• Frank's Lesson's Contest

    We want to see your skills! Post a video between now and November 1st showing what you've learned from Frank's lessons and 3 people will be selected to win a free shirt. Good luck everyone!

    Create a channel Learn more

  • Having trouble using the site?

    Contact support

Rifle Scopes Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

vman

vman

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 23, 2009
3,711
5
41
Australia
www.google.com
#1
Hi guys,

Recently aquired a pair of of Bushnell Fusion Binos with LRF capability. I have had my eye on a pair of these for a little while now as they fall within my budget.

While I cant put these up against its other competitors (Leica, Swaro and Zeiss) I can say that for the price of this unit, you certainly get some decent value for money glass.

First impressions:
- Glass seems good, crisp and clear
- Construction seems solid and rugged
- Laser Rangefinder works well
- Option for different modes of LRF
- Comes with a nice carry strap and pouch

Things I dont like about the unit:
- No provisions for a tripod head to screw in
- During bright days, the display can be difficult to see, altho there are some advantages to this units display especially at night


A few things to keep in mind is that this unit also displays angle, and hold over data for rifles, and a "true" distance for bow mode. I was hoping it would provide true data for rifle mode as well, however it just means I have to use the data given and the angle given, and calculate the distance myself... I prefer to make adjustments over hold over data.

I have included some pictures of my unit, along with the handy little Pelican 1200 Case, which im sure most of you will agree is a nice fit. Sorry for the crappy quality, pics were taken using an iPhone and it is difficult to get a pic thru the binos without any kind of support. Next time il try to remember to bring a tripod for the DSLR.

fusion1.jpg

fusion2.jpg

fusion6.jpg


Note: This picture represents the negative comments about difficulty reading the display in bright light.
fusion3.jpg



Now here is where i was really impressed. From my window I can see a water tower in the distance (Middle of the picture below, tiny white spec). I waited until ambient light levels dropped a little before i attempted to laser this water tower. Now, the box for this unit states that the max range of this LRF is 1600 yards of a reflective surface. Upon trying to range this distant location, i noticed it took several seconds longer to register. A few seconds later the unit read 1690 yards... 90 yards over the retailers max. Not being too sure how accurate this was i jumped on good maps and punched in my location and the water towers location and found the distance between the two objects. Well will you look at that! 1553 meters or 1698 yards! Keep in mind there could be a margin of error according to where I clicked on the two map points, but regardless theres only an 8 yard difference between what this unit read and what google maps says.

fusion4.jpg

fusion5.jpg

HyattLombardWaterTower.jpg



All in all im very happy with this purchase and give it the thumbs up.

Special thanks to Scott at Liberty Optics for rushing one of these units out to me during my visit to the U.S.

Vin
 
#5
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

I have a pair of these, and am impressed as to how far I could range. Stumps and boulders at 1500+ yards consistantly. As far as the display being sort of dim on sunny days, I noticed that also. However, it made a big difference in mine when I changed the brightness setting to the highest level, which was 4 IIRC. Much brighter now. Mine came initially set at 3, which was still usable. These seem to be a pretty good value and well built.
 
#6
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

I have these as well, but unfortunately I haven't gotten to use it much. I busted my back a couple weeks after getting them and have been out of commission. But I have been impressed when I did look through em. Granted, I haven't messed with the high end stuff, but they seem to be good binos with a really good laser. Turning the display to 4 works on bright days in direct sunlight, but is way overpowering and washes out otherwise. Pretty easy to change the setting though, so shouldn't be much of a problem. While I can't speak for durability yet, I'd recommend these based on what I've seen so far.
 
#7
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

I have a set of these also.....I have noticed on mine that the reticle is not colored in all the way on the top of it. I guess the reticle you could say is a thick outline "bolded" circle, but it looks like the reticle at the very top wasn't "filled all the way up" if that makes any sence?? Does your reticle look like that also?
 
#9
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

I got a set of these myself and have been fairly impressed with the unit. I have ranged trees out to 1,819 yards on a hot (100 degrees) summer day and I have had no issue ranging deer / hog sized targets out to 1,000. I have found one of their ballistics calculator that matches my rifle really well but have noticed that it gives no data past 1,000.

What are the specs on the case and where did you order it? I wouldn't mind getting one for my set...
 
#10
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

This is the case that I purchased.

http://www.adorama.com/PL1200CH.html

Its a Pelican 1200. Adorama sells it for $36.89 which is probably the cheapest ive seen it... I picked mine up at Frys and paid about $49.99 plus tax.

The fit of the binos is perfect however if you would like more space, say perhaps to store away your kestrel or PDA, I would get a bigger sized Pelican.
 
#13
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

Scott your a champ to deal with!

Poison123, the blue tint is not really that noticable and in no way that i can see causes any negative comments. I think it might be there for protection against the laser?
 
#15
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LibertyOptics</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Vin,

Thanks mate, glad these were satisfactory. Great review! Many more in stock.

Scott

</div></div>

You may want to update your website which currently shows they are out of stock. Go ahead and charge my credit card you have on file and send me one of those bad boys!
 
#17
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: deisel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hey, Scott while you're at it, send me 3 or 4 of your highest priced scopes and throw it all on my card too since I'm such a nice guy and really like hooking up my less fortunate neighbors.
smile.gif
</div></div>

Edited for accuracy.
 
#18
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cbosshog79</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I got a set of these myself and have been fairly impressed with the unit. I have ranged trees out to 1,819 yards on a hot (100 degrees) summer day and I have had no issue ranging deer / hog sized targets out to 1,000. I have found one of their ballistics calculator that matches my rifle really well but have noticed that it gives no data past 1,000.

What are the specs on the case and where did you order it? I wouldn't mind getting one for my set... </div></div>

fairly impressed with trees to 1819 and hog size to 1k....i think it should be damn impressed for under $1k
 
#19
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

For under $1k its a really nice unit.

You could spend the money on just a pair of binos to be honest... and the quality of this glass is actually rather nice. High end euro glass users will tell the difference BUT you need to weigh up the pros and cons...

- is the extra clarity worth paying an extra $2000 dollars for?
- is the clarity of the Bushnell Fusion bad? HELL NO its good

It even ranges well... really well! And to boot you can even range with it as the sun goes down due to its illuminated reticle.

Im glad that a well priced LRF Bino unit has finally hit the market... It will pave the way for such items and eventually prices will become more affordable for your everyday person.
 
#21
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

Yikes! Another relic from our server changeover. Thanks for pointing that out. We'll get your Fusion on the way today!

Scott


Thanks very much <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jer</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LibertyOptics</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Vin,

Thanks mate, glad these were satisfactory. Great review! Many more in stock.

Scott

</div></div>

You may want to update your website which currently shows they are out of stock. Go ahead and charge my credit card you have on file and send me one of those bad boys! </div></div>
 
#22
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

Bushnell Fusion 1600 owners:I own a pair and think they are great but when looking through the objective end there is fogging inside one of the interior glass.It is on the left side [when looking through normally].Called Bushnell and they said it is caused by the lasers liquid crystal. Was wondering if any other owners out there have this and if I[we] need to be concerned.You need to look at the sky to see it best.Any comparisons would be great. Thanks.
 
#23
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

Just ordered my pair last week. They get here Wed.
smile.gif
I did notice the blue tint, not sure how much i will like it as it seemed to kinda dim things a little. Could be wrong... (i hope)
 
#24
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

just got mine. they are plain fuggin bad ass. i am so impressed with the capability of the rangefinder and the quality of the glass. i have a great set of minox 10x42 binos and these are right on par glass-wise. the light blue tint is not an issue for me. they are well built and sturdy. not your normal bushnell product.

i ranged with a set of leica geovids over the weekend and really saw no performance difference between the fusion and the leica. it did everything the leica did and actually faster. i think once these catch on you wont be able to find them in stock.

dd
 
#25
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

OK fellas, finally got a chance to test these out in the real world today. Went with deisel and a few other guys to a range today and took my 1600's along with me. deisel took his Swarovskis for ranging duties (even though the range we went to had known distances) and when we arrived to meet our party one of the other guys (named Kerry) also had the 1600's which he had recently purchased. As some have reported the binos do have a bit of a blue tint and from the sounds of it that's necessary for the LRF portion. The blue didn't bother me much but they were very sharp and quite bright and clear... even with a slight tinge of blue present. I didn't see it as anything that would drive me nuts. We started off ranging from about 300yds and know that the distance was right at about 340yds. deisel broke out his Swaro's and I my 1600's. To our surprise we both ranged exactly 343yds. Kerry ranged with his pair of 1600's and also get exactly 343yds from our location to the targets. So far so good. Now, with the way this range is set up there's an underground bunker for pulling down targets and checking and putting back up. From that bunker to the berms is the exact distance... 300, 400 and so on. Behind that is a large berm is a set of HUGE wooden boards with the lane number on each one. Just in front of that is the berm where we had placed our steel... roughly 40yds beyond the bunker and why we were getting 343yds at the 300yd berm. As we worked our way back at each location we all three would range and all three would come up with the same results (plus or minus a yard depending on where each person was standing) and then verified as we each moved to the same distances. This continued with rather boring accuracy (even though I was getting more and more satisfied with my purchase w/each confirmation) all the way out to 800yds. Now as soon as we went to the 1000yd area we noticed a difference. deisel with his Swaro was unable to target the actual steel targets and instead had to range using the giant wooden lane boards. I ranged to the same boards and got the same distance. The surprising part was when I was able to range to an EXACT IPSC size steel at 1000yds. You guessed it... 1047yds from where we sat at benches which was 4yds behind the shooting line. Exactly what it should have been. So, it was an informal test by but I really didn't expect it to outperform the Swaro in any way (save for doubling as binos and costing less) at all but it appeared as though it actually did. With the bullseye setting on the 1600 I think you're more able to pick out smaller exact targets. It also seemed to produce results quicker than the Swaro at longer distances. The elevation indicator is also a neat bonus but I'm not sure how useful it will be in action. A couple days ago after they arrived I took them to an open area not too far from my house and was ranging different hills standing at the foothills looking west towards them. I then turned around as there was a string of houses that got progressively further and started with the closest... 1009yds. As I worked my way back I was amazed at how high the numbers were getting. The last number I was able to get (before a hill blocked the houses further) was 1714yds! I'm not 100% sure as to the accuracy but looking at them w/o these I would have guessed it seemed it could have been pretty close. I just didn't think this was possible with these based on the manufacturer's specs but they do indeed to get you out to about a mile or so.

In closing, I am MORE than happy I waited for an all-in-one device becuase I didn't want a pair of binos as well as a LRF to lug around at almost twice the cost. I assumed I would be sacrificing with a device that combined the two but after using them I really don't feel like I'm making any sacrifice at all. Thanks to deisel for suggesting I check into these and thanks to Scott at Liberty Optics for hooking me up with another screaming deal on yet another painless transaction. If you need ANYTHING that Scott at Liberty Optics carries do yourself a favor and order it from him and not anywhere else. I've dealt with several vendors in the past and none of them offered the customer service that Scott does and even at higher prices. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone I know and I wish all vendors did business the way he does.
 
#27
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

Jer, nice write up.

Dont let the brand fool you... Bushnell have been pushing out affordable range finding gear for a while now so its no suprise they have packed this unit full of value.

And with Bushnells recent market domination its no suprise they are on top of their game.

Im expecting more and more good things to come from Bushnell over the years.
 
#28
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

Now that I have been using mine for awhile, I have a couple of observations:
The 'eye box' is tight. By that I mean eye alignment behind the glass is pretty unforgiving compared to my Leica’s. Certainly not a show stopper, but something which becomes obvious during field use.

The ‘bow mode,’ which shows both slant range & horizontal range is capped at 100 yards. Bummer! Outside of 100 yards it still gives look up/down angle, which means you still need to calculate the horizontal range using a cosine table. Which is still better than having to use a ‘dangle calculator’ to measure the look angle and then figure the horizontal range, but why, oh why, did they cap the horizontal range at 100 yards?

Cheers,

DC
 
#29
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

I've had mine for a few weeks and am very happy with them even if they are on the heavy side. A few have said the display is hard to read in bright sunlight but that hasn't been a problem for me, I live in the UK and it is never sunny here !

Thanks Scott @ Liberty for the timely delivery.
 
#30
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DC Smith</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The &#145;bow mode,&#146; which shows both slant range & horizontal range is capped at 100 yards. Bummer! </div></div>
I was out glassing deer this morning and was getting look down angles and horizontal ranges well beyond 100 yards in the bow mode, so it looks like the manual is wrong about the 100 yard limit.

DC
 
#33
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 467</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What kind of battery do these use? </div></div>

CR123.
 
#34
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jer</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 467</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What kind of battery do these use? </div></div>

CR123. </div></div>


Thanks jer..Have you or anyone had to change a battery out yet?Im wondering how long i could expect battery life to last?
 
#35
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

Mmmmm I dont use mine often enough to warrant battery change yet.

Theres a battery meter on the display to show you roughly how much charge is left in the battery.

I would imagine you could go out for a weekend and use it on both days on and off and you would not need to change the battery.
 
#36
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 467</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jer</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 467</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What kind of battery do these use? </div></div>

CR123. </div></div>


Thanks jer..Have you or anyone had to change a battery out yet?Im wondering how long i could expect battery life to last? </div></div>

I haven't used it enough to replace a battery yet but I would imagine that's a LOT of juice for a laser/holo display. I like that it's a CR123 because I try to make sure all of my devices take that size battery since it's what I carry spares of on my weapons.
 
#38
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

i recently got to use a pair of these for a weekend hunt , and was impressed . the pair i used had the " tint " very apperent , but it didnt seem to have any real negative effect on field use . i also ranged many targets over a mile , but couldnt get much past 1850 yds . all in all i was pretty impressed , the only thing holding me back from getting one is the 2 yr warrenty .i cant help but wonder if there is a reason for this ...
 
#41
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 ARC LRF -Another happy user

I have these, and I can say they are very nice. I don't notice any tint, and they are very clean to look through. Mine are a July 2011 build, so perhaps they cleaned up the tinting. Yes, the ranging display can be a bit tough to see in situations, but I found that they are real fussy about where you have your right eye behind the optic. If you have your eye in just the right spot, it can be read unless you are staring right into a blue sky. Overall, I would recommend them and am glad I purchased them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

jbell
Bushnell Fusion X 10X42 LRF bino experience
Replies
1
Views
136
calling4life
C
Secant
Help Me Pick Rangefinding Binos (2024/2025)
Replies
57
Views
1K
Chukwithak
C
MinistryOfTruth
Vortex Impact 4000 and Razor 4000 mini-review.
Replies
24
Views
4K
Scott_at_Vortex
S
S
Vectronix Vector X vs Sig Kilo10K Gen 2 Initial Impressions
Replies
8
Views
857
bribri
bribri
Glassaholic
Vortex Impact 4000 GB First Impressions
Replies
23
Views
5K
Glassaholic
Glassaholic
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Merch
Alerts