I'm looking at putting either a 6-24X40 or a 4-16X50 Bushnell 4200 atop my bushy varminter.  
First, I Can't decide if I need the 6-24X or if it would even be feasible given it's length and lack of internal adjustment.  

At any rate, I had the idea of going with the 50mm 4-16, but when I talked to a guy at Bushmaster, they acted like the Armalite mount wouldn't accomadate(clear the forearm) a bell like that(why I asked bushmaster, it was more to humor myself, and to point out that I wished they offered something comparable)?  I know (one I think was "imposter") a few have said they have this exact scope, but I don't recall any using the Armalite mount.  I'd really like to utilize the one piece precision and the quick take-off put-on time of the armalite.  What do you think.

I suppose I could always slap on the 1/2 risers that come with the varminter, but I don't want those getting in the way if I switch to a secondary optic (red dot etc)

Thanks in advance.

Gundraw

I have a Varminter with a Nikon 6-20x44 in the Armalite mount and there is plenty of space between the objective bell and the forearm, I don't see why a 50mm AO would not work.

I like the one piece mount for the AR15.

Great, thanks for the info.

Anyone have any input on a 6-24X40 as opposed to the 4-16X50 (Bushnell Elite 4200 of course)??
Does the 6-24 still fair well with the low light?  Is it too long for an AR??

Gundraw

I have a AR10 flattop wit the Armalite one piece mount with a second gen Springfield 56mm bell, there is about 1/8 inch clearance to the standard handguard. think that you would have to remove the scope and mount to remove the handguards for cleaning under them. The Armalite mount is rated for a 50mm bell, I didn't know that when I got my setup, got lucky I guess.

The diamter of the Bushnell 4200 50mm lense is a little less than 2.4".  If the Armalite mount puts the scope 1.35" high and the Varminter forend is no higher than the top of the rail (??), there should be at least 0.15" to spare.

I have a BSA Contender 6x24x50 on my RRA heavy barrel upper with FF HGs.  There is about 5/16" of space between the HGs and the scope.  

I liked it well enough to get another that sits atop my Colt regular contour barrel equipped with a Simmons AETEC scope and FF HGs. Plenty of room there.

I plan on at least one more for a FAL.

Thanks for all the help.  

Now the only choice I still have (and I need to make it by tomorrow (sale ends!)) The 6-24X40 or the 4-16X50...


I have two concerns.  I would really like the ability to "zoom" in at those longer ranges, especially for varmint and a lot of paper punching as well.  But is 40mm enough objective??? I hear people say these bushnells are very clear, but still, do people find these scopes lacking in light with a 40mm objective.

Second, I'm hoping I could mount the 6-24 far enough forward to give proper eye relief.

Any suggestions/experience would be much appreciated.  I'm really caught in the middle.  It's like the 4-16 would be a sure shot, but a 6-24 would really be great for many situations.  Thanks for any help in advance.

Gundraw

P.S. It's great the sight is back up, I've been going into withdrawal!

I think the 6-24X40 would be awsome on your varminter, It will look good and the quality of Elite 4200 series is excellent, I also don't think the light transmission is an issue those scopes are bright and clear.

I think they have this model in a Mil-Dot.

The clock is ticking down.  I really think I'm going to go with the 6-24.  I talked to imposter about his, he had some good points.  I just really think if light does become an issue, I'll switch to my red dot. I'm sure 4-16 would suffice, but I would like to experiment a little with some higher powered scopes.  Thanks all for your input.  It seems EVERYONE who has a 4200 series has the same first statement.  "I couldn't believe how bright and clear the picture was"

As happyjack mentioned, that has been the latent question I've had for a while.  Mil-dot or plex.  I've never shot through a mil-dot scope.  I've always been partial to the simplicity of the the plex.  I know mil-dots are advantageous for rangfinding, but when it comes to just target shooting, are they more difficult to find the "center point"?  It's hard to a decision like that when dishing out this kind of cash!  For those who target and varmint, which do you use??  Any downfalls to either (other than rangfinding)?  I still like Burris' ballistic plex retical, it's the best of both worlds.

Thanks everyone for your input!
Gundraw

It will be hard to find but we had a pretty long discussion about this awhile back.


The 6-24 Bushnell is geared more towards bench rest shooting at closer ranges, that's my opinion.   Reason for this?   The 1/8MOA dials and the total adjustment between extremes on the 6-24x.    There is not a lot of useable elevation adjustment on the 6-24x, goto the Bushnell website and take a gander at it's total travel between extremes and compare to the 4-16x model.


I've got the older Bausch&Lomb Elite 4000 6-24x on my AR10 and I can confirm that it does not have as much adjustment.    Think it's right around 30MOA between extremes, compare to other scopes which have 60-80MOA between extremes.    That adjustment gets cut in half due to the reticle getting centered in it's mechanical movement so now you're left with 15MOA in either direction.     Now sight in your rifle and you could either gain or lose around 2-3 MOA of elevation, so roughly estimating here you might have somewhere between 11-18 useable MOA for longer range shooting with your rifle.    To get from 100 yards out to 500 yards with a 223Remington, you will likely need somewhere between 10-13MOA.    It will be a close call and pretty much be limited to out to 500 yards, still long range but not enough adjustment for shooting further.    Unless ofcourse you wind up getting a tapered 15-20MOA base to put some useable elevation back into your optic.


I'd say go for the 4-16x Bushnell over the 6-24x.

Also, the 6-24x is a LONG sucker.   Like 17 inches long without a sunshade, here's a picture of it on my AR10.
[url]http://home.bak.rr.com/varmintcong/ar10/AR10A4lft.jpg[/url]


It's optics are clear though.