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Posted: 7/15/2017 3:57:57 AM EDT
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Just killed my second low(?) grade scope, a Bushnell Trophy XLT. It replaced (under warranty) whatever 3-9x40 Bushnell I had before that they no longer made.
Are semi-auto's generally considered to be harder on scopes than bolt guns? I know it seems common knowledge airguns are, due to "reverse recoil", but I figure a semi auto is the same...there is a force imparted on firing, and another in the opposite direction on return to battery. I did some quick searching and couldn't really find an answer about expected life, nor if there was some sort of average life one could expect from a particular scope. Tons of variables obviously, but I thought maybe there was a general number that is considered acceptable for when a certain price range scope should die? Kind of a weird question, but I guess I'm asking if you can buy yourself out of scope failure, or if it's always just a matter of time and/or number of rounds until death. Don't get me wrong, I understand the two scopes I killed are not Leupolds. I've seen a Leupold die too, but that was a seal, on a .300 Win Mag rifle, probably in service for many years. I'm a firm believer in BUIS. :) My first Bushnell probably last 5 years of pretty infrequent use on a .303 bolt gun until a/the seals failed. This replacement made it probably close to 1000 rounds of .308 (DPMS GII). From the get-go this scope was probably not right (can't remember when I first noticed the vision issue), but I thought it was my poor eyesight...reticle and/or target would be blurry at times, but always seemed like I could blink or force my eyes to focus and eventually things would be back in focus. Last time out let my buddy shoot it, didn't say anything to him about the blurry view, but he immediately commented that something is wrong with the scope (he doesn't need glasses), the view was in and out of focus. At least that made me feel better about my own eyes! As I was getting close to shooting my last ronds, I saw what appeared to be a crack appear on some lens inside the scope. When I lowered the rifle I could hear rattling inside. Sure enough, a lens with a chipped edge, glass particles, and apparently the threaded ring that held it in place are hanging out wherever gravity takes them in there. Initially I thought maybe the scope rings had crushed and distorted the tube, but there aren't even any mark on the tubes finish where the rings were snugged down, so I don't think failure was caused by my installation. Could be, sure, but I tend to think not, and if I had any belief it could be my fault, I wouldn't send it in for warranty work. |
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Gas guns have multiple recoil impulses while bolt guns have only one.
That being said, I still had a Bushnell DMR (from when they first came out) die years and many roounds later on a .308 bolt gun. One of the internal elements came loose, making it impossible to focus the entire image in the reticle. Bushnell replaced it under warranty with a new scope. |
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Quoted:
And that, is why I buy Vortex. Cheap? No. But the replacements are...,. I mangled mine myself, replaced....Free. Quoted:
And that, is why I buy Vortex. Cheap? No. But the replacements are...,. I mangled mine myself, replaced....Free. BUSHNELL IRONCLAD WARRANTY
Products manufactured on or after April 2017 are covered by the Bushnell Ironclad Warranty. The Ironclad Warranty is a full lifetime warranty that covers the lifetime of this Product. Each Product has a defined lifetime; lifetimes can range from 1 to 30 years. This Product’s lifetime can be found below and/or on the Bushnell webpage specific to this Product. |
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I've got a significantly more expensive scope coming, I'm hoping the money buys me more time between failures. I plan to shoot thousands of rounds out of the gun, I'd prefer the scope not to be a consumable item lol.
Luckily this time it didn't fail me on a hunt, the first one that failed cost me a pretty penny since I had to pay a premium price for a low end scope in the closest small town, then re-zero. Bushnell has changed their warranty structure somewhat, depending on what you have. I don't know as I'd hesitate to go with one of the Elite scopes, but they don't have any that do what I need them to do: The No Questions Asked Lifetime Warranty covers the following Riflescope, Binocular and Spotting Scope product families: Trophy® Trophy® Xtreme Legend® Elite® Elite® Tactical Fully transferable, covers accidental damage as well as defects in materials & workmanship. No receipt or warranty card is required. We will repair or replace product with equal or similar value and/or specifications. We will return product to you at no charge. |
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The best warranty is the one you never have to use because the product doesn't fail. I have a lot of scopes and red dots. About 30 or so at the moment. Many different companies. The only ones that have ever failed, ever, were Chinese made.
Some of my scopes go back to the late '50s and early 60's others scattered throughout the decades up to current purchases, and and have been dragged through hell and back in remote, rough country and in terrible weather. Leupold, Kahles, Zeiss, Burris, Weaver, Redfield, Nikon, Bausch & Lomb. None of these were Chinese. None have failed. None have needed warranty work. Even a 40+ year old Tasco 4x32 from when they were Japanese. Still serves duty on a .22LR. The two B&L scopes date to the late '50s. Several Leupold, Weaver and Redfield are almost as old. My current Burris, Nikon and Weaver scopes are Japanese and doing great, as are all the modern Leupolds, the German Zeiss and Austrian Kahles. So is a US assembled by Burris target scope with Japanese glass, made by Burris but branded Pentax (actually a Burris Black Diamond). Only the Chinese stuff is failing. Doesn't seem to matter which company. Tried several brands on light duty range toys and plinkers. At least one failure with each. A Bushnell TRS-25 red dot, Chinese, has held up for about 4 years now on a range toy. Seems the exception. Yes, semiautos are harder on scopes. Banging them on trees, rocks and other things out in the boonies is hard on scopes, especially in bad weatger. Heavy recoiling rifles can mess up a scope. Believe it or not, the strange recoil of airguns can be absolutely fatal to scopes. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. |
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Quoted:
Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. I will reiterate that I've seen a Leupold fail during normal use, and that this Bushnell that died was made in the Philippines. I thought the Filipino stuff was better than Chinese. :( I'm not unrealistic, I expect man-made goods to fail at some point, but I'm hoping these type products (when paying good money) will indeed last a long time. |
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