new highend line of Bushnell hunting scopes

Got an email about new scopes from Bushnell

Will be checking them out at NRA and doing some reviews soon

http://media.vistaoutdoor.com/presskit/N...ell%20sheet.pdf

2.5-15X
3-18X
4.5-27X
Well done Bushnell!

I like the 3-18 & 4.5-27 power range, but have to wonder why they would make a 2.5-15 when the 3-18 is so close?

Can you really see the difference between 2.5 & 3?

3-18 for $899. If this new scope is better then it’s a home run.

Hard not to be excited about this.

Valid point.

Where are they made?

Valid point

They did a good job of keeping them short, the 4.5-27 is only 14 inches, the others are with in +/- .5 inch. Great for MSR’s.

I want to know what has the most interest and I will get one in

4.5-27

Not in the market but I would say the 3-18 mil/mil. I think that would be the ultimate hunting/target scope if the glass quality is up to it. I have a 3-18 and find that mag range to be far better than the 5-20 for hunting.

27X will truely tell the tale of how vlear the glass is.

I'll take some pics this weekend at the NRA show. I'm a scope snob, but these look exciting.

I'd bet Japan if they are part of the elite line.

Wonder why they didn't go shorter in length? 13.8-14.4 is long. Shorter seems to be the new thing.

It's all a compromise. Your tolerances get much tighter when the optical design gets shorter, so it becomes more expensive very quickly to get shorter.

So is this Forge line taking the place of the LRHS line? I thought the LRTS was doing that? Anybody seen any pics of the various Forge reticles?

That’s my question. How do they compare to the LRTS line?

If they are going to have the erector, why not offer 6.6-40X? They would reach a broader market towards the F-Class crowd.

Reckon their glass can handle 40X?

Market likely isn't big enough imo. F class is dominated by sightron and nf br scopes.

Saw them today. They are geared for hunters according to a guy in the booth. They were ok but I believe there are already better choices out there. I like the turrets and the reticle better than that new Nikon that just came out. Not sure if the glass is better than the new Nikon but overall if felt good. I don't think it's in the elite lineup.

The LRTS and LRTSi is still going. The LRHS is retiring

The XRS2 is out and they just introduced a DMR Pro today which were both nice and more geared to the PRS dudes.

They have two F class scopes that just came out but I didn't look at them

And they (Forge)are made in China if that matters to anyone.

Yeah a $1k made in China scope isn't very appealing. I am questionable on the Nikon/Vortex options that are made in the Philippines at this price point when there are Japanese-made choices available. Made in China is for $300 Athlons, not high end Bushnells. In fact, we can probably remove the term "high end" from this thread given that information.

When the rep told me China, I immediately thought "well, you HAD a good thing going" thinking back to the blister-pack Bushnells of old and knowing that country of origin is a sticking point for quite a few consumers.
China aside, these Forge scopes are still worth a look at the price point IMO. From what I felt and saw, if one was to draw a parallel to Athlon, I'd say they compare more favorably to the higher end Cronos line than the lower end disposable models.

So the LRHS sort of became the LRTS, and these now slot in underneath those? Sound like a good deal at $200-300 less than what they’re going to want but not so much at full price.

The Forge is here to be a direct competitor with PST2, Burris xtr, Nikons New ones from what I was told.

Cronus is made at LOW in Japan. That's 2 levels better than these Chinese-made models.

Who knows - maybe performance will be much better than expected. But even saying that this should compete with the PST2, XTR II, etc. seems like a small stretch unless it comes with a discount. But I suppose nobody knows until we see one.

Why a stretch? All are made in similar area's phillipines and China both are considered sub par.

I am familiar wth Athlon and the Cronos scope as I own the big one.
Not sure how Athlon's line has anything to do with Bushnell's new offerings other than the China connection.
Unless Bushnell used the same glass prescription and internal spec as Athlon, then they are different and could be better or could be worse. I have no idea and am not promoting Bushnell.
We will all know when/if we buy and test them.

Seems that most folks consider Philippines a step up from China, and Japan/Germany/etc. a step up from the Philippines.

This is all JMHO - maybe China is really upping their game and these will be fantastic. I'm not counting it out, but that is strike one as far as my interest goes.

On the flip side, Bushnell has been producing some really nice scopes, and we seem to be seeing an uptick in quality from the "lower-tier" countries. So who knows - maybe it'll be awesome. But I'd feel a lot better at this price point if it was just made in the Philippines like the PST2, FX1000, & XTR II.

Exactly. Germany (Austria) and Japan are at the forefront of optical offerings. Where Philippines labor is cheaper, many manufactures have opted to have production there. Quality is fair and it is able to hit a competitive market here that isn't out of reach for the consumer.

Where China historically has maintained the cheapest rates for production, manufactures can't help but utilize them. I can't say that I have seen an increase in quality yet. However technology is forever improving, so the likelihood of improvement from them is something to foresee in the future.

Your last paragraph there is kinda my point. In the end it's going to be up to the qc department at bushy. That being said it seens they have come a long way in the last several years and most of their line is china or similar. Their japan stuff has always been solid though as is expected.