In the heart of the untamed wilderness, where every breath is a dance with anticipation, you stand as a hunter with destiny in your sights. You’ve waited patiently for this moment, the anticipation building with each passing minute. Your rifle is your trusty companion, but it’s the glass and steel mounted atop it that holds the key to your success.
It demands a choice – Bushnell Trophy vs Banner 3-9x40mm scopes. They can make the difference between a trophy on your wall and a story of the “one that got away”. As we delve into their intricacies, strengths, and secrets, one question lingers – which scope will be your ally in the heart of the hunt? The answer just might surprise you, leaving you hungry to uncover the untold story of your next great adventure.
Bushnell Trophy vs Banner Detailed Comparison.
We will compare these 2 Bushnell scopes on 10 features, including optical performance, reticle options, eye relief, and more. So stick around.
1. Optical Performance:
Bushnell Trophy: The Trophy series is known for good optical quality. It offers 91% light transmission with clear and bright images and has multi-coated optics to reduce glare and improve light transmission.
Bushnell Banner: The Banner series is also known for its decent optical quality. It too features multi-coated lenses for improved clarity and brightness.
2. Construction and Durability:
Bushnell Trophy: The Trophy series scopes are often designed to be rugged and durable. They feature Aircraft-Grade Aluminum tube construction.
Bushnell Banner: The Banner series scopes are generally built to be durable as well, but are not as rugged as the Trophy series.
3. Eye Relief
Bushnell Trophy: The Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40mm scope provides a 4-inch eye relief, which is relatively standard for many riflescopes in its class. This amount of eye relief is generally sufficient for most shooting scenarios, particularly for rifles with moderate recoil.
Bushnell Banner: In contrast, the Bushnell Banner 3-9x40mm scope offers a generous 6-inch eye relief. This extended eye relief provides extra comfort and safety, especially for shooters using firearms with heavier recoil,
This is important for shooters with eyeglasses. The longer eye relief also means comfort in long shooting sessions to accommodate recoil.
4. Optical Chamber Gas
Bushnell Trophy: The Trophy series scopes are nitrogen-purged. High-end optics use nitrogen purging to prevent internal fogging while keeping moisture away.
Bushnell Banner: The Banner series scopes are argon-purged. Premium optics use argon purging to maintain clear optics under extreme conditions. And it has a better lifetime than nitrogen.
5. Reticle Options:
Bushnell Trophy: The Trophy series offers various reticle options, including the Multi-X reticle and a DOA (Dead On Accurate) reticle. The choice of reticle depends on your preference and shooting needs.
Bushnell Banner: The Banner series also provides different reticle options, such as the Multi-X reticle and a Circle-X reticle. Again, the choice of reticle depends on your shooting preferences.
Next, we have some features common for both scopes.
6. Price $$
Bushnell Trophy: Has more features hence price is higher.
Bushnell Banner: Has some unique features but the price is more affordable.
7. Magnification Range:
Both scopes have multiple types of magnification with respective features. For a fair comparison, I chose 3-9x magnification and tested it during the sunrise. Both had performances that were hard to compare with the eye. But with a lux meter, we found that the Bushnell Trophy transmitted more light than The Bushnell Banner.
8. Objective Lens Diameter:
Both scopes have a 40mm objective lens diameter. This size allows for good light-gathering capability and provides a clear image in most lighting conditions.
9. Mount
Both the scopes use cantilever mounts for stability against recoil.
10 Warranty
Both Bushnell scopes often come with limited lifetime warranties, but it’s essential to check the specific warranty terms for the models you’re interested in.
Conclusion – Bushnell Banner vs Trophy
Undoubtedly both scopes are amazing for their price range. But if I have to call out a winner, it would be the Bushnell Trophy for their amazing optical performance. Even though the Bushnell Banner has better fog and water-resistant features due to argon purging, it falls behind (ever so slightly) in light transmission.
If you are a shooter that particularly hunts during twilight, I suggest going for the trophy. But if you hunt any other time of the day then either would be a good choice. But I suggest the Bushnell banner as it is cheaper and has a longer lifetime.
In a match between Bushnell Trophy vs Banner, my Honest Opinion would be to choose Bushnell Trophy because I rarely go hunting during the twilight hours.