The new Bushnell Elite 3.5-21 vs Vortex PST 6-24 Thoughts?

The new Elite Tactical 3.5-21x50 is a $2k scope. Definitely a cut above the $700 Vortex. AFAIK this new Bushnell Tactical series is meant to compete with the Leupold Mark 6 line.
 
Going in town this morning to take a look at this new Bushnell 3.5 X 21 Tactical... CC is in the wallet... JP.
 
I'd be really interested in hearing what you think about it. I'm a big fan of their Elite Tactical fixed 10x scopes, so I'd really like to hear about the new ones.
 
I will handle it and look at the clarity and all the features, feel the qualitys, it look promising... JP.
 
Was at the store and i did handle one, great piece, very heavy, i was in the store and clarity was extra, the one i look at was with the mildot , they will try to locate one with the G2DMR,0.1 Mil, it will sit nice on my 300 WSM FN Hernstal... Cheers. JP.
 
The HDMR is a $1,500 scope, not $2k, and the PST FFP 6-24x50 is a $1,150 scope. Just to clarify. I held and played with both in the store before buying the PST. The Bushnell is a 34mm tube, is heavy as heck, only comes in MRAD (all my equipment is in MOA, so I wanted to stick with it), the turrets were more mushy feeling on the Bushnell, and the warranty service is much better with Vortex. The turret lock feature on the Bushnell is nice, and the glass was about equal on both, judging by what I could see looking outside the store (definitely not a conclusive optics comparison). Both are very nice scopes, but I'd go with a used NF FFP for the money if you're thinking of spending $1,500+.
 
Jordan Smith said:
The HDMR is a $1,500 scope, not $2k, and the PST FFP 6-24x50 is a $1,150 scope. Just to clarify. I held and played with both in the store before buying the PST. The Bushnell is a 34mm tube, is heavy as heck, only comes in MRAD (all my equipment is in MOA, so I wanted to stick with it), the turrets were more mushy feeling on the Bushnell, and the warranty service is much better with Vortex. The turret lock feature on the Bushnell is nice, and the glass was about equal on both, judging by what I could see looking outside the store (definitely not a conclusive optics comparison). Both are very nice scopes, but I'd go with a used NF FFP for the money if you're thinking of spending $1,500+.
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Bushnell offers lifetime warranty with the elite tactical range.
 
Two trains of thought on this. Warrenty service is great when needed, but you have to ask yourself why you needed it....

BTW, I own a PST. It was more for a cost standpoint but does everything I need it to well. I hope I don't need to call their warranty services...
 
Yeah, I prefer not ever needing warranty service, but every single brand out there has made a faulty product before. If I'm the guy that gets the faulty one, I want to have a painless warranty experience. Reliability and warranty don't need to be mutually exclusive.
 
I was stuck between the HDMR, 4-16 FFP PST, and a 3-9 SWFA for my M1A build. I ruled out the SWFA because they don't have anything between 3-9 and 5-20, and was really eyeing up the HDMR even though I'm not a member of the Bushnell fan club.


Here's my breakdown:
Bushnell = $75 rebate till Dec 31st.
Bushnell (new only, not used) = good enough waranty
Bushnell = Better stats and promissing box test
Bushnell = Slightly better reticle

Vortex = Less money
Vortex = Much better waranty
Vortex = Better resale value
Vortex = Nicer cosmetics


I had a falling out with my PST 6-24 (PSTs I should say). THey failed the box test and left a bad taste with the entire Vortex line. I drove to Wolverine one day and they had an HDMR there and I took a quick look at it, but I wasn't left with any better feelings about it going in the store. It still feels and looks like a Bushnell and spending more money on something of questionable quality and poor reslae value made me rethink the idea.

If a used HDMR was on the EE for a decent price, I would have gone that route. Instead, I picked up a used PST 4-16 for $1000 and have since done a basic box test. My initial findings are that the PST will not pass the box test, but will do the job out to 1000 yards in 20 mph winds. Detailed test to follow.


nemesisincanada said:
I have a G2DMR. Having difficulty finding extra low tps rings in 34mm rings.
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Dare I recommend R P S int'l but I did just purchase some TPS X-low 30mm rings from them. They are not cheap but try finding them elsewhere and then report back to me when you've found a dealer.
 
Good post.

I actually prefer the PST reticle, but to each his own :)

What do you mean the PST failed the box test? If you're talking about the fact that the erector has limited travel before it starts to follow the curvature of the scope tube, then you'd be correct. But then, that's the case with all scopes, though some manufacturers prevent the erector tube from moving once it contacts the scope tube. I've done some testing with my PST 6-24 FFP, and it has a workable elevation range of 69MOA with the windage zeroed. With the windage maxed out to one wide, the usable elevation range is reduced to 22MOA. But that's after you've dialed in around 30MOA of windage. With the rifle sighted in, there is 5.75MOA of windage dialed in, and I still have 68MOA of usable elevation. I've got the scope mounted in Burris Signature rings with 0.010" inserts in front and back, and on an IOR 20MOA rail. The rifle is zeroed at 100 yards, and the scope is zeroed with 6MOA of "down" remaining, and 62MOA of usable "up" left in the elevation turret. If I dial in 10MOA of windage, then the erector assy has 58MOA of usable "up" before the erector starts to follow the arced path of the scope tube. From zero, I have 18.25MOA of usable right windage, and 21MOA of left windage. If I top out the elevation turret (62MOA of elevation dialed in- enough to get my .243AI out to 1660 yards with a 105gr Hornady HPBT at 3144fps, where I do my shooting), the erector will still allow me to dial in 11MOA of windage to the right, and 17MOA to the left. The usable left and right windage would be mechanically equal if I bothered to take the time to orient the Burris ring inserts to zero the windage without having to use the scope's erector assembly.

Then if you consider that the FFP reticle gives me another 10-30MOA of correction in any direction in addition to what the erector assy offers, it's more than enough to compensate for shooting out to 1660 yards in a 10MPH wind using only the erector (I would never do this, since I hardly ever dial windage when I have a good reticle, anyways), or beyond a mile in up to 20MPH winds if I use the reticle for a hold of 10MOA elevation and windage. If you want to use the reticle for more than 10MOA of holdover and hold off (which you can, with 30MOA of usable elevation holdover and 30MOA windage, the elevation being marked in 2MOA hash marks out to 30MOA, and the windage being in 2MOA marks out to 10MOA, and 5MOA increments beyond that out to 30MOA), then I can shoot at a mile in up to 34MPH winds (hah! I'm not expecting to hit much in these conditions!). That is plenty of elevation and windage correction for my uses, and if I need more in a FFP scope, I'm going to run a NF, S&B, March, etc.

The two PST FFP scopes that I've played with (one 6-24 and one 4-16) track and RTZ like a dream, and are very usable scopes for LR shooting. You just need to make sure that you record on your dope sheet how much usable adjustment you have in the erector before it starts to travel in an arced path. It would have been nice if Vortex has installed a "stop" in the erector assy when it hits the scope tube, rather than allowing it to travel along the arc of the scope tube, but it's not the end of the world if you measure usable travel, record it, and work within those confines. For an FFP scope costing roughly $1000-1200, I feel that you still get a lot of LR bang for your buck.
 
Jordan Smith said:
But then, that's the case with all scopes, though some manufacturers prevent the erector tube from moving once it contacts the scope tube.

You just need to make sure that you record on your dope sheet how much usable adjustment you have in the erector before it starts to travel in an arced path. It would have been nice if Vortex has installed a "stop" in the erector assy when it hits the scope tube, rather than allowing it to travel along the arc of the scope tube, but it's not the end of the world if you measure usable travel, record it, and work within those confines. For an FFP scope costing roughly $1000-1200, I feel that you still get a lot of LR bang for your buck.
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Pretty much echoes what I think, but not all scopes are made this way. The higher end (Premier/S&B/USO) scopes have only +/-6 mils of windage adjustment. The reason I have such a hard on for SWFA despite their looks and slightly higher price than the Vortex is because the scope somehow manages to track a rectangle at 30 mils elevation and +/- 10 mils of windage. I'm not making this up.


But yes, I will run my PST through the entire box test and map out exactly what the turrets do. When I said I think mine will hit 1000 yards with 20 mph of wind, that was conservative and I actually expect it to do much better, but realistically, if that's all it can do, then I won't be putting it up on the EE. But when it comes to optics, I've always put turret capabilities before all else.
 
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