Bushnell Elite 6500

[summersux]

I need some help selecting a good scope for my 7mm mag. A friend of mine has suggested a Bushnell elite 6500 scope 2.5-16 magnification with a 42mm bell. Has anyone tried this scope? Also, The DOA reticle- any thoughts on this? I don't want to measure his rack in the field, there will be enough time for that back at camp. I just want to make sure I get the lead to him! Any help is much appreciated!

[blaster668]

I have a 4200 elite and it is one heck of a nice scope. The optics are better than comparable leupold scopes. Not sure about the mechanics being as robust. I really like how adjustable the 6500 is, but it is pricey. What do you plan to do with the gun? If it's just for deer hunting, I would suggest a Burris Fullfield II in 3-9. Definitely the best value for a high quality deer rifle scope at about $200 and they usually give a freebie with it like a spotting scope or a gps.

[summersux]

I plan on hunting with it (everything from groundhogs to moose) but also for a target gun. I plan on spending a fair amount of money on it and don't want to wish I had something different. Plus, I have a chance to buy one new in the box for 500- the guy has two, a DOA retical and a mill dot. If the scopes are nice, I would hate to pass this up!

[blaster668]

At that price and for what you want it for I think it would make a great scope. The only downside to it that I see is when you show it to some fudd, chances are he'll think it's just a $50 bushnell, and doesn't realize they have a really great high end scope in the elite line. I'm not familiar with the doa reticle, Mil-dots can be very useful if you take the time to learn about them.

[dk99358]

I've got a 4200 also. Very nice scope. The 6500 should do what you want nicely.

Dale

[Tomcat088]

I need some help selecting a good scope for my 7mm mag. A friend of mine has suggested a Bushnell elite 6500 scope 2.5-16 magnification with a 42mm bell. Has anyone tried this scope? Also, The DOA reticle- any thoughts on this? I don't want to measure his rack in the field, there will be enough time for that back at camp. I just want to make sure I get the lead to him! Any help is much appreciated!

The Bushnell Elite 6500 scopes are good, very very clear. I haven't gotten to compare them side by side with some others, but I have looked through one. Some of my buddies compared them side by side and said that they were more clear than the 4200, but they didn't know if they felt like it was worth spending the extra $$$$ for. Most of them aren't tactical shooters though. The 6500 has quite a bit more travel, and more tactical shooting features. So for some people, the features and better glass are definitely worth it, especially the extra travel.

As for the DOA reticles, I would stay away from them and just go with the mildots. The DOA reticle is a good thing if you're dear hunting. Either way, those "already calibrated" reticles, only work in certain conditions, with certain weight bullets, etc. They're usually close, but still almost never "dead nuts" on. Either way, I'd rather have the mildots, but that's a personal opinion.

I did hear about some problems with the 30x version. People were saying that after like 22-24x, the sight picture got REALLY bad all of the sudden. Almost like something was wrong with one of the lenses in the group. They said before that, the optics were very clear and functional, but after 22-24x, it was terrible. I have NOT heard of any problems like this with the 16x, so I think they're good to go. They're great scopes, but it's just a pretty big investment for marginal gains. That's kind of how it always is once you start getting over $500 optics, you get a little better clarity, but smaller gains for more money.

[summersux]

Thank you tom cat! I decided to get the mill dots. For $500 new in box, I just can't pass that up! It's good to hear about the problem with the higher magnification. Im going to get 2.5-16 so I shouldn't have that problem. Im glad to hear they are nice scopes. The name makes me nervous, but I guess you get what you pay for. Thank you for your time!

Foster

[Tomcat088]

Thank you tom cat! I decided to get the mill dots. For $500 new in box, I just can't pass that up! It's good to hear about the problem with the higher magnification. Im going to get 2.5-16 so I shouldn't have that problem. Im glad to hear they are nice scopes. The name makes me nervous, but I guess you get what you pay for. Thank you for your time!

Foster

You're welcme Summersux. I think it's probably a smart choice to go with the mil-dots. For the quality of the scope, it's quite a deal. The problems that I was hearing with the higher magnification was with generation 1 scopes, right when they first came out. I haven't searched around lately, but it might be something that they've fixed, but I don't know that for sure. Either way, as I said, I haven't heard of that problem with the 16x, so I believe you should be good to go. I wouldn't be worried about going with the Bushnell Elite name. Some of their cheaper scopes are just that, cheap, but the Bushnell Elite scopes are quite a cut above any of those, and in terms of optics, I think much more expensive scopes. Glad that I could help, and if that's what you go with let us know how you like it, and if you have any problems.

[Oreo]

I have a 6500 2.5-16x 50 on a varmint AR. One thing I've noticed is the significant barrel distortion as you dial in more magnification. This is a typical side effect of wide zoom-range optics. Other then that it seems like an excellent scope.

IMO a major contributing factor to the 4-30x versions' poor performance at high magnification is due to the small exit pupil. Going from such a bright sight picture at low magnification to a dim picture with a lot of barrel distortion at high magnification would turn a lot of people off I bet. Thing is, it's not a problem with the quality per se, it's just that the laws of physics make it impossible to engineer those problems out of such a package. Bushnel is trying to cram 5 lbs of performance into a 4lb bag.

Just my humble opinions & observations.