directly against the VX-2s and VX-3s, at the same time. If they want to sell it as a comparable scope, I'll consider it as such.

It's the superior, 25 year-old glass in the Vari-X III that has me disappointed in the 4200. The comparison with the VX-3 just made things worse. I'll keep the Bushnell on my '06, but every time I pick it up... I wish I had spent the extra $20. (I bought the 4200 and VX-3 at the same time)

I'm not trying to insult your choice. On the contrary, keeping the 4200 on my '06 is an endorsement of it being a good scope. It's just that I think even the Leupold VX-2 is an upgrade. The VX-3 is an even bigger upgrade. (Yes, I've used the Bushnell and Leupolds in field conditions, and several hunts - this isn't just an indoors comparison.)
 
This 4200 was on close-out for $360. A VX-II of comparable magnification is at least $100 more while a VX-III is nearly double the price of this bushnell. If it had not been on sale I would not own it. However, bushnell offers their one year "bulletproof" warranty where I can return the scope for any reason during the first year and get a refund. I was not expecting VX-III glass but it is every bit as clear as my VX-II's. At the price I paid I will consider it a very good value if its adjustments are true and it holds zero.
 
scope

Recently received one from my wife (along with a box of great cigars) and installed it on a Contender with a 22-inch barrel in 7-30 Waters. Fantastic combination!

Love this scope; clear as a bell and bright as day. I'm sure you'll appeciate it.
 
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