Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Got My Bushnell ARC 1600 10x42 Binocular/Rangefinder

I bought the new Bushnell combo Bino/RF on Mule Deer's recommendation and received them a couple of days ago. I have to say I am impressed. I haven't had a chance to give them a severe workout yet, but the unit easily ranges trees at 1370 yards. As an RF, it is a Jim-Dandy.

The rangefinder has bullseye, brush, ARC and ballistic modes and looks like it will do everything I could possibly need it to do. It is a very solid looking and feeling unit.

As a binocular, it produces a very crisp image and is comfortable to use. I can understand the comments I have seen about it having a "blue tint", but the resolution is excellent and it shows detail very well.

It does not seem to have the kind of low-light performance I would have wished for, however, based on my experience so far. I have never owned a top--tier binocular, but my Leupold Wind River 10x50's are noticeably brighter in poor light.

I would be interested to know how any other users of the 10x42 rate its performance in low light.

Nevertheless, I am really impressed with them and think I have bought my last rangefinder.

Some say the blue tint is for contrast with the rangefinder leds(?) especially in adverse conditions.

I'd expect 10x50 to better 10x42 though I don't have any idea how to scale the perceived differences - how does the poor light performance compare to other 10x40 range binoculars?

I received my pair of 10x42's yesterday, and I'm quite impressed so far. The glass is very good (on par with my Vortex Viper 10x42), and the range finder is unreal. I was holding the bino in my hands while standing up (ie, completely unsupported) and I was getting readings out to 1462 yards while looking at a couple of construction cranes out of my upstairs window. If they can do that while holding them offhand, I'm excited to see what they'll do if I rest them on something steady like a sandbag or a pack...

I notice the blue tint, but it's not bold enough to bother me at all. I actually forgot about it after looking through the bin for a couple of minutes. There are two things that aren't ideal- the red LCD readout washes out in bright daylight when ranging light-coloured items. It's still readable and manageable, but not as dark as I would like. The other thing is that the eyecups aren't as comfortable on the bridge of the nose or around the eyes as they are on some of my other binos. Not bad, just not great. I can still look through these things for a fairly long period of time without discomfort.

These two things are very minor compared to the performance of the optics and the rangefinder, especially considering that they don't weigh any more than a comparable regular bino. Very pleased with them so far!

Thanks, Ken!

Jordan, where did you get yours? Thinking about a pair for myself, keep us posted how they work in the field for you.

I bought a pair from eyeguy and have been pretty happy so far. They will get a real test next month when they go moose and then antelope hunting with me. I used them on the water the other day and ranged a boat at over 2,000 yards. Optics are a tad week and the tinting bothers me a little. I do like that they have the option to change the ranging from wide to narrow so you can range a treeline or an animal. I don't have a lot of experience with other brands to compare to but they appear to do better than the monocular types I have borrowed. So far so good.

How does the weight feel with unit? Are they adaptable to a good bin harness?

glad you guys are happy, but optically I can tell in the store without doing a serious comparison in low light and in the field that the optics have no comparison to the geovids. that is fine for alot of folks. just want to make sure people are not misled by it.

"In store" comparisons don't hold much water. Plus, everyone has their own set of eyes.

I HAD a Bushnell Fusion ARC 1600, and while the rangefinder was very good, the binocular part leaves a lot to be desired. I paid $665.00 NIB and still felt they were overpriced and wasn't all that thrilled with the build quality, so tripped them down the road.

If Bushnell does some refining and combines them with a binocular on par with their Elite's, they may have something, but until then, I'll pass.

yeah but if you can tell just by looking in the store that the optics SUCK without even using them in the field, then its very conclusive. and IMO not comparable. these units have been compared to leica and zeiss. just don't want the hype to get to that point because without a doubt they don't compare. I am not a bushnell hater, in fact their elite scopes are my favorite. I just think the optics of the fushion are equaled by roof prism binoculars in the under $150 price range. heck the columbia $59 units that doug is selling, might compare or best the fushion optics.

like great waputi said, $650 was too much money for what he got. thats a fair observation IMO.

I got mine brand new from a member here. I'm not sure he would want me to post his name in this thread, but PM me if you want to contact him.

The weight of the unit feels slightly heavier than the Vortex Viper, even though they weigh the same, because the Viper is ergonomically a bit more pleasing and so it feels lighter. The Fusion is easily adaptable to a bino harness. Mine is sitting in one right now

IMO the optics should be compared to the Vortex Viper, Columbia Timberline, ZR, etc, rather than Leica or Zeiss glass. A very serviceable optic, but they're a step down from alpha glass. They are well worth the money just for the range finder that you get for $650, IMO. I'll be giving these a workout over the next few weeks and months, so I'll report back about them.

Was out in the field shooting this evening, and as the sun was setting and darkness setting in I decided to compare the Fusions to the Vipers that I also had with me. Both are 10x42's.

Fusions
- Better resolution and clearer image
- Blue tint makes it appear that the bino is less bright than the Viper as twilight falls
- Smoother and more gradual focusing mechanism.
- While aiming directly into the bright sun on the horizon I could range trees at 1665 yards, holding the bino freehand. After the sun had gone behind the mountains I was able to range trees at 1867 yards, again holding the bino freehand (no rest). The longer range readings came back lightning fast compared to my Leica LRF 1200 and my father's Zeiss PRF

Viper
- Feels like it fits in the hands better
- A bit more compact than the Fusion
- Seems a bit brighter as darkness falls because it doesn't have the blue tint. Actual brightness is very similar, but the colour skews the eye's perception

So far the Fusion is a bit better than the Viper as a bino IMO, and ROCKS as a RF. Still well worth the $700 to me...

Took them both out elk hunting yesterday. I'm blown away by the rangefinder in this unit! I can easily range rocks, trees, grass, etc to 1750 yards, and if I hold really steady I can range trees to just under 1900 yards. I don't think 2000 yards is out of the question if I were to try ranging a large cliff face, or something.

Around mid-day I wanted to play around with the RF in the Fusion a bit, so I lasered a ~8" rock at 1122 yards, dialed the elevation into the scope, checked the wind, and grazed the top of the rock on the first and only shot.

Dad had his Zeiss PRF with him yesterday, so we were comparing readouts between the two units. They were always within 2 yards of each other, all the way out to 1200 yards, and the Fusion was able to range quite a bit farther than the Zeiss.

The bino is VERY good. There is a slight bit of distortion around the edges, but not enough to be a bother. The blue tint does become more and more obvious as the light fades, but clarity and resolution are good enough that the bino is just as usable in low light as the Viper. The overall clarity, contrast, and resolution are just slightly better in the Fusion than the Viper.

Overall, I think $700 is a bargain for the Fusion, assuming longevity is decent.

I just caught this thread. I have had a pair of Fusions for a couple of months now and agree that they are a FANTASTIC value! I had to sell my Leica Geovids due to cash flow and finance worrries and bought these to 'get me by'. Can't see where they are in any way inferior to the Leica's for a hunter, at least not to my eyes. Like you, I also had and used a pair of Vortex Viper 10x42's and they are great for the money glass as well but with the built in RF, these Bushy's finally get a really good binocular and RF combo into the hands of lots of hunters. If I don't get back on my feet financially really soon I will be quite OK with these for a good long while.

Seriously? Yours have already required a trip back for repair/replacement and you can's see how they're inferior to the Leica's?

I too sold my Leica Geovid's for financial reasons and thought I could "get by" with the Bushnell Fusion ARC 1600, but I knew as soon as I put them to my eyes that it wasn't happening. As I stated previously, the rangefinder is great, but the binocular portion leaves a lot to be desired and is easily topped.

I sold the one I had at a loss and ended up going with a Zen-Ray 10x43 ED3 and a Bushnell 1500 Elite with ARC. Total investment was less than the cost of the Fusion 1600 ARC, the view through the Zen-Ray is 10x that of the Fusion, and the 1500 Elite will do everything the Fusion did. I'm not 100% sold on the durability of the Zen-Rays because the first pair I had were bad right from the factory and I'll miss the convenience of an all in one unit, but I think it's a much better combination, at least for my needs and tastes. YMMV

last time I went to cabelas I looked at the fusions the first time I looked through them without even comparing them to the leicas I knew they sucked. if you can't see this the moment you put them to your eyes there is something wrong with you. it was that obvious it was that apparent. like I said the columbia timberlines that doug is selling for $59 bucks MIGHT be better optically.

Any brand new to the market item can have a glitch. Bushy CS was top notch, had my new in the box unit back in days. HAve had friends who are still finncially well off look through the Fusions alongside thier Geovids (one of them is a proffestional guide and outdoor channel videographer) and all so far have been amazed at how good these things are. Not a lot of difference between them and high end Euro stuff. Not enough for most hunters to be able to see, notice or utilize. Keep n mind that I hav had TWO Geovids and used them extensively in Africa and Alaska for very long periods whilst over tere proffessionally over long periods of time as well as other high end optics.

Could be that the ones you looked at were blems that got out of the factory un aligned properly or even had been screwed up at the store you were in. The Bushnells DO focus differently then most other binocs, could be part of the 'problem' . Oh well, to each his own, I like mine a lot.

Like safariman,


GreatWaputi,


Everytime there is a thread about how wonderful or terible customer service is all companies products are listed as having bad samples. Like the gunsmith says, "You can't learm much from a sample of one." Look at my experience with the 6500's and the z5's

LOL, looks like the reliability of the ZR's may be no better than that of the Fusions, yet you are okay with carrying the ZR's in the field

Interestingly enough, I've compared the Timberline side-by-side with the Viper a couple of times, and they are pretty much a tie. Same with the Fusion glass. Pretty much a dead tie with the other two.

It should be obvious that the Fusion glass won't be as good as the Leica glass. It also costs $1000 less. I don't see a problem.