Comparing scopes - Bushnell Elite 4500 2.5-10X40mm Rifle Scope

The Bushnell 4500 2 ½-10X40 arrived today. To start I put the scope in the fridge for an hour. When I took it out it didn’t fog. All other brands do.

I took it to the porch and placed it on a sandbag. The weather is cold and rainy. The magnification was on 4X to match the 4200 4-16X40. I aimed it at the military optics chart 127 yards away. Starting with the group of largest lines as number 1 and the next group of lines as number 2 I could make out the third set of lines in group number 2. The 4200 was the same. The 6500 4 ½-30X50 smoked them badly with 2-5.

Due to the weather the sky was totally overcast so when I went to check for low light performance darkness came too quickly. I turned three scopes to 10X. I started with the 4500 2 ½-10X40 and aimed it at the deer antlers 131 yards away in the woods. Too late. I couldn’t see them at all. Switching to the Weaver V24 6-24X42, I could easily see them but the darkness was quite noticeable. Then I brought out the 6500 plex. What a fantastic difference! It was like a fully bright sunny day. But then it matches the Swarovski z5 5-25X52 and the Leupold VX-6 4-24X52 in low light.