Wary of repaired bushnell.

P

Polinese

New member
A year or two ago I got a bushnell 3200 10x mildot. Worked great for a while when suddenly the internals went out on me. Windage knob was completely dead, and the elevation knob moved the reticle diagonally. I bought a redfield revolution to replace it and am still using that. Bushnell actually honored their warranty and supposed fixed it up however I've never mounted it back up since I'm kind of wary since it's already failed me once. At the same time I don't want to just sell it since it was a gift from my father. Am I being too worrisome about it?
 
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Am I being too worrisome about it?
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Bushnell 3200s are, generally, pretty reliable... so I'm guessing that you simply got a rare lemon. If Bushnell repaired it, it's probably been fettled over by hand more than a production line scope would be... so I wouldn't be too concerned.
Saying that, have the Redfield mounted in rings, zeroed and ready to swap out... just in case. :p
 
Oh good call on the wary haha. Fixing it now.

Creeper, the rings I have are kinda junky. Was actually thinking about getting quick detach rings and re-zeroing it and keeping it handy if the bushnell fails again. That's a good point about it being looked over. I think part of it is they never had a great rep for standing behind their warranty. Frankly I was shocked when they agreed to fix it.
 
I wouldn't trust it.

And, if I found myself in your situation (mounting it on a rifle, but having a backup scope at the ready), I would probably never use the rifle. If my faith in that scope was so little that I have to have a backup scope ready... it would find a new home.

Your father will understand. ;)
 
got one

Ive got one of those, my first Bushnell in a long, long time. Its not been "clicked" a lot, just mounted on a .22 , zeroed, and shot a bunch.

So far, so good.

But, my previous, 1980's experience with Bushnell's was very poor.
 
I'd be "wary" of any Bushnell product even if it were new in the box!
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How do you feel about Bausch and Lomb? Because from my understanding that is what the Elite line of scopes evolved from. I don't know about the 3200 line, never had one but the 4200's I have are dang fine optics and tough as nails. Never had one ounce of trouble from them. I also have an old B&L 3X9X40 sitting on a Ruger No.1 in 7mmMag, its a fine tight piece of glass.

I cannot say the same for Leupold and definitely not for Nikon. Fact is I had so much trouble with Nikon I sold the new scope they sent me, got rid of the other Nikon stuff I had and refuse to buy another Nikon product
 
Salty, my own 4200 Elite seemed like a decent scope, as far as light transmission and clarity. But... it lasted fewer than 100 rounds on a .30-06, before its guts let go and the zero started wandering. By that time, the lens coatings had started to change color, as well - causing very strange color and clarity issues.

When I shipped it back to Bushnell, I opted for a refund, rather than repair/replacement. The Redfield Revolution that's now on that .30-06 was a substantial upgrade, in my opinion.

And, the same goes for a Bushnell-labeled Bausch and Lomb 3-9x I just replaced on my 77/22. The B&L was hazy, yellowed, had terrible light transmission, and the zero seemed to slowly continue drifting in the last direction the turret was adjusted (on a rimfire!).
It's a really sad day, when a Tasco Pronghorn out-performs a B&L in every way... :rolleyes:


I trust Bushnell scopes until they fail. ...which usually doesn't takes less than one shooting trip. Then, they go in the "Bushnell" pile in my gun room.
Their best-selling line, the "Sportview" makes a fantastic reactive target. ;)
 
i install a few dozen rifle scopes every year. Many scopes are ruined by improper installation and by the use of junky rings. I will not install scopes in rings made in China. IMO: They are trash.

Every year i get 2 or 3 rifles with scopes that were damaged by faulty installation or by cheap rings/bases. Last one was a bent Kahles installed by a gunsmith who must have been on meth. Kahles would not replace it.

The Bushnell 3200 is a good scope. i don't recall having trouble with one.
 
I've had good luck with the Buhsnell Elite 3200's, 4200's, and 6500's. I've seen Leupolds,Nikons, Weavers and others break as well as Bushnells. If the scope was factory repaired, I'd mount it up and see how it performed.
 
I am still useing a busnell 2.5-10, forgot the model but it would not have been costly when new in 1976. I have watched brand new higher dollar scopes go bad for no real reason soon after bought. Stuff happens. Use your scope. I also trust a scope , any scope till it fails. My other rifle scope is a first year made simmons atec scope on a 7mm rm and its still very good for some very impressive shooting at long distance 18 years later. I have been waiting for 15 years for it to give up to mount a 15 year old brand new burris block diamond scope that sits on a shelf in my safe. But its still first class.

Use your scope
 
I love the Elite line of Bushnells. The HDMR is also a great piece of glass. I had a NightForce on my 50, but swapped it out for a Bushnell Tactical Elite. I put the NF on a .338LM. I am much happier with the Bushnell on the 50, and NF on the 338. I compare my Bushnell with my Leupold Mk4. There are better scopes IMO, but they cost quite a bit more. I would not be afraid of yours, just because of warranty work. My Leupold had to go back for a parallax problem. After the repair it has never given an issue.
 
Ive got a couple 3200s and a 4200. theyve been good scopes but if my scope failed no matter what the brand id probably dump it when it came back repaired. Just a me thing.
 
I"ve got some other stuff to trade, I may toss that onto the pile as well and just put it all towards a better scope.
 
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