Bauschlomb clearer than vx1
- Thread starter olympia
- Start date
PinkyPlinker
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Kenora, ON
I bought a VX-1 to “upgrade” my old B&L Elite 3000. It came back off faster than it went on. The old B&Ls have great glass.
X2, I have an 80's vintage B&L 3x9 and the glass is really good.
Other than my Swarovskis, Zeisses, Kahles, Schmidt & Benders and Hensoldts, all my other scopes are Bausch & Lombs.
Some of the old Scopechiefs had an excellent image. I still have a couple. My first Leupold was a Vari-X III 1.5-5 ... it had terrible flare off the ocular and in some conditions with any light from behind it was almost impossible to see the reticle --let alone any target or game. I got rid of it in a hurry after losing a deer I had dead to rights got away as I struggled to find the reticle. I like the light weight of Leupold scopes and still have a few ... but I dont worship at the Leupold altar anymore.
The Japanese Bushnell/ Bausch scopes are indeed very good. I have several; (Bausch) none have failed and a couple have had a lot of, and some very hard, use for 20 years. Packed on a ski-doo day after day, winter after winter ... among other pursuits.
I agree that older Japanese Bushnell and Bausch and Lomb had excellent glass and I still have a few on my guns. I have B/L 4000 6-24x40 AO on an older Rem 700, 22-250 HB that is still one of my favorite long range field guns that I would never replace the glass on. The 4000 series doesn't even have Rainguard coatings. Phil.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I thought the limiting factor for that 6-24 B&L was adjustment. If memory serves a friend had one and it had a shockingly small amount of adjustment (he was using it to stretch out his 308).
I am using standard Leupold rings and bases (2 pc) on my 22-250 and have it zeroed for 200 yards without using up all the internal elevation of the scope. Obviously the limiting factor on this and any other one inch tube scopes is the smaller available internal adjustment room as opposed to a 30 mm (or greater) tube that would allow for a further zeroed distance. This was the first "better" long range scope that I bought in the mid 90's and I rarely adjusted the elevation between shots as in those days I didn't have the confidence in the scope internals to return to zero when changed multiple times. I have since in the last several years altered this practice on higher end Leupold and Nightforce optics and routinely adjust as necessary.
I have found that on this particular gun/scope combo I use the reticle (duplex)to hold over from time to time for greater distances than 200 yards but since the cartridge is very flat shooting this is not often required. On an older Kimber SVT (HB, 20") in 223, I have a (discontinued) Bushnell compact 4200, 6-24x40 (side parallax adjustment) with mildots that works perfectly for holding over (or under) when I can't be bothered to adjust the internal elevation for just one shot. Phil.
I think you're comparing a bottom end Leupold (vx1 / vari x1) with a B&L scope that was made with very good glass/coatings. I remember looking through several B&L scopes (20+ years ago) and they were very good. With Leupolds, as the number goes up (VX1--VX2---VX3----) so does the quality of the glass/coatings.
sharp shooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Essex county (Ontario)
I would put the Balvars with VX2’s if not VX3’s. I swear my Balvar 1.5-6 is the clearest scope I’ve looked through.
In the early 90's I was buying my first hunting rifle at Hub Sports in Abby. I was looking at which scope to put on the BRNO 600 and was going to go with a cheaper one. Then Roger, that wily salesman told me to look through the cheaper one and then the B&L 3000 out the front window of the shop.
Bastard..........
Money was tight but I still bought the B&L
Bastard..........
Money was tight but I still bought the B&L
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
In the early 90's I was buying my first hunting rifle at Hub Sports in Abby. I was looking at which scope to put on the BRNO 600 and was going to go with a cheaper one. Then Roger, that wily salesman told me to look through the cheaper one and then the B&L 3000 out the front window of the shop.
Bastard..........
Money was tight but I still bought the B&L
I used to sell a lot of $600 binoculars right around the turn of the century when I worked at Wholesale Sports by taking the cheapos, the $600 pentax, and the SLCs outside in the parking lot and letting people glass off into the distance toward Nose Hill. Especially gettign late in the day in the fall. Hard to make an informed decision on glass when you're inside a well-lit store or even outside in the middle of the day.
