One-day Sale, Bushnell AR Optics 1-8x24mm SFP, Brownells

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Rafe
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One-day Sale, Bushnell AR Optics 1-8x24mm SFP, Brownells

#1

Post by Rafe »

I haven't been actively looking for a 1x8, so can't honestly say if this sale is great or so-so. This is the Bushnell AR Optics 1-8x24mm SFP Illuminated Scope, and I think they went for about $300 18 months or so ago. Brownells lists the regular price as $495.00 and a today-only sale price of $219.99.

https://www.brownells.com/aspx/search/p ... pid=142332

Image

But I've been wanting a scope with these sorts of specs, just haven't been hunting (pun intended). For budget-friendly glass, the reviews I read and watched on YouTube indicate that this competes very well with scopes in a higher price range. It's seems to be well designed to bridge the hunting (for some game and conditions) to tactical (as well as 3-gun competition) overlap.

The main plusses that had me go ahead and order one were:

1) Second focal plane reticle. With a 1x4 I wouldn't care much, but flipping it up 8x I think it's important.

2) Reticle is illuminated with several brightness settings, and uses a standard CR2032 battery. But the reticle displays as a non-illuminated black if you don't turn it on or if the battery dies.

3) Bushnell calls it the Throw Down Power Change Lever: it's a foldout lever that stays collapsed against the scope until you want to change the magnification setting, then you flip it out for a quick switch. I think this was a mod that came from the 3-gun world. You evidently get two levers of different lengths to choose from; you just screw in either the shorter or longer of the two.

4) One review stated that the 1x view was good, better than he'd seen on other scopes claiming 1x. In other words, that it was very true to an undistorted 1x image.

5) Says it's IPX7 waterproof. I don't plan to drop it in a river---heaven forbid I lose it overboard while in the GOM like some of my other guns--but I do want something that can be happy functioning in the rain.

6) Price. For $220, I figured it was well worth trying. If it doesn't stay on one of my primaries, I'm sure I'll still find a home for it.

Negatives:

1) While the reviews mostly say that the glass is very good, they do note--which wouldn't be uncommon--some barreling distortion at the very edges of the field of view at the highest magnifications.

2) Field of view. But I really wouldn't expect anything more from a LVP 24mm tube (it's a 30mm mount, BTW).

3) Reticle type. I don't really know if this is a negative or not based on my purpose for the scope. Bushnell uses it on several of its scopes; they call it the BTR-1. Here's an image that gives the specs. It looks to be specifically designed for 5.56 with 55-62 grain bullets (I assume out of a 16-inch barrel). It has an EOtech-like fast-acquisition, multiple MOA circle with the aiming point at its center, and four vertical holdover lines; if zeroed at 100 yards, the holdovers are supposed to equate to 200 through 500 yards, respectively. Not in MILs and no windage holdovers. So, no, nothing I could ever imagine taking a 500-yard shot with. And if you use the scope for something with a different caliber and/or barrel length, I imagine you'd need to dope your own, actual holdover results for those reticle lines. Again, kind of a crossover between hunting and CQB.

4) Stiff brightness adjustment. Some reviews noted that the turret to change the reticle brightness (same place the battery is inserted) is a bit stiff to turn. Doesn't bother me a lot, though. I think that would only be an issue if needed to change the brightness vary quickly, and one reviewer noted that he felt the adjustment rotation had gotten a little easier after he'd used the scope for a while.

5) It's an inexpensive scope and you really do often get what you pay for. But I thought someone else on the forum might be looking for a budget optic for a new build or, as is my intent, to replace an RDS so I can have a "bridge" carbine that can reach out a little bit farther with more confidence but still have a decent, fast-acquisition 1x.
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Re: One-day Sale, Bushnell AR Optics 1-8x24mm SFP, Brownells

#2

Post by The Annoyed Man »

I have the 1-6.5X version of that scope mounted on a DMR upper.
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Re: One-day Sale, Bushnell AR Optics 1-8x24mm SFP, Brownells

#3

Post by Rafe »

The Annoyed Man wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 1:05 pm I have the 1-6.5X version of that scope mounted on a DMR upper.
I hope it's workin' okay for you. :mrgreen: I mean, since mine just shipped.

It'll be a little while before I'll be able to give a verdict. Same thing I did the last scope I bought: I got a wild hair and started swapping and exchanging components that ended up requiring four guns to be sighted in. Stoner platforms: the shooter's Tinker Toys. So I'm not gonna put the 1x8 where I thought. I'll play a sliding puzzle game of swap 'em. It may not seem like a good idea after I've done it, but...
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Re: One-day Sale, Bushnell AR Optics 1-8x24mm SFP, Brownells

#4

Post by puma guy »

I ordered one to put on an AR 5.56 I am eventually building. My first build, BTW.
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Re: One-day Sale, Bushnell AR Optics 1-8x24mm SFP, Brownells

#5

Post by The Annoyed Man »

Rafe wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 3:55 pm
The Annoyed Man wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 1:05 pm I have the 1-6.5X version of that scope mounted on a DMR upper.
I hope it's workin' okay for you. :mrgreen: I mean, since mine just shipped.

It'll be a little while before I'll be able to give a verdict. Same thing I did the last scope I bought: I got a wild hair and started swapping and exchanging components that ended up requiring four guns to be sighted in. Stoner platforms: the shooter's Tinker Toys. So I'm not gonna put the 1x8 where I thought. I'll play a sliding puzzle game of swap 'em. It may not seem like a good idea after I've done it, but...
Yeah, mine works just fine. It appears to be a true 1x at the lowest magnification. I like that it’s a FFP scope, and the glass is pretty clear. I have only two complaints…one not too serious, the other kind of annoying. I don’t know if the second problem will affect you.

1. On mine, the reticle is a little difficult to pick up and use at lower magnification without dialing the illumination way up…and then it "blooms" a little bit.

2. Back when I got mine…maybe 8 years ago…they were available with either 1/4 MOA or .1 Mil adjustments in the windage/elevation turrets. Since the other tactically oriented magnified optics I had at the time all had milling turrets and reticles, I went with that option. The problem is that the BDC in the BTR-1 reticle is MOA only; so the turret adjustments on mine don’t match the BDC on the reticle.

You have to do slightly more complicated math in your head to make it work. At 100 yards, a .1 mil adjustment moves the point of impact 0.36" instead of .25". At 200 yards, 1 click moves it .72" instead of .5"…at 300 yards, 1.08" instead of .75"…etc., etc. If the subventions n the BDC were in mils,this would be a none issue, but they’re not. Here’s a link to the owner's manual. Go to page 9 and you’ll see what I mean: https://www.bushnell.com/on/demandware. ... RV0222.pdf

My son has the exact same scope I have (he bought two, and I paid him for one of them), and that discrepancy doesn’t bother him at all. But we are using them differently. His is mounted on a 16" carbine, and I guess you could call it a general purpose recce rifle. Mine is mounted on an 18" heavy-barreled DMR, and I would find it much easier to use the reticle if the BDC matched the turrets.

None of this is probably going to be an issue for you, since I don’t think Bushnell has even offered the 1-6.5x version with milling turrets in a number of years, and you have a model they didn’t even make back then…the 1-8x.

I also own three other currently unused magnified optics, two of which I’m trying to figure out which one to mount on my SCAR-17. One is a Primary Arms SLx 1-6x24mm FFP with red illuminated ACSS Raptor reticle, and the other is a Primary Arms SLx 3X MicroPrism with red illuminated ACSS Raptor reticle. The third optic is a Vortex 4-16x Viper PST II FFP MRAD, which I’m holding back for a planned future hunting rifle build. If I decide to go with the 3X micro prism on the SCAR (I’m trying to keep the all-up weight down if I can), then I’ll dismount the Bushnell scope from my DMR upper, replace it with the Primary Arms 1-6x, and probably sell off the Bushnell. Alternatively, I might swap out the 2-10x Viper PST II FFP MRAD that’s currently on my Ruger Scout rifle, put it on the DMR upper, and mount the 1-6x Primary Arms scope on the Scout Rifle.

Anyway, that’s been my experience. They were priced considerably higher back when I bought mine. You got a good deal. If you change your mind, I can recommend the Primary Arms LVPOs with the ACSS reticle.
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Re: One-day Sale, Bushnell AR Optics 1-8x24mm SFP, Brownells

#6

Post by puma guy »

Mine delivered yesterday, Sunday, by FedEx while I was out of town. It actually came to the right address instead across the street as many of my deliveries are and was still on the porch. I didn't get back until after midnight, so I opened it this morning. It's much heavier than any optic I own weighing in at 1lb 2oz. I think I like the reticle. It should be good for shooting hogs at night under the feeder lights we have set up.
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