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Gateway To Product Reviews => Scope and Mount Reviews => : PeakChick March 08, 2008, 05:58:13 AM
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Natchez has had the Bushnell Trophy 4-12 x 40 AO scope on sale for a week or two for $99.95. This is a superb deal for this very nice quality Bushnell scope. The Trophy scope normally sells in the $170.00- $200.00 range most places. The best deal I regularly see on this scope is at Optics Planet and they sell there for $150.00.
As many who have seen my posts will know, I am a big fan of Bushnell scopes for air rifle use. Bushnell has a very good range of scopes that are recommended for use on air rifles incorporating the strength and features needed for use on a spring powered rifle. I own and use 7 Bushnell scopes on some of my air rifles, including the 3-9 x 32 fixed Sportsman, 3-9 x 32 AO SportView, 4-12 x 40 AO Sportsman, and three 4-12 x 40 AO Banners. I have been a very big fan of the Banner in particular due to its moderate size and weight, and its very good optics for the price, the Banner is normally a $90.00 - $100.00 scope and I consider it a good value at this price.
I have wanted to try a 4-12 x 40 AO Trophy for quite a while, but was always put it off due to the higher cost over the Banner. I still think the Trophy is a fair value at $150.00 - $175.00.
I received my Trophy on Fri., as usual good shipping service from Natchez. The Trophy I received is the high gloss finish, although the sale price scope is listed as the matte finish. I was very pleased to see that this is one of the Japanese manufacture Trophy scopes. Most of the newer manufacture Busnell scopes are Chinese manufacture, and are quite good. Two of my Banners and my SportView scopes are Korean manufacture and are just a bit better than the Chinese scopes, not much, but there is a slight edge in build and optic quality. The Japanese Trophy is very high build quality and the optics are wonderful, very clear and bright. The AO markings are very clear and well defined. The magnification and AO focus function is very smooth, and relatively low effort.
I was pleased to find that the size of the Trophy is virtually the same as the Banner, acutally is the same in length, 12.5". The Trophy is listed as being an ounce heavier than the banner at 16 oz., and it does feel just a bit heavier, still a good weight for a 4-12 x 40 scope.
I mounted my Trophy on my HW50 in the BKL 260 D7 I have on it. I had the scope sighted in very quickly and was very pleased with the optics and function of this scope. The scope has finger tip adjustments for elevation and windage and they are low effort, smooth and positive.
One caveat I can offer is that the Trophy does seem to have a smaller range of elevation adjustment than some scopes, so if you have a rifle that has a bit of barrel droop you may find that a conventional, non-droop compensated mount may not work.
I would highly recommend the Trophy at its normal selling price, and would recommend to not to pass up this sale price if you wanted a higher quality scope at a very good price.
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Great review of your Bushnell Trophy Stephanie,
I have followed your and Gene's advice and picked up a couple of these beauties ! And I couldn't agree with you more, they are fine optics and durable scopes.
Thanks for giving us your feelings on this scope.
Bill
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I have two of the older made in Japan 4-12x40 trophys and they're about my favorite scope. If they had a mildot or a reticle similar to my 4-12x40 hawke airmax, they would be awesome. BTW, the hawke is a very nice scope with optics very comparable to the trophy. My two trophys are on a proelite and an older marksman model 72 (R9). At one time or another all of my guns have had one or the other of these scopes on them. The optics are great, rings turn smoothly, AO is very accurate and they're small and light. Great scopes!
Regards, Scott
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Well i was too late--price jumped back up.
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Wow! I just made it by 1 day! Ordered it on 3/10/08! If you see a deal, JUMP on IT! Deal with the wife/mom later! learned that lesson Back in the '80's when I missed a LOT of killer deals! Thanks for the heads up...good folks on GTA!
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Nice pics on your HW50 w/scope Peak Chick but what kind of mounts are holding the scope ? It looks like it has a lot of clamping screws.
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That's a BKL 260 D7 mount. Six screw clamping. My personal favorite.
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Great review, Stephanie, but I still have one or two questions. First, what are the differences between the Banner and the Trophy? You already said it's slightly heavier, but is there anything else that stands out, specifically anything optical? And second, are those differences enough to warrant the higher regular cost of the Trophy vs. the Banner? When I gave up on Leapers scopes, I went hunting for a good alternative at a similar price, and was really seriously considering the Trophy, but could never get an answer about relative worth vs. cost. I don't suppose you have ever used a Simmons 44 Mag, have you? I currently have two, and really love them, but I think it's going to be bigger than I want on the CO2 Talon I have on the way. Guess that ended up as 3 questions :-). Thanks!
Dave
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Dave, it's kind of a few subtle differences in build and function between a Trophy and a Banner. They are virtually indenticle in size. The Trophy wins out with rubber covered power ring and AO focus ring. The Trophy has nicer, smoother operation in all the user interfaces, AO focus, power ring, windage and elevation knobs. Optics wise the Trophy is noticeably brighter and clearer, more precise. All this being said, the Banner is still one of my favorite air rifle scopes for its combination of moderate size, decent optics and really good value for the money. I guess my choice between a Banner and a Trophy would boil down to the rifle I was putting it on and my budget. If I could easily afford the extra money to get the Trophy over the Banner, I would buy the Trophy. I think either way you get a lot of scope for the money.
I haven't used a Simons 44 Mag. I wish Simmons still made them. I have used Simmons scopes on some of my powder burners and was always satisfied with the perfomance for the price.
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Thank-you ma'am.
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Stephanie,
I'm planning on purchasing this scope. Do youhave any updates or further remarks toadd after a year of use?
Thanks!
Froghunter
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All three of mine are still working fantastic on my springers..... You may not want to put them on a RWS 54 though....
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What about the Sportsman?? Are they any good for airguns?
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Froghunter, I have a Trophy on my HW 50, my BSA Sprotsman HV and a Savage .17 HRM powderburner. This is a really good mid-priced scope, about my favorite. The Trophy is a springer rated scope, and I would have no problem putting one on a mid powered springer or a good, tuned light magnum. The Trophy has a great, wide field of view, very crisp otics and smooth operation on all the controls. I'm with Gene, I would stay away from putting one on a real slugger like and RWS 54, or one of the Hatsan/Walther magnums.
Ron, the Bushy sportsman 4-12 x 40 AO will work on a springer and hold up. I had one on my .177 B26. It is a decent scope for the money, especially the cheap deal Natchez has on them. It is a fairly large scope and not a feather weight.
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Thanks! I took a chance and bought one NIB for $65.00 from AA classified. It came as advertised and I mounted it on my 512M. Sweet! Not as clear as my others, but clear enough. I just didn't want it to go 'walking' after a few hundred shots.
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Only a few months use with mine, had it put up until I mounted it on my C-634. It's been great so far, I rate it better than my BSA and Centerpoint, very clear.
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Stephanie, would you advise getting the banner for the 17HMR?, because i'm thinking of getting the banner 6-24 for my 17 HMR, and moneys quite tight now, and last thing i want to do is get a scope that doesnt hold zero
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I have quite a few 4-12 x 40 AO Banners too (5 ea). This is a great value for the money for a sub. $100.00 scope, wide field of view like the Trophy, very good optics, not quite as good as the Trophy but close. The 4-12 x 40 AO Banner is very close in size and weight to the Trophy in the same mag. I have never used one of the high mag. Banners, like the 6 -18, or 6-24. They are much larger, longer scopes.
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I have 6-18x50 banner and it's a beast! Little longer than 16 inches. Good scope though, very light and clear all the way up to 18x magnification. It's also very light weight wise, much lighter than 4-16x40 centerpoint. Banners and Trophys are springer rated, but I don't have a first hand experience, since mine are on PCP's. I also have the 4-12 Trophy and it's a fantastic scope.
Chris
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My experience with Banners is that they will hold up fine on mid powered to tuned "light magnum" springers. I would not put one on a springer noted for being tough on scopes: RWS 350, RWS 54, the Hatsan/Walthers, etc.
On a heavy recoiling springer I'd (and have) used Leapers TS series scopes, including the equivalent CenterPoints; or I'd think about a Hawke.
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Ordered the Bushnell Trophy 4-12X40 AO Matted for $144 this morning. It will be about 3 to 7 days before it will arrive. I can't wait!:) It will go on the HW-50s like PeakChick orthe Diana 40. I was also researching the Swift 4-12X40 AO Primer scope, but can't find if it is Airgun rated and I haven't e-mailed Swift with that question. It is about 10-20 dollar less then the Trophy. I will review the Trophy when I get it.
Thanks!
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I bought the Trophy 4-12X40 on PeakChick's recommendation in November from Natchez! Great scope for a good price, I have it on my D34. Very clear glass. Only gets a little clouded at 12X.
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Just sent for a Bushnell Sportsman 3-9 for my Whisper. It said Air Gun approved at $99.00. My Gamo gave up the ghost at about 500 pellets. Hope this on holds up.
What you think PeakChick? The Whisper didn't feel like it was too rough!!
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Hey Dale, I have heard there are two versions of the Bushnell Sportsman scopes. WalMarts sell Bushnell Sportsman scopes in 3x9 and 4x12x40AO for $69.00 here locally.They seem to work just fine on springers btw.When your ordered scope arrives, stop by a WalMart and compare your $99.00 version with the $69.00 version and let us know what differences you see. Would you mind?
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No problem. I will check and see if there is a difference. I only live 5 min, from the super walmart. That is a big difference in price! They had a cheaper one that was flat black instead of gloss. Maybe that is the only difference?
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That is one SCHWEEET looking mount!!! I will probably end up getting one if my current one-piece mount doesn't hold. This is my third attempt (I have a Crosman Storm XT .177 cal.) at scoping it. I finally put a one-piece on and applied blue loctie. If this doesn't do it, I'm getting that BKL 260 D7 . Thanks for sharing. Happy Ne3w Years to all.