bushnell elite 6500 lrt 4.5-30x50

[rb3]

im looking into getting a bushnell elite 6500 4.5-30x50 w/ tactical turretts and would like any reviews on it as a long range scope. a local gun dealer told me that it doesnt pick up much light in dawn or dusk hours, is this true? any and all info is helpful.

[bigbulls]

The Bushnell 6500 series will compete with scopes costing several hundreds of dollars more. IMHO it is one of the absolute best values in a high end scope on the market today. We sell these scopes and I have compared them against Swarovski Z6's, Zeiss Victories, Kahles, Schmidt and Bender and can honestly say that there is very very little difference in the quality or clarity of the image with the 6500's beating some of the competition. Even at dark30.

However the one that you are looking at isn't a dawn and dusk scope. At least not at higher magnification. But you obviously don't have to crank it up in low light. At 10 times magnification a 50mm scope is at its highest magnification while still transmitting as much light as possible to your eye.

To be honest I think that the 2.5-16X50 is better suited for nearly any application one would want a high magnification scope. Including real honest long range shooting. If this is going to be mounted on a hunting rifle I would much much much rather sacrifice some high end magnification in order to get lower magnification.

One thing I absolutely love about the 6500's is the very very generous eye relief that remains absolutely constant through out the magnification range. Most scopes eye relief gets shorter as you increase magnification but not the 6500's. I have a 338RUM that obviously has some recoil when you pull the trigger. In the near future I will be topping it with a Bushnell 6500 2.5-16X50... not only because it is a fantastic value in premium scopes but the eye relief is a major benefit in a hard recoiling rifle like this.

[bugsNbows]

+1 bigbulls comments. The elite 6500's are VERY GOOD and compete wonderfully well with others costing a lot more. To me, 30X at the top is way excessive. Heck, I've got a 4200 Elite in 4-16 X 40 that does about everything I require. Pick what you want, but know what you are getting into. I'd recommend checking out the Optic Talk forums at S.W.F.A. for some input from them. There are some VERY sharp people over there. Good luck with your selection.

[rb3]

does it make any difference between the 2.5-16 vs. the 4.5-30 if this scope is going to be used on a .223 for long range target and varmint/hunting versus on a big game rifle?

[bigbulls]

Yes, I would still get the 2.5-16X50 over the 4.5-30X50.

At 30 times magnification eye position becomes very very critical to get a full sight picture because the scopes exit pupil becomes very very small. The smaller the exit pupil of the scope the more precisely your eye must be positioned. Light transmission also goes way down at such a high magnification.

16 times magnification is a lot of magnification.

[rb3]

appreciate it, thanks for the advice

[KsOkHunter24]

Bushnells are awesome, very accurate... i love them