Bushnell Elite 3200 problems?

You can go through this forum and find a thread about every scope failing....Everyone has a buddy who's "brand X failed" Personally the worst POS optic I owned was a Zeiss Conquest, could have bought a Simmons and had a better optic. Ive owned countless Elite 3200 and 4200's and they were solid.
 
Can-down said:
I can easily understand the stock cracking potential, I'm just trying to picture how the stock taking a beating in a weighted sled would transmit shock to the scope?
I guess if the gun is not tight in the butt cradle I could see it getting a run back and then slamming into the weighted rest but otherwise I'm struggling to see it....

I don't shoot super heavy recoiling guns, but I also put some closed cell foam from a camping mat in the cradle of my lead sled both around it to make it more stable and also behind the butt pad to add more cushion to the recoil impulse. I do use some weight but not enough to actually resist 100 percent of the recoil.
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Get in your truck and crash into a bunch of willows until they stop your forward momentum. Next smash into a large tree that stops it dead in its tracks. The smashed bumper corresponds to your broken stock. The impact the driver takes on the seatbelt, steering wheel or windshield is about the same as the scopes innards get when they have to stop faster than anyone expected, only get bounced back in the opposite direction.
 
Dogleg said:
Get in your truck and crash into a bunch of willows until they stop your forward momentum. Next smash into a large tree that stops it dead in its tracks. The smashed bumper corresponds to your broken stock. The impact the driver takes on the seatbelt, steering wheel or windshield is about the same as the scopes innards get when they have to stop faster than anyone expected, only get bounced back in the opposite direction.
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:)
In other words what I posted in the post you quoted.
I guess if the gun is not tight in the butt cradle I could see it getting a run back and then slamming into the weighted rest but otherwise I'm struggling to see it....
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Looking at slow motion video of large calibers and the way the gun and scopes flex under violent recoil it's amazing how violently the scopes are shaken regardless of whether they hit an oak or a willow.
 
Can-down said:
:)
In other words what I posted in the post you quoted.

Looking at slow motion video of large calibers and the way the gun and scopes flex under violent recoil it's amazing how violently the scopes are shaken regardless of whether they hit an oak or a willow.
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Ordinarily the hardest a scope gets hit is the intial acceleration from a standing start. That is easily demonstrated when a scope slips in the rings. It will always slip forward. A lead sled stops it so fast the it is followed by a hit in the opposite direction:
 
There could be a problem with loose mounts. Could be a problem with the scope. Could be a problem caused by bouncing the rifle and scope around in a pickup or a quad. Could also be a problem with the ammunition. Many will use some "old crap ammo" to sight in their rifle then switch to some new fancy box of ammo without shooting some of that ammo to see if it has the same point of impact as the old crap. I've also seen guys with a pocket full of mixed ammo. 3 or 4 different brands or different weights of bullets. They load them randomly and assume they all shoot the same. I've seen some rifles group different weights of bullets about 8 inches apart. Normally its only a couple inches apart and occasionally you get a rifle that will print many different loads to nearly the same spot. The other thing that could affect your point of impact is the shooter. Groups seem to be OK when shooting from a bench. What happens when you shoot a group from a position you encounter when you are hunting...... off-hand........kneeling........ resting against a tree ?????? My guess is a problem with the scope is the least likely. Previous advice of trying another scope on that rifle or trying that scope on a different rifle is good advice.
 
At the end of the day, no brand is immune from failures. If it is the scope, send it in for a new one.I currently own several bushnell elite 3200 and the newer elites and no issues with any thus far. If and when I have a failure,I will box it up, send it back and await my replacement. I always mount my scopes in quality rings and bases which is every bit as important as the optic chosen for the rifle.
 
Dogleg said:
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Ordinarily the hardest a scope gets hit is the intial acceleration from a standing start. That is easily demonstrated when a scope slips in the rings. It will always slip forward. A lead sled stops it so fast the it is followed by a hit in the opposite direction:
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Thanks Dogleg, I can understand the basic physics and also how reverse recoil from say a magnum spring powered air gun can be hard on poorly built scopes.

The thing is I bought a used leadsled a while back and with the weight that I put on it and the extra padding in the butt cradle, the system still allows the gun to recoil rearward and in no way fully "stops" the recoil. This is shooting a .308 which is pretty mild to begin with so I can only imagine that heavier loads would push the unit even further back. The unit I have only allows the one weight to fit in the weight tray so the only way to add more weight would be to use lead shot or find some thinner plates that could be stacked.

I had read about people breaking stocks with heavy loads and heavily weighted lead sled's so I was cautious and it seems to work fine the way I use it, I think the key is not to weigh it down to much and let the unit recoil to avoid the "slam"
 
Can-down said:
Thanks Dogleg, I can understand the basic physics and also how reverse recoil from say a magnum spring powered air gun can be hard on poorly built scopes.

The thing is I bought a used leadsled a while back and with the weight that I put on it and the extra padding in the butt cradle, the system still allows the gun to recoil rearward and in no way fully "stops" the recoil. This is shooting a .308 which is pretty mild to begin with so I can only imagine that heavier loads would push the unit even further back. The unit I have only allows the one weight to fit in the weight tray so the only way to add more weight would be to use lead shot or find some thinner plates that could be stacked.

I had read about people breaking stocks with heavy loads and heavily weighted lead sled's so I was cautious and it seems to work fine the way I use it, I think the key is not to weigh it down to much and let the unit recoil to avoid the "slam"
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I quit the lead-sled after I cracked the first stock. I quit the Bushnells after I after I broke the last one, the last one that I'll ever let into the house. Ironically I can sometimes get those for next to nothing and don't want them at any price. Lifes to short.
 
nomad 68 said:
At the end of the day, no brand is immune from failures. If it is the scope, send it in for a new one.I currently own several bushnell elite 3200 and the newer elites and no issues with any thus far. If and when I have a failure,I will box it up, send it back and await my replacement. I always mount my scopes in quality rings and bases which is every bit as important as the optic chosen for the rifle.
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True to that... You get a few select individuals on hear that seem to think their words hold so much more weight or truth then the rest of the world....typically you do better going against what they say then what they do.

Cheers!!
 
I second the motion that WEIGHTED DOWN LEAD-SLED'S can damage a scope. My friend lost his Leupold VX3 CDL Boone and Crockett 4.5-14 or something like that when he borrowed my lead sled. He somehow got the idea that he would drill holes in the tubing, then screw the sled down (in 6 places) to keep it from moving. THEN HE TAPED THE RIFLE DOWN INTO THE SLED. I was wondering how he blamed my rifle rest for hurting his scope. (as he borrowed the rest, I wasn't with him when he did any of the drilling!!!) , only a few days later did I see the holes he drilled in the tubing. (one of which bisected one of the rubber feet, splitting it). When I told him what an idiot he was , he still didn't get it. I told him I never weigh my sled down. I let it recoil, and I take it. It is used mainly so I can hold the crosshairs steady on a bullseye and make incremental changes while still shouldering the rifle. I said that if you lock a .300WSM down and do not allow it to recoil, SOMETHING is gonna break................either the scope, or the stock.
I don't let him borrow any of my stuff anymore.
 
Dogleg said:
I quit the lead-sled after I cracked the first stock. I quit the Bushnells after I after I broke the last one, the last one that I'll ever let into the house. Ironically I can sometimes get those for next to nothing and don't want them at any price. Lifes to short.
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done the same with variable Leupold ... everybody experience can vary.
 
sgt.rock said:
I second the motion that WEIGHTED DOWN LEAD-SLED'S can damage a scope. My friend lost his Leupold VX3 CDL Boone and Crockett 4.5-14 or something like that when he borrowed my lead sled. He somehow got the idea that he would drill holes in the tubing, then screw the sled down (in 6 places) to keep it from moving. THEN HE TAPED THE RIFLE DOWN INTO THE SLED. I was wondering how he blamed my rifle rest for hurting his scope. (as he borrowed the rest, I wasn't with him when he did any of the drilling!!!) , only a few days later did I see the holes he drilled in the tubing. (one of which bisected one of the rubber feet, splitting it). When I told him what an idiot he was , he still didn't get it. I told him I never weigh my sled down. I let it recoil, and I take it. It is used mainly so I can hold the crosshairs steady on a bullseye and make incremental changes while still shouldering the rifle. I said that if you lock a .300WSM down and do not allow it to recoil, SOMETHING is gonna break................either the scope, or the stock.
I don't let him borrow any of my stuff anymore.
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Let me guess...your former friend lives somewhere on Borden Drive or Herriman Road?
 
Got my scope back yesterday. Bushnell got it July 8, repaired it August 4.

It had a loose erector so they replaced it, fixed parallax, purged and replaced nitrogen.

I thought I was the one with an erector problem.
 
I have had a 3200 on one of my rifles for 7-8 years now...on a 30-06. From the experiences of friends that have had them, I think I have the only good one around here lol. I sighted it in when I first put it on the rifle, and shoot it few times per year... The only time I have ever had to make an adjustment was when I switched to a different ammo. That scope has even taken a couple hard falls.
 
kamlooky said:
Bushnells have served me well over the years, but one day we lost four scopes.
They are not Lead Sled friendly on larger recoiling rifles.
Yes, four scopes in one day.
A lesson well learnt on anchoring recoil.

I've been replacing scopes as the deals in the EE pop up on Leupolds.
Have the bug for them now.

They just work and work well.
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same happens to me with Leupold and the same reason i do not have any more variable Leupold ... never had an issue with any Bushenell 4200 and elite up to now.
 
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