New Spotting Scope: Bushnell Legend Tactical 15-45x60, lots of images
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 4:28 pm
The brown truck of happiness delivered a package I’d been waiting for from Brownells for about a week now. My son and I split the cost (well, more like 2/3 me, 1/3 him, LOL) on a Bushnell Legend Tactical 15-45x60mm spotting scope. What distinguishes this one from most others is that it has a milling reticle located on the first focal plane - so it has the same kind of reticle as most of our longer range riflescopes. If you don’t know what the difference is between first and second focal plane, in layman’s terms, “first focal plane” means that the reticle calibrations are valid at all magnifications. When you zoom in and out, the reticle will get bigger or smaller accordingly, so the stadia lines are always registered to the size of the target in your field of view. A second focal plane scope has a reticle whose size does not change when you zoom in and out, and therefore the stadia lines are only valid for measuring at one fixed power in your range - usually at maximum magnification. The last time I priced out a spotting scope like this, it was a Leupold, and the price was over $4K at the time. This Bushnell’s MSRP is $719.99, but you can find them for between $450 and $500 on the web. I paid $449.95 at Brownells for mine, but they are sold out now. Amazon has them for $458. Here is the Bushnell.com page for this scope: http://bushnell.com/all-products/spotti ... m-t-series.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the color is FDE. So far as I know, this model is not available in any other color - if that matters to you. In addition to the usual tripod mount on the bottom of the scope body, there are pic-rails on the top and both sides for mounting your tacticool stuff.....not that I know why anyone would want to do this, but still...... But those things are secondary. In some of the pictures below, you’ll see that I put it next to my Glock 19 to give you a frame of reference for size. Overall, it seems smaller than a lot of spotting scopes I’ve handled over the years, but it is, for purposes of comparison, a fair amount larger (and heavier) than my Vortex 15x50 Recon R/T monocular.
Having not yet had a chance to take it to the range and really try it out at longer ranges, I cannot say for certain how perfect the glass is, but it seems to be very good - nice and clear with no discernible halos or cameo around the edges. At the occular end, you find the following rings: a twist up eye cup, a reticle focus ring, a target focus ring, and the zoom ring. All the controls turn smoothly, although the target focus ring seems to require a little more effort than the others. I’m still unpacking from moving, so I haven’t located my camera tripod yet, and preliminary testing was done laying across the hood of my SUV, and focusing on trees in the distance. I have about a 300 yard view to some far off tree-tops to the east of my house, and that’s what I focused on. At 45x, the distant tree-top looked like it was next to my car, and it came in nice and clear. The reticle was easy to focus at all magnifications, however, it does not illuminate. Fortunately, the glass is nice and bright.
As of yet, there are not a lot of video reviews of this spotting scope on YouTube - particularly ones that give you a good look through the scope - but I did find one that is in Spanish, so maybe you can tell me what it says. The video does give you a good look though at what you’ll see through this scope. Be advised that the reticle is in reality MUCH sharper than it looks in this video at lower magnifications.
https://youtu.be/-Z5PDMboU0Y
Here are some images of mine:
What’s in the box besides the scope? A fitted black cordura nylon carrying case and strap, a lens cleaning cloth, and the usual instructions and warranty info:
Right side:
Left side:
From the front:
From behind the scope:
The tripod mount:
Top view:
Reverse top view:
Occular end, from left to right - the twist up eye cup, the reticle focus ring, the target focus ring, the zoom ring.
Fitted case:
Anyway, when I have a chance to go try this bad boy out, I’ll post any relevant info, pros or cons. But I’ve waited for a LONG time to spring for a spotting scope because I really wanted that reticle feature, and from what I can tell Bushnell has put one on the market at a heck of a deal.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the color is FDE. So far as I know, this model is not available in any other color - if that matters to you. In addition to the usual tripod mount on the bottom of the scope body, there are pic-rails on the top and both sides for mounting your tacticool stuff.....not that I know why anyone would want to do this, but still...... But those things are secondary. In some of the pictures below, you’ll see that I put it next to my Glock 19 to give you a frame of reference for size. Overall, it seems smaller than a lot of spotting scopes I’ve handled over the years, but it is, for purposes of comparison, a fair amount larger (and heavier) than my Vortex 15x50 Recon R/T monocular.
Having not yet had a chance to take it to the range and really try it out at longer ranges, I cannot say for certain how perfect the glass is, but it seems to be very good - nice and clear with no discernible halos or cameo around the edges. At the occular end, you find the following rings: a twist up eye cup, a reticle focus ring, a target focus ring, and the zoom ring. All the controls turn smoothly, although the target focus ring seems to require a little more effort than the others. I’m still unpacking from moving, so I haven’t located my camera tripod yet, and preliminary testing was done laying across the hood of my SUV, and focusing on trees in the distance. I have about a 300 yard view to some far off tree-tops to the east of my house, and that’s what I focused on. At 45x, the distant tree-top looked like it was next to my car, and it came in nice and clear. The reticle was easy to focus at all magnifications, however, it does not illuminate. Fortunately, the glass is nice and bright.
As of yet, there are not a lot of video reviews of this spotting scope on YouTube - particularly ones that give you a good look through the scope - but I did find one that is in Spanish, so maybe you can tell me what it says. The video does give you a good look though at what you’ll see through this scope. Be advised that the reticle is in reality MUCH sharper than it looks in this video at lower magnifications.
https://youtu.be/-Z5PDMboU0Y
Here are some images of mine:
What’s in the box besides the scope? A fitted black cordura nylon carrying case and strap, a lens cleaning cloth, and the usual instructions and warranty info:
Right side:
Left side:
From the front:
From behind the scope:
The tripod mount:
Top view:
Reverse top view:
Occular end, from left to right - the twist up eye cup, the reticle focus ring, the target focus ring, the zoom ring.
Fitted case:
Anyway, when I have a chance to go try this bad boy out, I’ll post any relevant info, pros or cons. But I’ve waited for a LONG time to spring for a spotting scope because I really wanted that reticle feature, and from what I can tell Bushnell has put one on the market at a heck of a deal.
