Rifle Scopes Bushnell IronClad warranty?

[ToddM]

Maybe not the right area for this but does anyone know how the new IronClad warranty works that Bushnell seems to be putting on all it's new products?

The warranty seems to say that you don't need a receipt, it's transferrable etc. all good things. They also say it's good for the "lifetime" of the product but also that they now define a lifetime for each product ranging from 1-30 years.

The issue I've seen is I can't seem to find anywhere that they list what the "lifetime" is for a particular product. Their webage https://www.bushnell.com/Support/Customer-Service/Warranty mentions it should be listed on every indivudual product webpage (I haven't seen it for those I've looked at) and also from a link they give, and if you follow that it also does not give any details on the "lifetimes" for various product lines except for the "engage" line as an example. Product manuals for example the forge scope series also say the same thing, they also don't list the lifetime for that product only reference you to the product webpage or the above link.

I must just be missing something obvious. It shouldn't be this hard to figure out the warranty length when it ranges from 1 to 30 years. I've had great service from them in the past, but as a consumer it would be nice to know if I'm getting a 1 year or 30 year warranty on something.

 

[myronman3]

Well if they sell something with a “lifetime” warranty, in this business, i’d expect that to mean that if there is a problem, they’ll fix it. That’s what they are saying, so that’s what i would expect.

A company that stands behind their stuff is important to me....single dad raising two boys on my own and my nephew. I dont have a lot of extra cash laying around so when i buy something, i need it to do what i need. And a company that i KNOW will fix it (should i need them to) means a lot to me.

And bushnell isnt exactly a new player in town. If they say they’ll fix it, i am sure they will. When is the last time you heard someone bitch that bushnell didnt take care of them? I dont currently own anything of theirs...but if they made something i wanted, i’d not hesitate on warranty fears. They have a good reputation because they’ve earned it.

 

[Mordamer]

Not sure about this "Ironclad Warranty", but I have had to send 2 elite tactical scopes in for warranty. They handled both with as good of customer service as I have ever had. They didn't ask for any proof of purchase, or hassle me at all. Buy with confidence.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

I think the shorter durations only apply to the lower-end products, and items with electronics. I emailed one of the guys I know at Bushnell to see if I can get some clarification.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

Ok, so what I was told is that all riflescopes are 30 year warranties, and binos are 20 year warranties. A website update is in the works to address it, but no ETA.

 

[Austinjunks]

I had a broken Millet LRS that was given to me. I sent it in for a stiff paralx adjust and they replaced it with a brand new nitro 4-16. I have noticed they tend to replace over repair. I had no proof of purchase and no known history on the scope. Turn around time was about 3 weeks with no questions asked.

 

[rgv]

I also noticed the “iron clad” warranty replaced the lifetime “no questions asked” warranty and no longer covers accidental damage, among other things.

It makes Bushnell products made before April 2017 a little more desirable.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

I also noticed the “iron clad” warranty replaced the lifetime “no questions asked” warranty and no longer covers accidental damage, among other things.

It makes Bushnell products made before April 2017 a little more desirable.

How often do you see people actually use a warranty to cover some kind of catastrophic, accidental damage, though? I know there's a couple companies that play that up in their advertising, but I'd say that it's a pretty fringe case.

 

[Rob01]

How often do you see people actually use a warranty to cover some kind of catastrophic, accidental damage, though? I know there's a couple companies that play that up in their advertising, but I'd say that it's a pretty fringe case.

See it every so often here and other forums and if it's you spending a couple thousand dollars and have an accident and needing it then you will wish you were covered by that "fringe" case insurance. Nice not to have to worry if you drop your rifle out of stand or down a cliffside, it gets caught in a fire or any other accident that could happen but doesn't every day.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

See it every so often here and other forums and if it's you spending a couple thousand dollars and have an accident and needing it then you will wish you were covered by that "fringe" case insurance. Nice not to have to worry if you drop your rifle out of stand or down a cliffside, it gets caught in a fire or any other accident that could happen but doesn't every day.

Don't get me wrong - if you're that fringe case, it is obviously a benefit you're happy to have. I think people put a little too much emphasis on it when shopping for an optic, though.

 

[ToddM]

Thanks for the info Hollywood, I also have had nothing but awesome customer service with Bushnell. The "no questions" warranty can be nice, but I'm sure it costs them money, and you have to wonder how many cases of abuse to get new product happen in this day and age. I do like that they are doing transferrable warranties, with the date on the product production as the starting point. To me having a transferrable warranty is a big deal, it's good for resale, a huge safety net when buying used, and even if you don't keep your receipts. I've seen some some companies be really pissy or just flat refuse service if you don't have your proof of purchase, and many people don't keep them if they have problems 5-10-20 years down the road.

 

[Rob01]

Don't get me wrong - if you're that fringe case, it is obviously a benefit you're happy to have. I think people put a little too much emphasis on it when shopping for an optic, though.

I don't. It's their hard earned money and having that protection whether ever used or not is nice to have. If you have two equal products and one has that protection and one doesn't and you actually use the optics and they are not just safe queens then having it is a great thing.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

Thanks for the info Hollywood, I also have had nothing but awesome customer service with Bushnell. The "no questions" warranty can be nice, but I'm sure it costs them money, and you have to wonder how many cases of abuse to get new product happen in this day and age. I do like that they are doing transferrable warranties, with the date on the product production as the starting point. To me having a transferrable warranty is a big deal, it's good for resale, a huge safety net when buying used, and even if you don't keep your receipts. I've seen some some companies be really pissy or just flat refuse service if you don't have your proof of purchase, and many people don't keep them if they have problems 5-10-20 years down the road.

Yeah, the sunk cost thing is probably why they did it. A warranty that covers accidents, fires, etc. has to be paid for somehow - and the customer is the one paying for it. It could be cutting corners on production or quality control, parts, or just increasing price to cover whatever the percentage of replacement optics ends up being. It's also not unheard of to see something get replaced out of warranty as a goodwill measure, depending on circumstances.

I don't. It's their hard earned money and having that protection whether ever used or not is nice to have. If you have two equal products and one has that protection and one doesn't and you actually use the optics and they are not just safe queens then having it is a great thing.

If that's a priority to people, sure. None of my expensive optics are safe queens, and they definitely see a lot of hard use - and it's not something I am super concerned about. As I said above the cost for those replacement scopes has to come from somewhere, and I doubt it's being taken out of the manufacturers profit margin.

 

[Rob01]

You arern't concerned as you haven't needed it. When you do remember this conversation when you are paying that repair or replacement bill of hundreds or thousands of dollars.

And the assumption that corners are cut etc by other companies who off this is just wrong from the companies I know of that offer it. All costs are added into products and manufacturers price the products accordingly so they offer what they do and make money as well. If the product is quality, priced well and sells then where is the problem? There isn't one. Trying to make it sound like a bad thing getting more protection from your purchase is just silly.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

You arern't concerned as you haven't needed it. When you do remember this conversation when you are paying that repair or replacement bill of hundreds or thousands of dollars.

And the assumption that corners are cut etc by other companies who off this is just wrong from the companies I know of that offer it. All costs are added into products and manufacturers price the products accordingly so they offer what they do and make money as well. If the product is quality, priced well and sells then where is the problem? There isn't one. Trying to make it sound like a bad thing getting more protection from your purchase is just silly.

Like I said, it's built into the cost - I was giving examples of HOW it could be built in, but in most cases it's going to be by raising the price to compensate for the costs of providing a replacement optic - which is what you said. I wasn't trying to imply that it was a bad thing (how is getting more of something bad for the consumer), just that there's always going to be a cost for that extra whatever buried somewhere.

 

[Rob01]

Well obviously it will be there somewhere. Just like anything like even a simple lifetime warranty. That is built into the cost as well. Anything they use or add is built in. So did the price of their scopes go down when they stopped offering the accidental damage? How much?

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

Well obviously it will be there somewhere. Just like anything like even a simple lifetime warranty. That is built into the cost as well. Anything they use or add is built in. So did the price of their scopes go down when they stopped offering the accidental damage? How much?

The warranty change was timed with the introduction of 3 new product lines, which seems to be most of the driving factor. If you read the full warranty on the website, the old vs new waranty is based on when the product was introduced. I think the DMR2 predates the April '17 cutoff, but the XRS2 and DMR2 Pro do not. So if it had the old warranty that included accidental damage, it STILL has that warranty - even if your optic was made after the change.

 

[Rob01]

Well at least people still have a line they can use if they did want the extra protection.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

Well at least people still have a line they can use if they did want the extra protection.

This whole thread brings up the idea of something I have seen in other industries - paid-for upgrades to a standard warranty. I'm honestly surprised optics manufacturers haven't tried offering accidental damage and/or theft/loss as part of an upgrade deal you can buy within X days of buying the optic.

 

[rgv]

How often do you see people actually use a warranty to cover some kind of catastrophic, accidental damage, though? I know there's a couple companies that play that up in their advertising, but I'd say that it's a pretty fringe case.

That is why I said it was ‘a little more desirable ‘.

Having said that, I had a well worn ERS 3.5-21 that had the elevation turrets start to lose some feel to the clicks. They replaced the scope ‘no questions asked’ when i sent it in for repair. Under the new warranty they could theoretically call it normal wear and tear.

 

[DOA]

This whole thread brings up the idea of something I have seen in other industries - paid-for upgrades to a standard warranty. I'm honestly surprised optics manufacturers haven't tried offering accidental damage and/or theft/loss as part of an upgrade deal you can buy within X days of buying the optic.

Its so much easier to offer an upfront one size fits all warranty rather piece meal it.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

That is why I said it was ‘a little more desirable ‘.

Having said that, I had a well worn ERS 3.5-21 that had the elevation turrets start to lose some feel to the clicks. They replaced the scope ‘no questions asked’ when i sent it in for repair. Under the new warranty they could theoretically call it normal wear and tear.

Honestly, I doubt they would. I sent in an XRS for scratched lenses (dust at the 2015 PRS finale got me) and the rubber eye ring peeling away (caused by a scope cap), and they repaired it no problem - and that was before the 'No questions asked' warranty. I'd be willing to bet that anything mechanical that had issues (short of obvious abuse) would still be covered.

Its so much easier to offer an upfront one size fits all warranty rather piece meal it.

Easier, sure, but then it goes back to building the costs into the product somehow.

 

[shoobe01]

Bushnell always seemed to be good for CS. Maybe because I can walk into the service center here in town (and get some spare gossip about stuff while there from the techs!) vs calling etc, but have done things like brought a spray-painted, scratched up Holosight (way back when those were sold) that started having battery issues, and they went to the back, got me a new one in a box, no questions, at all.

Similar stories of other local friends the few times they've had issues with their stuff from the Bushnell store. Even stuff bought from the discount center, refurbed. No worries, no questions.

Hope they don't get nitpicky.

 

[rgv]

Honestly, I doubt they would. I sent in an XRS for scratched lenses (dust at the 2015 PRS finale got me) and the rubber eye ring peeling away (caused by a scope cap), and they repaired it no problem - and that was before the 'No questions asked' warranty. I'd be willing to bet that anything mechanical that had issues (short of obvious abuse) would still be covered.

.

I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said, but I don’t think you can deny that the value to the consumer has declined, at least in relation to products (including their own) that continue to offer the unconditional warranty.

 

[JHutch808]

I'm definitely not fully versed on their previous warranty version. But, I did just watch the Bushnell product and warranty videos on Expert Voice and it appears they still fully cover everything. They were showing optics being "accidentally" run over, dropped off a cliff, etc and claiming that no matter what it's all covered by their Iron Clad Warranty.

 

[Blaster7Romeo]

I thought I was having some Tracking issues with an older HDMR I had.. Filled out the form sent in... (along with money fore return shipping) 2 weeks latter it came back in the mail.. had new internals from what I could tell from the looks of it.. there was no paper work to tell me what work was done..

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

I'm definitely not fully versed on their previous warranty version. But, I did just watch the Bushnell product and warranty videos on Expert Voice and it appears they still fully cover everything. They were showing optics being "accidentally" run over, dropped off a cliff, etc and claiming that no matter what it's all covered by their Iron Clad Warranty.

I sent an email to one of my contacts at Bushnell to get clarification on this. When I have info, I will post it.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

The video on ExpertVoice is for the old No Questions Asked warranty, not the current IronClad warranty. Bushnell is aware of the info on ExpertVoice being out of date, and they're going to work on getting it fixed. No ETA for when it will be corrected, though.

 

[JHutch808]

The video on ExpertVoice is for the old No Questions Asked warranty, not the current IronClad warranty. Bushnell is aware of the info on ExpertVoice being out of date, and they're going to work on getting it fixed. No ETA for when it will be corrected, though.

My mistake. I've had so much stuff going on between work and wedding planning, my memory seems to get a bit fuzzy quickly these days.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

My mistake. I've had so much stuff going on between work and wedding planning, my memory seems to get a bit fuzzy quickly these days.

No worries. End result is still Bushnell getting a chance to update the stuff on ExpertVoice so it's correct for current warranty info and products, which is a good thing all around.

 

[BigPrince]

I also noticed the “iron clad” warranty replaced the lifetime “no questions asked” warranty and no longer covers accidental damage, among other things.

It makes Bushnell products made before April 2017 a little more desirable.

All things being equal the previous warranty does seem like a positive to the slightly older models like the LRHS 3-12s I'm swapping lower quality hunting scopes out for as I find them rather than new scopes. Any additional thoughts on this now that there's more time since the warranty change?