I would be interested in hearing of the benefits of this scope when used in a hunting application. I am contemplating the purchase of a 6500 down the road for a Savage Model 16 in .223 for coyotes. I think the 6500 would be a good scope for load development and would also have a low enough magnification / field of view for hunting / calling. I would appreciate hearing your thoughts.
Regards,
Chizzy
Mine was purchased for varmint hunting, mainly coyotes. The range of magnification is priceless when switching from a field edge to jumping right in to the bush. 2.5X is about as close to
no magnification you will find on a long range scope, that allows you to completely and clearly focus on a target only feet in front of you.
Side parallax, most of my hunting (calling coyotes) is done on my belly, with my left hand draped over my scope I can control the functions of the scope with little to no movement, paper usually doesn't care about that but it will send a yote in the other direction faster than most people are prepared for.
Rain-guard, I just can't believe how well that stuff works. I do not understand it, i have no idea how it works but it does. I love to hunt in the rain, and other times I simply get caught in it. The scope will remain very clear in any weather condition, again, not a particularly useful feature for a paper puncher, but in the bush it is worth it's weight in gold.
Almost all these features are available on other brands of scopes, but not in one brand, that is why I think the 6500 is the best bang for the buck.
I like to bring my company outside after the sun goes down, I pull the bolt from my rifle and let them look through it across my yard to my range. It is always the same thing, they look through it, chuckle then look at the scope as though it had a light on it or something. Even non gun people think it's neat, then they ask what it cost, call me a fool and we go back in the house.
As a hunter I appreciate the value of a low light scope, I even keep the big sunshade on it all the time simply because I like the looks of it, it does not in any way hinder the scopes function in very low light. In pitch black you can see significantly better through the scope than you can with the naked eye.
Durability, I am not in a habit of hurting scopes, but I did manage to drop this one once. I set my unloaded rifle against a tree on a small but steep bank and set off to set up my decoy, there was a bit of snow but mostly a rocky wash out.. When I got back to my rifle it was a couple feet down the embankment, and there was a good "ding" in the scope, like it was struck with something sharp. I shook the snow and gravel out of the action of my rifle (choking back tears..) and packed up, I wasn't going to be shooting that day. At the range I feared the worse, I was worried my POI would be off and I would never have that "faith" I had in it again. It shot true, no change from the bump. Lots of good scopes will withstand that though, not just the Bushnell, but it certainly is a good indicator of quality.
I hunt a lot, couple times a day, I truly depend on my rifle for a living, my choice was made by finding features I would want, not by sticking to a brand name. I have had this long enough and punished it enough to know that it was a good decision.
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