sleddogg
New member
Hi Predator Masters!
Just wanted to give people on a budget some food for thought on mid price scopes I have on my 3 rifles. I have a Bushnell 3200 Elite 3x9x40 on my Howa 22-250, a Nikon Buckmaster 3x9x40 on my Ruger M77 in .243, and a Simmoms Whitetail Classic 3.5x10x40 on my 700 Rem in .223.
I have used all these rifles and scope combos at the range, so most of my impression come from from punching paper, and only the Simmons has ever been hunting. This scope used to be on the .243, and was used for hunting whitetails in N.Y., and alot of coyote hunting last winter.
First price. The Simmons was purchased at a local gunshop for $89.00, the Bushnell at Walmart for $141.00, and the Nikon also at Walmart for $151.00. These scopes at Walmart are on clearance and the prices will probably go lower.
This is the Simmons below. It has a kind of krinkle finnish, that looks better than it sounds. The adjusters are the hand adjust type, and have an audible click. Scope clarity is good, but a notch or two below the Bushnell and Nikon. Eye relief is more critical, and seems to change a little with magnification. Adjustment ring moves smoothly, and stays put under recoil. Impact point @ 100 yards changes about an inch and a quarter when zooming from 3 up to 9 power. This is accepable to me on a calling/whitetail gun around here, as most shooting is under 150 yards. Low light visability is average, but I had no problems shooting those "crack of dawn" Coyotes on the first stand of the day last year. I hunted hard last year, in some miserable (very cold) weather, but the Simmons did not fog or fail in any other way. Also held zero all season. We shot a good amount of dogs together! For 90 bucks you could do worse!!!
This is the Bushnell below. Matte black finnish and a really good looking scope. This scope features a "fast focus ring" which is nice, although I think a kind of gimmicky feature. To me its one more thing that could go wrong. We will see. The scope has the "rain guard" lens treatment that is supposed to shed water better than a comventional lens. I sprayed it with my wifes plant sprayer, and it does seem to work well indeed! Adjusters are the "no coin" hand adjust type, and have a soft audible click. Scope clarity is above the Simmons, and is very clear at the edges of the sight window. Nice. Eye relief is longer than the Simmons, and gives you a little headroom moving front to back on the stock. The Duplex recticle is finer than the Simmons or the Nikon which makes for a little easier targeting on things tinier than I'd ever worry about shooting. I wish they were a little heavier. Low light visability is very good, and if you want to push legal shooting hours, this scope will glady do it. Bullet Impact seems to change ever so slightly, as you adjust up or down, but maybe its just me. This scope has held zero well all summer, and overall quality is excellent. I like it alot and will give it the torture test when our coyote season starts in 2 weeks!!!
Last is the Nikon pictured below. I originally went to purchase another Bushnell, and they were sold out, so I took a chance on the Buckmaster. Matte black finnish that is done well. Overall look of the scope is "old school" with no fancy features. Scope adusters are the coin adjust type with a loud audible click. Nice feature is once you have the scope zeroed the outer "0" ring adusts to the zero dot with only a small screwdriver to move the outer zero ring around. Very slick, as you must use a tiny phillips screwdriver to loosen two screws on the adjustment knob on both the Simmons and Bushnell. Most people don't use the zero feature on scopes, so this probably doesn't matter much to many folks. I like to mark zero, so I can set back to my favorite load after clicking my adjusters around for another load. Clarity is Excellent, and I rank it slightly better than the 3200. It is just a very sharp, clear sight picture all the way out to the edges. I rank the Nikon clarity very highly. Low light visibility is on par with the Bushnell. Very forgiving eye relief, and stays pretty constant as you move magnification. Mag ring is a little tight, but the literature that comes with the scope says its supposed to be. Bullet impact does not change that I can tell, and it just piles shot over shot at different mag settings. Overall I'm very pleased with the Nikon, will give this one a good workout also.
My final ranking is Nikon, Bushnell, then the Simmons. The Bushnell and especially the Nikon make me think you don't have to spend $300.00 to get a nice calling scope. I'll let you guys know if I have any failures or problems.
Have a good one! Sleddogg
Added info - Forgot to mention the Bushnell comes with an option of what they call a "Firefly Recticle" on some of the Elite models. I guess you charge it up by shining a light inside the scope, and the it glows green at night. My 3200 doesn't have it, but sounds good for night hunting.
Just wanted to give people on a budget some food for thought on mid price scopes I have on my 3 rifles. I have a Bushnell 3200 Elite 3x9x40 on my Howa 22-250, a Nikon Buckmaster 3x9x40 on my Ruger M77 in .243, and a Simmoms Whitetail Classic 3.5x10x40 on my 700 Rem in .223.
I have used all these rifles and scope combos at the range, so most of my impression come from from punching paper, and only the Simmons has ever been hunting. This scope used to be on the .243, and was used for hunting whitetails in N.Y., and alot of coyote hunting last winter.
First price. The Simmons was purchased at a local gunshop for $89.00, the Bushnell at Walmart for $141.00, and the Nikon also at Walmart for $151.00. These scopes at Walmart are on clearance and the prices will probably go lower.
This is the Simmons below. It has a kind of krinkle finnish, that looks better than it sounds. The adjusters are the hand adjust type, and have an audible click. Scope clarity is good, but a notch or two below the Bushnell and Nikon. Eye relief is more critical, and seems to change a little with magnification. Adjustment ring moves smoothly, and stays put under recoil. Impact point @ 100 yards changes about an inch and a quarter when zooming from 3 up to 9 power. This is accepable to me on a calling/whitetail gun around here, as most shooting is under 150 yards. Low light visability is average, but I had no problems shooting those "crack of dawn" Coyotes on the first stand of the day last year. I hunted hard last year, in some miserable (very cold) weather, but the Simmons did not fog or fail in any other way. Also held zero all season. We shot a good amount of dogs together! For 90 bucks you could do worse!!!
This is the Bushnell below. Matte black finnish and a really good looking scope. This scope features a "fast focus ring" which is nice, although I think a kind of gimmicky feature. To me its one more thing that could go wrong. We will see. The scope has the "rain guard" lens treatment that is supposed to shed water better than a comventional lens. I sprayed it with my wifes plant sprayer, and it does seem to work well indeed! Adjusters are the "no coin" hand adjust type, and have a soft audible click. Scope clarity is above the Simmons, and is very clear at the edges of the sight window. Nice. Eye relief is longer than the Simmons, and gives you a little headroom moving front to back on the stock. The Duplex recticle is finer than the Simmons or the Nikon which makes for a little easier targeting on things tinier than I'd ever worry about shooting. I wish they were a little heavier. Low light visability is very good, and if you want to push legal shooting hours, this scope will glady do it. Bullet Impact seems to change ever so slightly, as you adjust up or down, but maybe its just me. This scope has held zero well all summer, and overall quality is excellent. I like it alot and will give it the torture test when our coyote season starts in 2 weeks!!!
Last is the Nikon pictured below. I originally went to purchase another Bushnell, and they were sold out, so I took a chance on the Buckmaster. Matte black finnish that is done well. Overall look of the scope is "old school" with no fancy features. Scope adusters are the coin adjust type with a loud audible click. Nice feature is once you have the scope zeroed the outer "0" ring adusts to the zero dot with only a small screwdriver to move the outer zero ring around. Very slick, as you must use a tiny phillips screwdriver to loosen two screws on the adjustment knob on both the Simmons and Bushnell. Most people don't use the zero feature on scopes, so this probably doesn't matter much to many folks. I like to mark zero, so I can set back to my favorite load after clicking my adjusters around for another load. Clarity is Excellent, and I rank it slightly better than the 3200. It is just a very sharp, clear sight picture all the way out to the edges. I rank the Nikon clarity very highly. Low light visibility is on par with the Bushnell. Very forgiving eye relief, and stays pretty constant as you move magnification. Mag ring is a little tight, but the literature that comes with the scope says its supposed to be. Bullet impact does not change that I can tell, and it just piles shot over shot at different mag settings. Overall I'm very pleased with the Nikon, will give this one a good workout also.
My final ranking is Nikon, Bushnell, then the Simmons. The Bushnell and especially the Nikon make me think you don't have to spend $300.00 to get a nice calling scope. I'll let you guys know if I have any failures or problems.
Have a good one! Sleddogg
Added info - Forgot to mention the Bushnell comes with an option of what they call a "Firefly Recticle" on some of the Elite models. I guess you charge it up by shining a light inside the scope, and the it glows green at night. My 3200 doesn't have it, but sounds good for night hunting.
