Long range shooting is a discipline that requires quality gear. Typically the equipment needed for long range shooting is expensive. Now and then a company will offer a piece of kit that is well made and moderately priced. One such product that I have tested extensively over the course of this year is the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope.
The Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting is a First Focal Plane, tactical style spotting scope that has a mil-hash reticle. According to Bushnell, the spotting scope is waterproof and fog proof. The glass found on the spotting scope is Bushnell’s, ED Prime Extra-Low Dispersion fluorite glass, which eliminates chromatic aberration and allows for a clear and bright image. The ED Prime Glass is coated with Bushnell’s water-repellant Rainguard HD. The Rainguard HD coating mitigates moisture from beading up on the glass and destroying the user’s sight picture. The actual prisms in the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting scope are also coated to enhance resolution and contrast. Interesting to note is that that the ED Prime Glass and coatings found on the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting scope are also found on the high-end Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS spotting scope. The Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS is currently in use by the United States Military.
One neat feature of the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope is that it has MIL-STD-1913/Picatinny rails at the 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions. These rails are perfect for mounting lights, lasers, red dots and rangefinders. The first enhancement I made to the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope was to add a red dot sight to the top rail. The addition of a red dot allows an end user to find and get on target very quickly, especially when the spotting scope is set to high magnification.

SPECS

• Magnification: 15 – 45x
• Objective: 60mm
• Prism Glass: BaK-4
• Lens Coating: Fully Multi-Coated
• RainGuard HD:  Yes
• Field Of View: ft@1000 yds / m@1000 m      180/60@15x / 60/20 @ 45x
• Exit Pupil: mm 4.0@15x / 1.5@45x
• Close Focus:  35 ft.
• Weight: 37 oz.
• Length: 11 in.
• Waterproof/Fogproof: Yes
• Eye Relief: 30 mm
• Color: Desert Tan
• MSRP:$450
• Manufacturer: Bushnell

Mechanical Testing

Before heavy field use, I checked to make sure that the subtensions on the Mil-hash reticle were calibrated correctly. To do this, I set up an RE Factor Tactical Hitman Target, moved 100 meters back, and made sure that 1 Mil corresponded to 10 centimeters. Proper calibration is important when observing hits and calling out second shot corrections. Bushnell did an excellent job assembling my spotting scope, and I was pleased to see that the reticle was indeed calibrated correctly.

Field Testing

Field testing took place over the course of several months. The Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope was a constant companion during my numerous trips to the ranch. The spotting scope also accompanied me to Accuracy 1st in Clarendon Texas, where I took the Advanced class, as well as a recent vacation to Yellowstone National Park.
During the Accuracy 1st course, I set up the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope on the line for my fellow students to use. They complimented the Bushnell on its clarity and found it on par with the Leupold Mark 4, and the Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS, which were also available for students. I did a side by side comparison of the Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS and the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope. The clarity was the same, but the Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS appeared to be better made. This was not a surprise being that the Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS was built for military applications.
The Bushnell recently accompanied me to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. Even though the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope has a reticle, it did not take away from the experience of viewing wildlife. What was neat, was that I could focus on a distant animal, then communicate to my party where the animal was in the scope based on its position in relation to the reticle. I let scores of tourists look through the scope, and there was not a single complaint about the reticle.

Since Yellowstone is teeming with wildlife, there were several scenarios where there were Bison, Antelope, Bighorn sheep and a rambunctious red fox, all in the same general area. The red dot atop the Bushnell spotting scope allowed me to transition from one set of animals to another quickly. The red dot was especially handy when fellow tourists walked up and asked what kind of wildlife we were looking at, and more importantly where they were located.
One excellent accessory that pairs well with the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope is the PhoneSkope. The PhoneSkope allows one to attach their cellphone to a spotting scope to record video, take pictures or simply use their cell phone screen for comfort. The PhoneSkope is ideal for hunters that have vision problems, or for groups of people who are clamoring around a spotting scope.

Lasting Impressions

The Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical Spotting Scope is a fantastic piece of kit. These scopes are available for around $450, which I think is a fair price. The glass was on par with more expensive models, and the MIL-STD-1913/Picatinny rails allow for the attachment of accessories. Attach a red dot optic, use a good solid tripod, take care of your lenses, and you should be good to go.
For more information about the Bushnell Legend T-Series Tactical spotting scope, click here.
For more information about PhoneSkope, click here.
To purchase a Bushnell Legend T Series Tactical spotting scope on GunsAmerica, click here.