Reviewer: Aaron Ryan WILD Jaeger Pro Staff Germany
Date: 21 Jan 2015
Article: Rifle Scope
Brand: Bushnell
Model: Trophy XLT 3-12x56mm
Description: 3-12x56mm Rifle Scope.
Specifications:
- Model: 733126E
- Finish: Matte
- Power/Obj. Lens (mm): 3-12x 56
- Reticle: Illum 4A
- Field of View ft@100yds / m@100m): 58.2/12.7@1.75x / 10.1/3.4@4x
- Weight (oz / g): 20 / 567
- Length (in / mm): 14 / 355
- Exit Pupil (mm): 18.7@3x / 4.7@12x
- Click Value (in.@100yds./ mm@100m): 0.25 / 7
- Adj. Range (in.@100yds./ m@100m): 85 / 2.4
- Tube Diameter: 30mm
General/special features:
- 56mm Objective
- Illuminated European 4 Plex reticle
- Included Butler Creek® „Flip up“ caps
Price: 399 Euros on the WILD Jaeger webstore.
Pros:
- Value for Money
- 56mm Objective, light gathering hog
- 30mm main tube & Illuminated Reticle
- Included Scope Caps
- Low reticle setting doesn’t overpower background at night
Cons:
- Fit & Finish
- Slightly loose fitting caps
Overall Impression/ Value for the money:
- You will not find another scope with these features for this price period
The Reviewers story
Figure 1 ”Photo” Aaron Ryan’s Bushnell Trophy Rifle Scope mounted on his Helix .308
October in the United States usually means less time in the house and more time in the woods when it comes to the outdoorsman. However, in Germany, most of the hunters have harvested their Roe deer for the year and are focusing on the pests of the woods like fox and wild boar. This is usually focused on at dawn or dusk and can carry on through the night. Nearly all hunters in Germany are confronted with the task of choosing an affordable riflescope that can accomplish the task of seeing the unseen and piercing the darkness. Any hunter can run out and purchase a high end riflescope for thousands of dollars that can accomplish this. However, not many budget minded riflescopes are up to the task. I was given the new Bushnell Trophy XLT 3-12x56mm riflescope to test and write a review for WILD Jaeger. I wanted to conduct a review that would provide information for anyone who was looking into buying a new budget priced scope that could help them with their decision.
The Trophy series from Bushnell has always meant affordable quality. I can remember hunting squirrels with my 10/22 and 4×32 Bushnell Trophy scope as a kid and the punishment that I submitted it to. So when I was asked to test and review one of the newest affordable starlight scopes from Bushnell, I got excited. Bushnell had finally listened to all of the calls from hunters in need of a quality starlight scope that won’t break the bank. The reason that I know Bushnell had listened to the calls of the hunters is that they had included Butler Creek “flip up” lens caps inside the box. Every optic manufacturer includes a cloth but most of them don’t give you the caps.
The initial assessment of the scope was great for its price range; $250-$300 in America and around 399 euros in Germany. The Scope itself weighs 20 ounces / 564 grams without the lens caps and is 14” / 355mm overall in length. The Illuminated 4A plex in the scope does a wonderful job of providing just enough light in dark/starlight situations without overpowering the background. Please note that according to Bushnell, many similarly priced scopes cannot overcome this particular problem. The adjustment values advertised by Bushnell are 1 “click” equals ¼” at 100 yards with a field of view of 58 feet at 100 yards. For us European hunters, that equates to 10.1 meters at 100 meters and a “click value of 7mm at 100 meters. The adjustment range for the 3-12x56mm scope that I tested was 85 inches or 2.4 meters of adjustment at 100 yards or 100 meters.
The first mounting option that I tested this riflescope on was my Ruger M77 in .22 Hornet. I regularly use this rifle for fox and used this opportunity to test the scope as a “Starlight” scope on the Revier. The first evening out, I was easily able to track and shoot a large adult male fox at almost 100 meters with around 65% Illumination from the moon. [Although the illumination percentage may vary depending on the application used, I was using a free app on my smartphone.] The second mounting option was on my Merkel RX.Helix in .308. This riflescope would become my primary hunting scope and serve as a platform for our “Drive Hunt Combination” which included a Bushnell TRS red dot.
To date, I have shot nearly 100 rounds through the combination and have never second guessed my zero. Many riflescopes advertise their shock resistance, but all the scopes we have tested besides this scope have needed a “confirmation” shot before we head out.
As I stated in my initial assessment of this riflescope on the WILD Jaeger Facebook page, “A budget minded hunter will struggle to find a better quality riflescope in this price range”. I still stand behind that statement after almost six months of use and am happy to recommend this riflescope to the other Pro Staff and any readers as “WILD Jaeger Recommended”.
Bushnell Optics are available at the WILD Jaeger Hunting & Fishing Center in Vilseck, Germany (Bahnhofstr. 2, 92249 Vilseck) and for sale on our European sales Webstore (http://wildjaeger-shop.de/).
