Folks, anyone know much about the B&L 2.5-10x40 Elite 4200?

Is it identical to the ones made by Bushnell?

This one is gloss with a standard duplex reticle and the Rainguard coating.

Can't find much info on them. How long since B&L made these?

Thanks.

- Bob

that is an older 4200 before it was branded with the Bushnell. Bushnell bought the rights to the sporting optics division of B&L back then. B&L use to mfr the older Bushnell scopes for them. if you turn over a older Scope Chief you will see a "Made in Japan" stamp on it and a "B&L" inside a small oval also stamped on it. sometime in the 90's Bushnell acquired the sporting optics part from B&L and the scopes were re branded Bushnell. some of my wording may not be accurate but that is the basic story.

IIRC, B&L's sporting optics operation was burned out during the Rodney King Riots in southcentral Los Angeles back in early 1992. Up until then, you could send in a B&L scope and they would rebuild it for the cost of shipping. I was big on the old Bal-Var series then and was sending a couple of scope in to them every month to be refurbished. Rather than rebuild, B&L sold out to Bushnell and whatever inventory was left was shipped to Bushnell's operation in Overland Park or Shawnee, Kansas. Since B&L no longer existed, the "lifetime" warranty on B&L scopes was voided and, even if it hadn't been, most of the inventory of repair parts for the older model was destroyed in the riot.

Thanks Guys,

It seems a good hunting scope. Says Made in Japan. Glass is good and clear, reticle tracks true and holds zero. I was just a little confused as to where it fit in.

- Bob

It is an excellent scope. I have one on a youth model .243 bought here on the Classifieds section.

I also agree, they are excellent tough scopes. Where's Roy finn when you need him???

Funny guy..... As to where they "fit in", well, they were the first generation scopes to use Rainguard lens coatings. Mechanically they are identical to the Bushnell 4200's. I remember our friend Mule Deer stating that the only thing he noticed (slightly) different with the current generation scopes was that he felt that they have gotten a little better optically over the years. IIRC B&L stopped offering these scopes in the late 90's.

I've found the 4200 to be real sleepers. It seems that when they come up for sale used, they're usually priced very reasonably. One of the complaints you'll hear is that they're a tad heavy, but in my experience they more than make up for it by being tougher than a $2 steak. I've currently got one on a pre-64 mod.70 and the slightly smaller diameter of the occular(compared with the Leupolds) lets me use it with DD lows for an extremely comfortable set-up.
No flies on the 4200s. A good all-round scope for the money.

John