will a bushnell elite 3200 10X work for starting out in f-class

JBD

JBD

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I was at the range yesterday with my 22 which has a bushell elite 10X and my 223 which has a leupold vx II 4-12 with the adjustable objective. Looking throught the scopes the leupold was slightly clearer. However the clarity of the bushnell did not hinder me in shooting decent groups. While optically it was slightly inferior. I really appreciated the target knobs. I could easily dial up and down. 10 MOA per rotation. It made hitting easier at various ranges compared to the Leupold which needed a coin. Also the bushnell had about twice the elevation as the leupold. I could easily shoot at 300 yards with it on the 22lr. With the leupold I needed to hold 6 ft over the target to hit. So now I am thinking about adding target knobs on the Leupold. Cost about 250$ ands adds about zero value to the scope. But I am thinking that spending that money on the leupold may be a waste as the scope itself is not the ideal scope for long range shooting to begin with.
So now I am thinking about just buying another bushnell elite 3200 10X and putting that on the 223 and selling the leupold vx II. Or should I consider another model that would be more suitable to long range shooting that is relatively inexpensive ie under 500$
 
You could look at the Vortex line they are inexpensive and can be had with target knobs, another option would be Nikon, in both lines prices would be under $500 for scopes that have higher power ranges and target knobs, but if you are staying under 600yds the bushnell will be okay.
 
I really, really like the Elite 3200 scopes and used a couple for a while. I agree the target knobs are very nice and I found that all of mine have tracked very well.

Only thing that I really don't like it the thick cross hairs. Makes a huge difference. Other thing is they don't have much internal adjustment so you may have to use a 20MOA mount to get enough adjustment for long shots. I have more than enough elevation and have taken my 3200 out to 1000 on a 7mmRM with some success.

Don't be deceived. It is a starter scope. They are not even close to a Nightforce or any of the high end scopes. With scopes, you generally get what you pay for. The more you pay, the more you get.

That being said I still use Elite 3200/4200 on all my rifles as I can't justify the upgrade yet. Not that I don't want to. The 10x and 15x 3200s are only on 22lr rifles tho.
 
I have many 3200 and 4200 scopes and find them all good value but for longer ranges I would suggest the 4200(T) 6x24x50 with a 20 MOA base is more suitable than the 3200 10X (which btw is a good scope for a M1A/M14)

If you cannot sping the $ to get into the 4200 above, consider the Falcon Menace 4.5x18x56 which is a good value scope ( Frontier and AGW site sponsors carry them ) for longer range shooting.
 
I think Large Legume and Tomochan are both right.

I have 3200's on my hunting rifles. Great scopes for that purpose and for the $$ I agree with MP that the reticles on Bushnell tend to be large.

I'll toss another option into the mix here for a second, as you have said F-Class. This is a sport that is shot at 300 and beyond. You certainly CAN use a 10X (I suggest 3X for every 100M as a minimum) you will certainly appreciate more power.

Weaver made ( I THINK they quit making them... not absolutely sure) a couple of fixed power scopes, a T-36 and a T 24. (36 and 24X respectively) They had 1/8 MOA knobs, decent glass and very good repeatability I have a T-36 and it has served me VERY well. You can find these used from about $250. I would never turn my nose up at a Weaver T-36, in fact if you find one, let me know and I will buy it myself.
 
I was using the Elite 3200 10x42 on my .308 for the first couple years. It worked great and could take me out to 700 with a straight base. Beyond that I was holding over. I still managed to connect with my 1000 yard target. I would say that it is very capable of doing what you asked, if you add a 20MOA base.

However, if you want to be 'competetive', you will need something better. I recently switched to the NXS 5.5-22X56. My groups immediatly shrunk, and I was hitting long range steel targets more consistently. If the mirrage is cooperating, I can now make out my bullet marks on the 1000 yard steel target.

The NXS is worth every penny!
 
Ok this is what I did and I am not sure if it was the best decision. I felt that even with target turrets my leupold would be underpowered at 12X for extended shooting. So I sold the Leupold on the exchange and bought bushnell elite 4200 6-24 X 40 MM. This scope only has 50 MOA of adjustment so I am now buying a set of 20 MOA inserts for my burris rings.

I think this scope is more appropriate for 300-900 yard shooting then the 3200 or the Leupold 4-12, but feedback would be appreciated.
 
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Jason I think you've made some really good decisions, you should be set with what you're getting.

How much do the inserts for Burris rings cost these days? (BTW their numbers are in "thou of offset", not "how many MOA you'll get". But if spacing between the front and rear ring is about 3.5 inches, then one thou is one MOA....)

(Also, when using the offset Burris inserts, you always install a matched set in a ring. A "+20" must always be mated with a "-20" , a "+10" with a "-10", etc. If you put the "+" half on the bottom, you are raising the scope. So if you wanted to point your scope downhill about 20 MOA, you could use the supplied "0" pair of halves in the front ring, and install a "+20/-20" set in the rear ring, with the "+20" on the bottom.)
 
Better decision indeed. On the inserts, make sure you measure them, some guys have reported the number stamped is not always what they actually are. Most importantly, sight it in so you have little to no adjustment remaining at 100 so you will have the ability to shoot further out. I know it isn't the best to have a scope bottomed out but you have no choice. My Nightforce has no issue with this at all and it is bottomed out at 300 yards. Try the 20's first and keep your fingers crossed.
 
The inserts are 15$ from mystic precision. I am putting them on a farrel 0 MOA Rail. I never thought about it but if I put the rings closer together the offset would create a greater angle. Any problem mounting the rings as close to the turrent as possible in order to maximize my potential elevation.
 
I've always mounted the rings as far apart as practical, it made me think that the scope was better held (in reality it probably doesn't matter much).

Does your $15 get you a single insert (two halves, for one ring), or a pair of inserts (four halves, for two rings)?

You probably don't want to use a 20 in each ring, that would give you a total of 40 (unless you mounted them in the same orientation, in which case you'd get an offset of zero ;-).

Using a 20 in one ring and a 0 in the other will give you an offset of 20, which is probably about what you want for scope with +/- 25 MOA adjustment. If you had a scope that had only 30 or 35 MOA of adjustment you would *have* to use every bit of offset you possibly could, but in your case it's OK if there is 10 MOA "down" from your 100 yard zero, that still leaves you with 40 MOA "up", which ought to be able to get you to 1,000 yards.
 
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