450Bushmaster.net

It's only one week until the roe season starts here in Sweden.
I know the Bushmaster is a bit much for a 60 lb deer, but I've sold my 6,5 Swede to give space for a 22 Hornet and the only other rifle I have is a 375 H&H so the Bushmaster it is.

Last time at the range my Bushmaster (Mossberg Patriot) killed my old Schmidt&Bender scope. The reticle almost pulled a knot on itself so I had to buy a new scope.

I first bought a Vortex Diamondback in hope that it was made in the U.S. (made to take a beating that is).
However when the postman showed up with it, it said "Made in the Phillipines" and the lens cover was cracked. I thought that since the lens cover was cracked, how do I know that the scope is fine if the quality control from the factory is unacceptable?
The Vortex was sent back to the store and I got a full refund.

I've read that Sightron makes good scopes, however I didn't want to spend too much and found a really good deal on a brand new Sightron S1 Hunter 3-9x40 online (bought from Slovakia).

Now, I should've done my research better from the beginning...

I e-mailed Sightron customer services and asked if the scope would hold for the recoil on my Bushmaster and the response I got was that they "recommend Not to use it on the 450"...
(The Sightron scope also says "Made in the Phillipines" on it by the way.)

Quickly I bought a Leupold VX-Freedom 2-7x33, least expensive line from Leupold but American made. Finally something that I know I can trust!

I realize that I should have bought a Leupold from the beginning, but now I own both the Sightron and the Leupold.

Next time, I'll skip the bullshit and just buy a Leupold! You get what you pay for, you cheap ass (me)!

Question is, should I use the Sightron or my Leupold for roe hunting?
We will hunt mostly during dawn and dusk with low lighting. I don't think I'll shoot on longer distances than 150-200 yards, but I'm a little concerned that the low lighting will be a factor and in theory the 40mm lens should give me brighter sight picture than the 33mm, but then again. It's a small differens in size and the glas 'n coating might be the biggest factor here. I'm not sure I have the time to try them extensively before the season starts.

Best regards from Sweden

Leupold hands down

Leupold for sure if you’re totally turned off by Vortex. I mounted my Vortex Crossfire II 3-9x40 on mine and no flies on it so far.

ThatGuy80

I have been a Leupold guy for a long time, but I do own a Sightron SIII 3.5-10 and really like it. Like cars, opinions will vary greatly on optics. I will say I would buy a Leupold over Sightron SI or SII.

FWIW I am running a Redfield Revolution 2-7x33 on my 450 and so far it has held up. This scope was on a H&R handi rifle in 500 S&W and it held up to that beast.

Thanks for the inputs!

I went with the Leupold and this morning a nice roe deer went down.

this is not to bash leupold in any way... they make a great product, i own some of their product and have had great results from them. i like gold rings. i also like a V on my scope. i openly promote both company's for their quality and price.


are you SURE all the parts in that Leupold are made in america? or was it just assembled here with a % of the parts made here? or is it just some of their (high end) lines that are made in the usa entirely?

just as an example.... there are very few lense grinding facilities on the planet is my point - and almost EVERYONE outsources some of their product and both grinding/polishing and adding coatings are VERY specialized businesses. leopold openly admits that on their website

yes thats right... even leupold doesnt get all (or probably even MOST) of its glass from north america

from their website
https://www.leupold.com/leupold-core/co ... reGetGlass







seriously - why get in a titter over something like a cracked plastic lense cover? i'm 100% for supporting US made products that support US jobs. but it makes sense to contract highly SPECIALIZED work out. and in our global market, some of that contracting out is going to land overseas. you can still make a GREAT Product for the end user if you're willing to pay for the proper quality control and keep the pricing to us the consumer reasonable doing it and keep americans employed at the same time.



and *ANY* manufacturer these days can have a QC issue slip past them. especailly when it comes to speciality optics in the sub $500 realm. relatively speaking - thats EVERY scope manufacturer's "Budget" line of products.

but thats also why they ALL offer unconditional warranty's - even to cover things like possibly your product being damaged AFTER it was packaged. again - im not saying it wasnt cracked when someone put it in the box, but theres NO way to know when that damage happened. zero. some guy having a Poo day in a US plant could have put a cracked part on there before they packaged it up just the same an overseas person doing it. that reflects on the packer - not the company! had they refused to warranty it.. now THAT would reflect on the company. and you didnt even give them a chance.



i mean seriously man.. it was a lense cover... you sent back a (generally speaking) known quality for price point item over what is probably the cheapest plastic part of it being cracked when it arrived? no less the one part that has ZERO effect on the usage of the product? and then bought a similar price point product that has key critical parts that were more than likely sourced from NON US manufacturing as well? so you got what you paid for - a "MADE IN THE USA" product with parts that were outsourced, most likely to a non US manufacturer. did you really do your "homework"? do you feel betrayed by the marketing department at Leupold yet over that "made in the usa" sticker they stuffed on there without the *?


i'm glad you're happy with your new scope, but i dont see the whole get upset over stuff like that thing

my $0.02 USD

I didn't send it back for the broken lens cover. I send it back because I didn't believe in the product.

My first scope I used on my Bushmaster rifle, a Schmidt & Bender (sure an old one but really high quality) couldn't handle the recoil on my rifle.
I have other Schmidt&Bender scopes, but I no longer trust them for my Bushmaster rifle either.

To be honest, I don't care where it is made or if some or all parts are made in whatever.
I wanted a product that I could trust.

I shot another roe deer today, and so far I am 100% happy with my Leupold and my Mossberg Patriot.

Bebop , I'm kind of in the same boat . I have a RAR in 450 and just ordered Savage Haymaker. I have a Nikon 2.5 x 10 x 42 on the Ranch and I'm going to put it on the Savage . I have a Sightron 3x9 that I previously had on a 30-06 and I want to put it on the Ranch. I emailed Sightron and they said No Problems. I'll be changing it out this week .If I find any issues I'll try to get it on this thread.

plant_one wrote:this is not to bash leupold in any way... they make a great product, i own some of their product and have had great results from them. i like gold rings. i also like a V on my scope. i openly promote both company's for their quality and price.


are you SURE all the parts in that Leupold are made in america? or was it just assembled here with a % of the parts made here? or is it just some of their (high end) lines that are made in the usa entirely?

just as an example.... there are very few lense grinding facilities on the planet is my point - and almost EVERYONE outsources some of their product and both grinding/polishing and adding coatings are VERY specialized businesses. leopold openly admits that on their website

yes thats right... even leupold doesnt get all (or probably even MOST) of its glass from north america

from their website
https://www.leupold.com/leupold-core/co ... reGetGlass







seriously - why get in a titter over something like a cracked plastic lense cover? i'm 100% for supporting US made products that support US jobs. but it makes sense to contract highly SPECIALIZED work out. and in our global market, some of that contracting out is going to land overseas. you can still make a GREAT Product for the end user if you're willing to pay for the proper quality control and keep the pricing to us the consumer reasonable doing it and keep americans employed at the same time.



and *ANY* manufacturer these days can have a QC issue slip past them. especailly when it comes to speciality optics in the sub $500 realm. relatively speaking - thats EVERY scope manufacturer's "Budget" line of products.

but thats also why they ALL offer unconditional warranty's - even to cover things like possibly your product being damaged AFTER it was packaged. again - im not saying it wasnt cracked when someone put it in the box, but theres NO way to know when that damage happened. zero. some guy having a Poo day in a US plant could have put a cracked part on there before they packaged it up just the same an overseas person doing it. that reflects on the packer - not the company! had they refused to warranty it.. now THAT would reflect on the company. and you didnt even give them a chance.



i mean seriously man.. it was a lense cover... you sent back a (generally speaking) known quality for price point item over what is probably the cheapest plastic part of it being cracked when it arrived? no less the one part that has ZERO effect on the usage of the product? and then bought a similar price point product that has key critical parts that were more than likely sourced from NON US manufacturing as well? so you got what you paid for - a "MADE IN THE USA" product with parts that were outsourced, most likely to a non US manufacturer. did you really do your "homework"? do you feel betrayed by the marketing department at Leupold yet over that "made in the usa" sticker they stuffed on there without the *?


I'm glad you're happy with your new scope, but i dont see the whole get upset over stuff like that thing

my $0.02 USD

I have some news for all of you For essentially all mid to upper mid priced scopes NONE of the glass is made here (and unless my information is incorrect there are no more scope lens makers left in America) for all of the glass in all of the mid priced to upper mid priced scopes you buy from essentially everybody. They all buy glass made in the PI or Japan and either have the scope assembled in China, PI and the upper priced scopes get assembled in either Japan, Europe or a few in America.
The better scopes in the approaching $1k price range and above are either made and assembled in Japan using either Japanese or German glass or assembled in Europe using Japanese or German glass.

If its a rifle scope that has a fair amount of impressive features like zero stop A/O or side focus and HD glass and its under $500 rest assured it was made in China from high quality components imported to China, or if it's essentially any decent scope under $250 non-closeout price odds are quite good it was assembled in China.
To my knowledge there are no more 100% American made and assembled rifle scopes. Yes they might be assembled here but the most important part of a scope IMO the lenses are imported, hopefully from Japan of Germany.