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*NEW* Bushnell Excursion Spotting Scope (1 Viewer)

lucznik

Inspector Gadget
It's always interesting to see what the different optics manufacturers do for their "next tricks."

Rather than upgrade their 60mm Elite spotting scope to include ED glass, it seems Bushnell has decided to go up against Leupold with the introduction of this new Excursion Spotting Scope. It is a "folded light path" design that looks almost identical to Leupold's popular GoldRing 12-40x60 - though there are two Excursion models a 15-45x60 and a 20-60x80. I definitely do not care for the big silver & green "B" medallion on the front of this new scope.

In the smaller version (the only one that would hold any real interest for me) the Excursion manages to maintain a larger FoV across its magnification spectrum than does the Gold Ring. Its close focus of 11 ft is also significantly better than Leupold's 36 ft close focus. Bushnell doesn't give any eye relief figures and this would be something very important to know before buying as Bushnell's last "folded light path" spotting scope (one of their budget-class Sentry models which has been discontinued) had very poor eye relief making it all but unusable by eyeglass wearers. The Leupold scope's long eye relief (30mm) is practically legendary. The Excursion is slightly larger, though lighter than the GoldRing. It also incorporates ED glass in its construction. The GoldRing comes in both HD and "standard" glass options.

I couldn't find any pricing or distribution figures but, if they can keep themselves from overpricing it (an all-too-common flaw with most optics companies now-a-days,) I would think they just might be able to sell a few of these. On the other hand, the well-known 60mm Elite is a pretty good scope with a great reputation so the question then becomes; will anyone choose to buy an Excursion over the Elite, or more importantly over the Leupold?

Here's the link...

http://www.bushnell.com/general/spottingscopes_excursion_78-1560.cfm?section=Hunting
 
Interesting. Leupold scopes don't seem to be available in the UK and the only folded light path scopes available tend to be very cheap 'n' cheerful models. Does this design have any advantages over the conventional spotting scope? Incidentally, is it me or have Bushnell got the figures for weight & length confused?

John
 
Eagle optics now shows a price and specs for this new spotting scope.

The 15-45x60 will cost $320 and has 25.5mm of eye relief.
The 20-60x80 will cost $400 and has 30mm of eye relief.

The price for the smaller excursion is right in line with where their 60mm Elite sells. I have seen the Elite sell for as low as $230 at OpticsPlanet and as high as $400 at my "local" sporting goods store. I wonder if Bushnell is planning to discontinue this smaller Elite?
 
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