Bushnell warrenty

[DLCTEX]

I have a Bushnell Sportview 3X9X32mm scope on my 22 rifle. Yesterday I noticed that the focus got fuzzy after firing a shot, then might be ok for a shot or two, then fuzzy again. It may be changing poi, also. All I had was some Remington high speed and my rifle doesn't like it, so I'm not sure. I went to Bushnell.com to check out their limited lifetime warrenty, very limited. Defects in material or workmanship, send it with $20 shipping and handling, if it's not warrenty they'll send an estimate of repair cost. This is a $42 scope (Midway). The last Bushnell scope I had came on a Savage rifle I bought at Wally World. After a few months the internal parts scrambled so that the reticle was way off center and you could not see through it at all. I sent it in for warrenty repair ( $15 then) and got it back in 6 wks. with a new rubber bumper in case it bumped my eye and a bill for $8 for installing it. The other problems were unrepaired. I took it back to Wally World and they gave me a better grade scope in its place. So, do I risk $20 on a repair that is open ended? Not!! The next scope will not be Bushnell. Dale

[carpetman]

Dale---My experience with Bushnell has been more extensive than yours and results have paralleled yours. Returned still defective and one time when it was fixed,same problem developed again soon. One simple problem of lens cover missing(they were missing when I bought the rifle)required I fill out a sheet with serial number,country of origin where scope was made,and everything possible about the scope. With all this they sent wrong covers and not only wrong but very obviously used and were charging full price. I contacted them and told the correct covers not available. Shortly thereafter I had to send in the scope for repairs and AMAZINGLY they now had new covers of the correct type----but scope wasn't fixed. Bottom line--buy a Leupold and save your money--cheaper in the long run. NO don't risk the $20---you wont have anything in my books if they do luck out and fix it.

[buster]

My exprience with bushnell was 25+ years ago, same results. Shiped scope to them 3 times same problems. Pitched it bought redfields and leupolds. Been using some of the redfields ever since.

[tom barthel]

My experience with bushnell scopes has been better. I have several. I sent one for repair and the cost exceeded cost of a replacement. I have mostly bushnell, simmons, tasco and bsa. I also have weaver, red field and, burris. Most of my CHEAP scopes have given years of good service. I now toss the ones that go bad and replace them when I go to Wal-Mart. I have also had a HIGH dollar burris scope go bad. I replaced it with a gun show used scope for $20.00. Cheap scopes are hit or miss. A good scope is a good scope. They are VERY easy to replace. I don't hunt anymore. If I did, I would pack a second cheap scope just in case.

[Boz330]

My experience with bushnell scopes has been better. I have several. I sent one for repair and the cost exceeded cost of a replacement. I have mostly bushnell, simmons, tasco and bsa. I also have weaver, red field and, burris. Most of my CHEAP scopes have given years of good service. I now toss the ones that go bad and replace them when I go to Wal-Mart. I have also had a HIGH dollar burris scope go bad. I replaced it with a gun show used scope for $20.00. Cheap scopes are hit or miss. A good scope is a good scope. They are VERY easy to replace. I don't hunt anymore. If I did, I would pack a second cheap scope just in case.

I sent in a range finder last year and they sent me a new one back because parts for the one I had were no longer available. It was several years old and I really didn't expect any warranty. It just cost me the standard sevice fee. I was pretty happy with the deal.

Bob

[Lloyd Smale]

I just sent an old scopechief into them for repair and it was a discontinued model They sent me a top of the line bushnell scope brand new for no charge. I think the new company that has taken over stands behind there products. They must if they stand behind one like mine that wasnt even made while they ran the company.

[Scrounger]

I have used the warranties from Bushnell, Simmons, and Tasco and been very pleased with the results. Several times I have ended up with new upgraded models for broken scopes. Leupold is so danged expensive I wouldn't buy their stuff now because they are gouging. I have had them in the past and they worked fine but honestly no better than brands costing half as much.

[AZ-Stew]

All my rimfires, almost all my Remington M788 collection and several other rifles wear the low-end 3-9x32 Bushnells (somewhere between a dozen and a dozen and a half scopes) and I've never had a problem with them, except for the one on which I over-tightened one of the mount rings and broke something inside. I have a Bushnell Banner 4-12 that's sat on several varmint rifles over about 35 years and it keeps on ticking, too. I have no complaints.

I also own a Leupold (a mere 15 years old) mounted on my 7mm Mag., a couple of Redfields (30+ years), a couple of Burris Fulfields, a couple of the Tasco $75 6-24 Varmint "specials" within the last 7 years or so and a couple of the Thompson/Center "Recoil Proof" (they are) handgun scopes. All have served me well. The only accident I've had with any of them is the 6-18 Redfield I have on my 25-06. I had it slung over my shoulder when I lost my footing on the side of a rock covered hill side. I fell and landed on the rifle, with the scope eyepiece taking some of the impact parallel to the axis of the scope. Didn't even change zero. Can't say whether any of the other scopes would have survived.

I think we pretty much get what we pay for in scopes, though I wonder about the ones that run in the $600+ range. For that price, I'd expect them to be nearly literally bullet-proof. We know they're not, though. They're precision instruments and should generally be handled as such. No one would take a precision laboratory microscope into a dusty, 110 degree desert, into a driving ranistorm, sleet storm, snow storm or pound on it repeatedly with the forces we apply with the recoil of our big-bore rifles and handguns, but this is exactly what we do with our rifle scopes. It's amazing they take as much abuse as we hand them.

I think the really expensive ones are more sturdily constructed, and they have optical refinements that most hunters will never appreciate. But we never have an expensive one and a moderately priced one at a given hunting site when lighting conditions are difficult so we can compare the two side-by-side, so if there is really any noticable optical difference between them, we'll never know. The one thing you really do get for the extra $$ paid for an expensive scope is a great warranty. But you pay for it up front when you buy the scope. The real cheapies are pretty much throw-away items. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Regards,

Stew

[lovedogs]

Over the years I've adopted the attitude that a good scope is a good scope, regardless of what brand it is. I've seen some of the cheapest ones outperform the expensive ones. Then I've seen some expensive ones act like junk, too. If you get a good one, hang onto it. The difference is that USUALLY the big-name mfg. will make it right more often. For one thing, they actually work on scopes. Many of the cheaper ones don't. They just replace them. And, if they do work on their product, sometimes they don't seem to do good work. I have one friend who swears by Bushnell. He's had exceptional luck with them. Another friend has had just the opposite. He sent one pistol scope back twice before he got fed up and threw it away. My experience is that I've never had a Bushnell that I kept. Every one of their products I've had has failed, not performed as advertised, or in some way offended. Twice I had to return their products to Midway because Midway had a better replacement policy than Bushnell. I just don't take chances with their products anymore.

On the other hand, I've got some Weavers, Burris's, and Leupold's that I've worn completely out and had repaired under warranty. They've all come back as good as, or better than, new. No questions asked. No hassles. Just service the way it ought to be. So, for me, it's worth a little more money to get a good product and good service. I'd rather be out shooting rather than grumbling and sending scopes back all the time.

[DLCTEX]

Actually, I can't complain too much about the service given by the old scope. My son Barry bought it for $35 and used it for about 4 years, then gave it to me about 3 years ago. Probably recieved money's worth in service. Just don't feel like risking the money on repairs due to past experience. I'll put the money into something better. Dale

[Ranch Dog]

My experience has been different, it is with the Banner series of scopes. I have 19 of them on my lever guns, most being the 1.5-4.5X32, and have hammered thousands of rounds through the rifles they are mounted on. I've only had one warranty claim and that was with the scope I mounted on my 444P. After several months of use, I decided the turret adjustments felt "soft" to me so I boxed it up with a note and sent it back. All of my warranty cards say to send it with $10 and that is what I did. I had a new scope sitting on my rifle 7 days later.

I had a similar replacement experience with a Trophy spotting scope but it wasn't a warranty issue. I had this scope sitting in the back of my Mule on a tripod and decided to move a few feet and didn't bother taking it down because the legs had sand bags holding them down. I rolled, and it went over the side of the bed... CRAP! The fall broke the eye bell right off the scope. I shipped in it's case with a note explaining the damage and asked them to contact me with repair charges. Five days later, I received a new scope and a letter explaining that it was a "goodwill" repair and they thanked me for being a Bushnell customer. I don't know why they replaced it, the damage was my fault and I explained it. I do fill out the warranty cards and may be they saw that I've purchased an assortment of 24 products in the form of binoculars, range finders, and rifle & spotting scopes. Who knows but I did expect to pay for the repair.

I mule deer hunt on a place that surrounds both the Big Bend NP and the Black Gap WMA. Encountering the "real, live" immigration issue is daily and often. One thing I've noticed is that the coyotes (guides) always seem to have Bushnell binoculars around their neck. I don't know if that is an endorsement or not. We surprised some illegal immigrants setting in the middle of a gravel road in the middle of a very narrow canyon. They bolted and we ran over a pair of Bushnell binoculars without seeing them. My buddy still hunts with them and is very proud of his find. I told him he could send them in with $10 and get a new set and he says "why, they work fine."

[NVWalt]

I just sent in a 20 year old 4 power Sportview I had on my 22 silhouette pistol. Put it in the original box that had the warrenty written in the side with the old $7.50 service/ handling charge and they sent me back a new 3-9x32 Sportview. No questions asked. They were good to me anyways and I had it in 4 weeks...Walt

[DLCTEX]

Well. I guess I'll have to risk the money and send it in. They may win me over yet. Dale