Rifle Scopes Bushnell Match Pro ED 3-18 & other budget scopes

[jbell]

I have been interested in picking one up to try out. For the money vs features it looks pretty good, but I can’t find any real world reviews from people who own them. Curious how they stack up against the 5-30 variant, or similarly (to slightly more expensive) priced scopes such as the Athlon Ares ETR / BTR Gen3, Athlon Cronus, DMR3, or Leupold MK4 HD.

I consider these more of a budget scope & haven’t really owned any, less the DMR line up to the Pro (haven’t owned a DMR3 yet). I am scaling down my firearms investments significantly so this is a new world for me.

Initially the scope will be on my Vudoo 22lr so short range parallax correction is a factor, but once I find a scope I like I will get another for a centerfire. To me the tracking and repeatability is most important, followed by a forgiving eye box at high magnification, then optical quality / performance. I rather have a scope that is mechanically sound with a very forgiving eye box than really good glass or no tunneling at lower magnification.

Thoughts?

 

[Infidel4life11]

I’ve got a new Match Pro in my Night Stalker. I haven’t shot it yet:
-love the reticle
-love the glass
-love the size
-love the weight
-love the parallax adjustment range
-love the price
-love the illumination

-I like the locking turrets but the adjustment is kinda mushy

Compared to my arken the match pro is the way to go.

It punches above its weight for the price

 

[MarshallDodge]

New purchase - MATCH PRO ED 3-18X50 RIFLESCOPE

I picked up the New Bushnell 3-18 Match Pro, and when comparing it in a Side by Side to my Leupold MK5 3.6-18 IMO I'd say the clarity on the Match Pro is definitely better with less CA. The closest house to me is exactly 207 yards away and I can clearly make out the large Phillips head screws on...

www.snipershide.com

 

[muddawg]

I put the Match Pro Ed 5-30 on my B14R trainer I built in a XLR chassis. I love it. Perfect for me and what I do with the rifle. Glass is good, reticle works and and knobs are crisp. For a mid-priced scope I am very pleased out to 250 yards (22LR).

 

[jbell]

I’ve got a new Match Pro in my Night Stalker. I haven’t shot it yet:
-love the reticle
-love the glass
-love the size
-love the weight
-love the parallax adjustment range
-love the price
-love the illumination

-I like the locking turrets but the adjustment is kinda mushy

Compared to my arken the match pro is the way to go.

It punches above its weight for the price

View attachment 8628268

I put the Match Pro Ed 5-30 on my B14R trainer I built in a XLR chassis. I love it. Perfect for me and what I do with the rifle. Glass is good, reticle works and and knobs are crisp. For a mid-priced scope I am very pleased out to 250 yards (22LR).

Hey guys, how is the eyebox on these scopes? Touchy at the higher magnification or pretty good? For the 5-30 how is it at like 20-25 power? I'm not too concerned about over 25X as I usually don't shoot there. Does the optical quality drop off at the top end on the 5-30?

 

[jbell]

I was thinking the 3-18 would have a bit better optics and eyebox vs the 5-30, that is the only reason I was considering it over the 5-30. But if the 5-30 is good I'll just go that way.

 

[muddawg]

Hey guys, how is the eyebox on these scopes? Touchy at the higher magnification or pretty good? For the 5-30 how is it at like 20-25 power? I'm not too concerned about over 25X as I usually don't shoot there. Does the optical quality drop off at the top end on the 5-30?

I am amagnification whore. The higher the better. I have zero issues with it set at 30X. In fact, I bet I shoot it at that mag 95% of the time. The scope really does hit above its price point. I have been very pleased with it.

 

[jbell]

Good stuff, thank you

 

[blksno]

ironically, it's about as good as the 6-36 XRSIII at 1/3 the price, but that doesn't make it great.

I started my budget journey with the Strike Eagle 5-25, went to a Match Pro ED 5-30 (was an improvement) but barely... then to a 5-25 Arken was an improvement, and then to a DNT The One 7-35...better than all of them. Significantly better.

I really believe Bushnell lost touch with the match community, because none of their Elite Tactical offerings have made significant advancements over the origional 3.5-21 and 4.5-30 XRS.
Gen II was bad, Gen III is still bad. Made obvious by people on the PX selling them for half.
If Bushnell wants to remain in the space, they need to unfuck the Elite Tactical line.

 

[Rob01]

Bushnell’s customer service has taken a major dump. I sent them an email the end of last year and also sent them messages through their site and more emails and crickets. I also called multiple times and their lines were always closed. Then about 3 months later I get a random email with the help I was asking for. Just something to think about also.

 

[jbell]

ironically, it's about as good as the 6-36 XRSIII at 1/3 the price, but that doesn't make it great.

I started my budget journey with the Strike Eagle 5-25, went to a Match Pro ED 5-30 (was an improvement) but barely... then to a 5-25 Arken was an improvement, and then to a DNT The One 7-35...better than all of them. Significantly better.

I really believe Bushnell lost touch with the match community, because none of their Elite Tactical offerings have made significant advancements over the origional 3.5-21 and 4.5-30 XRS.
Gen II was bad, Gen III is still bad. Made obvious by people on the PX selling them for half.
If Bushnell wants to remain in the space, they need to unfuck the Elite Tactical line.

Interesting, what specifically do you feel Bushnell's short comings are? I ask because I have always liked the DMR line. I used to keep a DMR in the safe for if or when one of my 5-25 PMII or ATACR would go down or as a backup. I never felt like I needed more than the DMR. That was directly comparing them to S&B PMII, ATACR, Hensoldt 4-16 & 6-24, Kahles 624i, and others. Obviously the more expensive scopes had better optical performance but none tracked better, I like the reticle in the Bushnell just fine (hell I started with mil dots and really didn't have an issue with them in a MOA scope). That's all just a shooter issue, not a scope issue.

Don't take this as me trying to be argumentative, I am genuinely interested in your thoughts. I have been doing this stuff a few decades now and still can afford top tier scopes but I'm at the point where I don't honestly see the benefit. I am done chasing the next best thing or keeping up with the latest trend. But on the other hand I don't want to buy junk.

 

[jbell]

Bushnell’s customer service has taken a major dump. I sent them an email the end of last year and also sent them messages through their site and more emails and crickets. I also called multiple times and their lines were always closed. Then about 3 months later I get a random email with the help I was asking for. Just something to think about also.

Any idea what may be going on there? That's a big one to consider. Thank you

 

[flatland1]

Jesse - I built myself a 22 Grinch on a Zermatt Origin action last year, and used an Athlon Ares Gen 2 BTR on it instead of an Ares ETR, mostly because the Grinch is a cute little cartridge based on 6.5 Grendel brass that I wanted to play with instead of using it in competition - and I'd had that scope in stock for a few years & wanted to give it a try. I had an ETR in stock, also have a couple of them on rifles of my own, and IMHO, the glass is as good as the Cronus. But I was trying to keep the weight down on this Grinch, so went with the BTR Gen 2. I'm pretty pleased with it, enough so that I've been considering ordering in a couple of the Gen 3 scopes, since I believe Athlon sold off their remaining inventory of the Gen 2 models, and because I like the features of the new Gen 3. I'd like to put one of the 2.5-15x50 Gen 3s on one of my better quality AR15s with a 24" Kreiger 1-7tw bbl, and would consider going with the 4.5-27x50 Gen 3 on a new Solus in 223AI I just finished yesterday. If I had one in stock, that's what I'd go with. Really looking forward to getting out with the new 223AI this afternoon, as I used a Bartlein gaintwist bbl (1-8 to 1-6.5) on it that I'd had lying around for nearly 10yrs, and never having tried one of their type T barrels, am anxious to see how it shoots with Berger 85.5 Hybrids & 90VLDs.

 

[jbell]

Jesse - I built myself a 22 Grinch on a Zermatt Origin action last year, and used an Athlon Ares Gen 2 BTR on it instead of an Ares ETR, mostly because the Grinch is a cute little cartridge based on 6.5 Grendel brass that I wanted to play with instead of using it in competition - and I'd had that scope in stock for a few years & wanted to give it a try. I had an ETR in stock, also have a couple of them on rifles of my own, and IMHO, the glass is as good as the Cronus. But I was trying to keep the weight down on this Grinch, so went with the BTR Gen 2. I'm pretty pleased with it, enough so that I've been considering ordering in a couple of the Gen 3 scopes, since I believe Athlon sold off their remaining inventory of the Gen 2 models, and because I like the features of the new Gen 3. I'd like to put one of the 2.5-15x50 Gen 3s on one of my better quality AR15s with a 24" Kreiger 1-7tw bbl, and would consider going with the 4.5-27x50 Gen 3 on a new Solus in 223AI I just finished yesterday. If I had one in stock, that's what I'd go with. Really looking forward to getting out with the new 223AI this afternoon, as I used a Bartlein gaintwist bbl (1-8 to 1-6.5) on it that I'd had lying around for nearly 10yrs, and never having tried one of their type T barrels, am anxious to see how it shoots with Berger 85.5 Hybrids & 90VLDs.

Good info, thank you! I will consider the new Gen3 , would you think the Cronus is worth the money over the Ares?

 

[flatland1]

I've been shooting behind Cronus scopes since the first model came out, and have have kept upgrading as the newer versions came along. As an Athlon dealer (full disclosure here) since they first became available, I have appreciated the quality of the LOW-made Cronus 4.5-29x56 scopes enough to have them on several CF comp rifles and three of my Vudoo repeaters. Several years ago - not long after I got my 1st Ares ETR, I took rifles with both Cronus & Ares ETR scopes down to my 600yd range to compare the then-current versions, on an overcast & somewhat dark day. At the time, I recall being impressed with the Ares ETR because it seemed at least as bright & clear as the Cronus. And the early ETRs had SS erector systems with very distinct click detents - almost too distinct, because it could be hard to get just one click at a time, if that's what you needed. I put that first ETR on one of my 40X repeater conversions specifically to see if repeated elevation adjustments would wear-in those super-clicks, and that did the job.

OTOH, the early Cronus scopes had rather mushy clicks, and IIRC, there were two upgrades - each being an improvement - with more distinct click detents. Now the Gen 2 Cronus has similar SS erector systems that give every bit as distinct clicks as the Ares ETR. The only thing about the Cronus that causes me any problem is the depth-of-field on them aren't nearly as good as that of the Kahles K624i scopes I have on some of the Bighorn CF comp rifles I shoot. With these Kahles scopes, I can set the parallax at 600 & forget it, but when shooting 22RF stages with a Cronus and targets from 25-200yds, I'm having to adjust parallax at practically every step of 50yds or more. That's not due to optical quality, but is caused by the design of the scopes.

 

[jbell]

Good stuff, thank you.

 

[Rob01]

Any idea what may be going on there? That's a big one to consider. Thank you

No idea but heard talk of a sale of the company or something business related. Whatever it was it definitely didn’t go down the better road. It’s a shame too but as mentioned they really did just sit on their past lines and not really do much. I had an XRSIII and I was not impressed at all. I sold it nothing long after I got it.