Bushnell Customer service: UPDATED WITH RESOLUTION

ker2222

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Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 3, 2004
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Hastings, MN
Does anyone have ideas in contacting customer service for a warranty question? I think I am doing something wrong. I have filled out the on like form a few times and I get the same form sent back to me. I called the number but then I get disconnected saying that the mine will be accepting calls later.

Any direction will be appreciated
Thanks!
 
They apparently don't have enough customer service employees to even answer their phones. It's been like this for years and years. Once you get through after waiting on hold for 30 minutes to an hour sometimes get disconnected. Their call back is a joke they don't call back. Busy season for the warranty department happening year round.

At least you're covered by the forums to get further help and if you don't get your warranty honored.

Doug at Cameraland is very helpful as well.
 
I feel like I see these threads every few months, specifically asking about Bushell warranty or CS... Is no one else bad enough to warrant multiple threads?

I can say from my sample of one Ill probably never buy another Bushnell product again due to their CS.
 
I feel like I see these threads every few months, specifically asking about Bushell warranty or CS... Is no one else bad enough to warrant multiple threads?

I can say from my sample of one Ill probably never buy another Bushnell product again due to their CS.
Here's my take, I was a real fan of Bushnell up until the second time I needed warranty and was literally kicked to the curb then ignored.

If you find too good to be true cheap sale prices on certain Bushnell brand items, which do show up from time to time, then buy them but assume worse case scenario you got no warranty support. They already been known to not honor their lifetime warranty and just send back defective Bushnell products right back to the pissed off customers with nothing done to them not even opened up to see if there's any internal damage etc and still deny the customers' warranty.

You hear good and bad testimonials from actual Bushnell customers all over the internet and on the BBB website Bushnell Outdoor (who in fact scored an F rating apparently for screwing over their customers mostly over not honoring their warranty promise) so at least some people are getting taken cared of while there are in fact many others who are not.

My first warranty was more than a decade ago and my Japanese made Bushnell that failed was swapped out for a much cheaper inferior Korean made entry level scope. I reached out to them after the fact and they said that's it no other options. I was much more easy going back then and could actually afford to get ripped off. At least I got something back in exchange and could have gotten screwed like others did with defective product sent back to them still in broken condition.

Lookup Google search "Bushnell sucks", "Bushnell warranty problem", "Bushnell pissed off customer". Notice the dates it's been an ongoing thing over the past decade.

Even Bushnell's parent company Vista Outdoor also has an F rating according to the BBB as well.

Bushnell marketing department is sure working hard to push their product sales but they are probably not aware of what their warranty and customer service department is really doing.

They promote an iron clad lifetime warranty in their advertisements but don't specifically say their electronics are only 5 years for their scopes with electronics illuminated reticles and auto shut off timers and don't disclose that they may not offer any repairs past their 5 year electronics warranty.

Another disappointing fact is they promoted their Match Pro as a direct to consumer scope to keep the price down to offer their customers the best deals without middlemen taking their cut. Guess what, earlier this year they were selling for much cheaper through second party dealers $100 cheaper while Bushnell direct to consumer was selling them for $100 more.

It wasn't until I called Bushnell out on this one did they eventually change their own direct to consumer prices to equal the second party dealers prices. Still the Match Pro non illuminated is currently selling for cheaper than the last price Bushnell direct to consumer sold them for $429.99 vs $449.99.

So I'm just waiting for second party dealers to start selling their latest Match Pro EDs for $499.99 while Bushnell sells them for $699.99.

Bushnell is known to sell their brand of items for extremely high prices then a little while later second party dealers start to sell them for as cheap as half price or less. Can you imagine their insane markups?

I bought many of their Engage, Nitro and Forge scopes only to see them selling for half of what I paid just a little while after I bought them and that certainly sucks and their top of the line Chinese Forge isn't any better than the superior Athlon Midas Tac and Ares BTR G2 that aren't as expensive. The Bushnell Forge quality isn't that good in the glass department similar to the Match Pro ED and I'm rather particular when it comes to glass image quality.

Some Bushnell brand items are actually worth buying at their current less than half off prices IMHO but don't expect any after sales warranty support worst case scenario or your defective item may be sent right back to you unrepaired or get a replacement that's a lot cheaper than what you sent in. Biggest problem is with discontinued items that they can't replace. Few may even get lucky to get equal to same value replacement item for what they sent in but they are others who aren't so lucky.

Bushnell warranty lottery... Do you feel lucky...well, do you..punk?

I might be off the mark assuming they don't have enough employees to answer their customer service and warranty department concerns with the year round major floods of defective Bushnell products needing warranty and they just might even be ignoring everyone on purpose by deliberately not answering their phones nor returning any messages just like how Riton does and speaking of Riton, all of their positive reviews are cherry picked and negative reviews aren't allowed to be posted on their website.

I posted this on Reddit with even greater detail and Bushnell social somehow managed to have all my real world factual Bushnell warranty and customer service posts all taken down and all my suggestions not a Bushnell brand scopes got deleted as well. Reddit seems to be pro-Bushnell and whomever talks shit about Bushnell and speaks the truth that Bushnell screwed them over gets down voted or deleted it's crazy.

There are a few honest reviewers like X-RING on YouTube though while everyone else totally shills for Bushnell just like the Arken shills.

I eventually bought a Match Pro ED after reading comments that it's equal to their much higher end scopes and even compared it Athlon Cronus BTR Gen 2 but in fact they're outright lying. My Midas Tac was better and Ares BTR G2 is superior to it without the milkiness.
 
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They used to have a great self service RMA portal ... but they have taken that out and now you have to call ... when the prompt tells you to leave your contact info for them to call you back ... do it ... sadly they are running short on CS reps ... I always received a call back the same day ... and my warranty processed within 3-5 business days once it arrived.
 
I feel like I see these threads every few months, specifically asking about Bushell warranty or CS... Is no one else bad enough to warrant multiple threads?

I can say from my sample of one Ill probably never buy another Bushnell product again due to their CS.
I can tell you Riton is another major buyer beware. They don't even answer their phones nor even even return any phone call messages. How can 3 of my own friends possibly get screwed over by Riton not honoring their lifetime warranty on 3 different occasions?

Their products are just plain old terrible quality and aren't built to last regarding their Riflescopes. They work when they're new but can and will fail at any time even their top of the line $2200.00+ Japan made 7 series by JOL. Blanket statement of their common issues across their various model lines are won't focus clearly anymore and tracking skips or locks up won't adjust and zero stop isn't repeatable.

They should just pull off the shelves and dump all the X7 Conquer 4-32x56 scopes selling at Scopelist and EuroOptic for $649.99 straight into the trash bin because they're specifically the ones with a lot of problems but they still choose to sell them knowing they're extremely poor quality with recurring problems.

What company in their right mind knowingly just keeps on selling their defective products? Besides Riton and Bushnell?
 
Does anyone have ideas in contacting customer service for a warranty question? I think I am doing something wrong. I have filled out the on like form a few times and I get the same form sent back to me. I called the number but then I get disconnected saying that the mine will be accepting calls later.

Any direction will be appreciated
Thanks!
Message me with your contact info and I'll try to get you taken care of ASAP.
 
Lookup Google search "Bushnell sucks", "Bushnell warranty problem", "Bushnell pissed off customer". Notice the dates it's been an ongoing thing over the past decade.

Even Bushnell's parent company Vista Outdoor also has an F rating according to the BBB as well.
I immediately assumed it was related to the 2015 Vista acq... but I dealt w/ RCBS' customer service about a month ago & couldn't have asked for better service.

An RCBS die technician called from an Oroville CA area code & answered every question I had re: custom MacthMaster seating stems and then followed up with a thorough email. The email response did come from [email protected], so Vista obviously consolidated customer service, if only partially.



edit: Bushnell had already been acquired by ATK & was part of the spin off that is now Vista Outdoors.

tangent... but I also just became aware that VSTO is splitting into Revelyst (GEAR) and The Kinetic Group (HUNT)
1) RCBS, Bushnell, and nearly all other brands are/will
be a part of Revelyst following separation from VSTO, and
2) Federal, CCI, Remington, Speer, and HEVI-shot were going to
be a part of The Kenetic Group, however, VSTO just announced they're selling their firearms/ammunition lines to a Czech company.

I don't know anything about the Czech group other than they're the majority owner of Fiocchi. Regardless, they don't seem like the best fit (if the DOJ/FTC/CFIUS/whoever even approves the $1.9B acquisition). It's interesting that neither Cadre Holdings nor Clarus Corp went for these, but I'd love to see Round 2 of Warren Kanders/Armor Holdings


There's been a BP thread on it that I missed
 
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Message me with your contact info and I'll try to get you taken care of ASAP.
Still haven't answered my specific question regarding if Bushnell has any plans to repair out of warranty/expired warranty electronics say for example, the illuminated reticles in your Bushnell Match Pro ED and auto shut off timer, Match Pro with illuminated reticle being sold on your own website, 4-16x44 Engage with illuminated reticle being sold by EuroOptic and Scopelist for $299.99 among all other Bushnell scopes with illuminated reticles that fails to work after the 5 year warranty is expired and wnat is it going to cost the customers? Rough estimate is fine give or take. I'm sure there's a lot of Bushnell customers who are reading this and also wondering about what happens past their scopes' 5 year electronics warranty expires and need repair or service?
 
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Still haven't answered my specific question regarding if Bushnell has any plans to repair out of warranty/expired warranty electronics say for example, the illuminated reticles in your Bushnell Match Pro ED and auto shut off timer, Match Pro with illuminated reticle being sold on your own website, 4-16x44 Engage with illuminated reticle being sold by EuroOptic and Scopelist for $299.99 among all other Bushnell scopes with illuminated reticles that fails to work after the 5 year warranty is expired and wnat is it going to cost the customers? Rough estimate is fine give or take. I'm sure there's a lot of Bushnell customers who are reading this and also wondering about what happens past their scopes' 5 year electronics warranty expires and need repair or service?
I've answered that for you before. I'm not entertaining your complaints. I've tried to help you before back when you were on one of your first Reddit accounts and you don't seem to want help. You just want to complain to as many people as you can online. You've made it clear you do not want help.
 
I've answered that for you before. I'm not entertaining your complaints. I've tried to help you before back when you were on one of your first Reddit accounts and you don't seem to want help. You just want to complain to as many people as you can online. You've made it clear you do not want help.
Still haven't answered the question. Is Bushnell Outdoor gonna be like SIG not willing to offer any repairs on their scope electronics (illuminated reticle auto shut off timer etc) past their 5 year warranty is expired? Even if the customers are willing to pay fir parts and labor and what's it going to cost roughly give or take? Ballpark estimate is fine.

Assume by not answering this simple straightforward question regarding Bushnell's repair service past the 5 year electronics warranty for Bushnell scopes isn't going to be offered even if your loyal customers are willing to pay for parts and labor? Just like SIG?

Does the 5 year electronics warranty start from date of manufacture (based on serial number) or from actual date of purchase?
 
Still haven't answered my specific question regarding if Bushnell has any plans to repair out of warranty/expired warranty electronics say for example, the illuminated reticles in your Bushnell Match Pro ED and auto shut off timer, Match Pro with illuminated reticle being sold on your own website, 4-16x44 Engage with illuminated reticle being sold by EuroOptic and Scopelist for $299.99 among all other Bushnell scopes with illuminated reticles that fails to work after the 5 year warranty is expired and wnat is it going to cost the customers? Rough estimate is fine give or take. I'm sure there's a lot of Bushnell customers who are reading this and also wondering about what happens past their scopes' 5 year electronics warranty expires and need repair or service?
 
It doesn't say how much it cost to repair are you saying Bushnell is going to be offering free repairs past the 5 year limited electronics warranty? I read it again and this is what I'm getting.
That's like asking a car dealer "If my car breaks down after the warranty, what will you charge me to fix it?"

There's no way to answer that because it would depend on what broke, and there's no way to predict what parts prices, labor, etc will be years from now.
 
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That's like asking a car dealer "If my car breaks down after the warranty, what will you charge me to fix it?"

There's no way to answer that because it would depend on what broke, and there's no way to predict what parts prices, labor, etc will be years from now.
The point is, is Bushnell going to be like SIG when it comes to repairs past their limited warranty? They tell their customers sorry we don't work on electronics past their 5 year warranty but you can buy our new model this and that maybe we can give you a tiny little discount towards our newest model if you pay full price from our own website.

This is the very point of the question.

The ability and willingness or inability or unwillingness to perform repair services past their warranty expiration. Are they considered disposable throw away goods? Used SIG as an example. Customers bought SIG electronics thinking they had a lifetime warranty sure for their optics but not electronics and after the fact don't offer any expired warranty support whatsoever. It would have been only fair to know this fact at the time of purchase.

ALSO What happen past the 20 year lifetime binoculars/spotting scope warranty and 30 year lifetime riflescopes warranty if customers have grown extremely attached to their Japan made Bushnell products and needs repair or service? And have sentimental value such as it's been passed down by a deceased parent.

Can you recommend an outside repair person or person's or company that can be trusted to work on expired Bushnell products if Bushnell Outdoor is unable to do so?
 
The point is, is Bushnell going to be like SIG when it comes to repairs past their limited warranty? They tell their customers sorry we don't work on electronics past their 5 year warranty but you can buy our new model this and that maybe we can give you a tiny little discount towards our newest model if you pay full price from our own website.

This is the very point of the question.

The ability and willingness or inability or unwillingness to perform repair services past their warranty expiration. Are they considered disposable throw away goods? Used SIG as an example. Customers bought SIG electronics thinking they had a lifetime warranty sure for their optics but not electronics and after the fact don't offer any expired warranty support whatsoever. It would have been only fair to know this fact at the time of purchase.

ALSO What happen past the 20 year lifetime binoculars/spotting scope warranty and 30 year lifetime riflescopes warranty if customers have grown extremely attached to their Japan made Bushnell products and needs repair or service? And have sentimental value such as it's been passed down by a deceased parent.

Can you recommend an outside repair person or person's or company that can be trusted to work on expired Bushnell products if Bushnell Outdoor is unable to do so?
You have no point. All you want to do is cry. I don't believe most of what you post because I have dealt with them multiple times over the last decade and never had any problems. Shut the fuck up already. We appreciate our access to industry people and hate whiney faggots that chase them off.
 
The point is, is Bushnell going to be like SIG when it comes to repairs past their limited warranty? They tell their customers sorry we don't work on electronics past their 5 year warranty but you can buy our new model this and that maybe we can give you a tiny little discount towards our newest model if you pay full price from our own website.

This is the very point of the question.

The ability and willingness or inability or unwillingness to perform repair services past their warranty expiration. Are they considered disposable throw away goods? Used SIG as an example. Customers bought SIG electronics thinking they had a lifetime warranty sure for their optics but not electronics and after the fact don't offer any expired warranty support whatsoever. It would have been only fair to know this fact at the time of purchase.

ALSO What happen past the 20 year lifetime binoculars/spotting scope warranty and 30 year lifetime riflescopes warranty if customers have grown extremely attached to their Japan made Bushnell products and needs repair or service? And have sentimental value such as it's been passed down by a deceased parent.

Can you recommend an outside repair person or person's or company that can be trusted to work on expired Bushnell products if Bushnell Outdoor is unable to do so?
Ok ... I get your points to a degree ... I do ... but how about you open up your own optics company ... and see how things shape out ...

Electronics will fail and I bet Bushnell will take care of you even after the warranty has expired (they have always done right for me, it is one of the reasons I keep going back to Bushnell Elite Tactical scopes) ... working on optics is a pain after they have been assembled and its actually cheaper to replace the whole scope while you are under warranty ... as a customer ... it is YOUR responsibility to educate yourself on the brand's warranty ... they have it laid out ... if you AGREE to purchase said brand ... you also agree to their warranty terms ... you don't get to set that ... the brand, regardless who, ARE NOT obligated to warranty or support outside of the printed terms from the time of purchase ...

Guess what ... if you buy a Trijicon product brand new ... say in 2023 ... but the outfit has had it in their inventory since 2018 ... your warranty actually starts on the tritium at the time of manufacture now with Trijicon ... guess what ... it is in their warranty terms but many skip right through it and moan about it ....

Also ... if your 20-30 year warranty expires ... you seriously demand that a company not only keep legacy parts on hand but also still produce replacement parts for that many years to some 3rd party repair person? Come on now ... you can't be that shallow about this stuff ...
 
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Ok ... I get your points to a degree ... I do ... but how about you open up your own optics company ... and see how things shape out ...

Electronics will fail and I bet Bushnell will take care of you even after the warranty has expired (they have always done right for me, it is one of the reasons I keep going back to Bushnell Elite Tactical scopes) ... working on optics is a pain after they have been assembled and its actually cheaper to replace the whole scope while you are under warranty ... as a customer ... it is YOUR responsibility to educate yourself on the brand's warranty ... they have it laid out ... if you AGREE to purchase said brand ... you also agree to their warranty terms ... you don't get to set that ... the brand, regardless who, ARE NOT obligated to warranty or support outside of the printed terms from the time of purchase ...

Guess what ... if you buy a Trijicon product brand new ... say in 2023 ... but the outfit has had it in their inventory since 2018 ... your warranty actually starts on the tritium at the time of manufacture now with Trijicon ... guess what ... it is in their warranty terms but many skip right through it and moan about it ....

Also ... if your 20-30 year warranty expires ... you seriously demand that a company not only keep legacy parts on hand but also still produce replacement parts for that many years to some 3rd party repair person? Come on now ... you can't be that shallow about this stuff ...
Very good points and I also have a lot of Bushnnell Elites and their Tactical scopes as well.

ABO Inc USA used to repair other manufactures' scopes and optics and do custom reticle work installed into any brands of scopes but the company had closed down after their owner Shin Saiga had passed.

Send me coupe of million $$$ to open up my own optics company you can be a silent partner. I'd at least try to somewhat follow Vortex warranty and customer service, well short of using them as a hammer or running them over with a truck.
 
They are taking care of me very well! I will let ya know how it ends up but they are 100% awesome right now
My report card on Bushnell CS is an A+......no other way to say it.

I know that everyone has their own experiences and I sure know we all have our own tolerance levels with anything involving technology and automatic phone protocols and all that--I have sent more than one computer mouse sailing across the room in my time.....I also know that people are way more likely to report their negative experiences than their positive. But, I followed their processes and had a bit of patience and they more than held up their end. In fact, they were patient with me as I didn't get back to them for a bit as I was out of town.
My scope, which was over a decade old, was not repairable. They didn't have a direct replacement. So the rep worked it out with me and two days later I had a top of the line XRS3 at my door. I loved my old scope but anyway you work the math here I was well taken care of.

So I remain TEAM BUSHNELL
 
I'm unfortunately finding OP's experience to be my own. I've use the "contact customer support" function at least 4 times and called a half dozen, with the mesage that the call volume is so high that the queue isn't taking any more calls- with no option to leave a message- and I get disconnected. @Team RCBS & Bushnell do you have any insight into what I should do for a warranty on an Elite Tactical optic?
 
This time last year my buddy was in the back of a trailer at a match and got thrown from the trailer 🤦. Broke his Bushnell spotting scope. Bushnell sent him a loaner till they got a new spotter in. Did take several months but he got the loaner really quick.
 
I believe George Gardener of GA Precision is still in contact with them.

Maybe reach out to GAP and see if they have a contact who could help?
@A10XRIFLE if he checks the boards here anymore


With the major layoff and move, there seem to be some pretty big cracks in the system (or a giant canyon).