The Loadout Blog

Snapshot|Unboxing

Hello and welcome, to my very first unboxing ladies and gentlemen. The purpose of the unboxing is to give you the 4-1-1 of what comes in with your products and give you my first impressions of the product before we take it out the wild and go do some work. These unboxings are meant to be fun and informative. I know I’m not breaking any new ground here but, I’ve never personally seen it done within the firearms industry. So, now I’m trying to bring that unboxing experience to the masses. If you have seen it before let me know. I am curious. Other than that sit back and relax and please enjoy the content.

A Quick Flashback To Shot Show 2020

Back in January at Shot Show 2020. I was able to meet and talk with a lot of companies and amazing people within those companies. One company I spoke to at length was Bushnell and Travis Overfelt, an engineering product manager at Bushnell’s. While at Shot we discuss Obsidian Concepts reviewing Bushnell’s line of riflescopes. We ironed out the details and I was able to get my hands on Bushnell’s AR Optics 1-6×24 SFP riflescope. Now, if affords me the opportunity to give you this unboxing experience and my first impressions of the AR Optics 1-6x.

For those how may not know. Bushnell makes binoculars, range finders, spotting scopes, riflescopes, and red dots. Amongst any other things. Products that can be used by hunters, precision shooters, and competitive shooters. Bushnell has a wide range of optical choices to fit a shooters needs and preferences.

Finally, it’s time to dive right in and take a look at Bushnell’s AR Optics 1-6×24 SFP.

Unboxing the AR Optics 1-6x

Unboxing the AR Optics was a nice treat. It comes in well constructed box. On top of the box Bushnell is nicely embossed. Once you open the box you are greeted with AR Optics—The Trusted. A very nice way to build confidence on what to expect from Bushnell. Once, you pull back that AR Optics flap it reveals what is on the inside. Within the box comes: (1) 1-6×24 SFP riflescope, scope covers, a short throw lever or a long throw lever(shooter’s choice), a lens cleaning cloth, multi tool, instruction sheet, and Quick Start guide.

Features

The AR Optics 1-6x riflescope is housed in a 30mm aluminum body. The optic features a Illuminated BTR-1 reticle, throw down power change lever, and capped turrets. The optic also features IPX7 rating. Which means that the optic is waterproof and submersible up to 1m/3.28ft up to 30 minutes. You can have this optic rained on or dropped in a puddle and it will be fine. Finally, the AR Optics 1-6x has multi-coated lenses to increase light transmission and image brightness when viewing through your optic.

Initial Impressions

My initial impressions of the AR Optics 1-6x are strong. I am liking the construction and build quality of the optic. I like the items that come with the optic. Everything has a purpose and you can figure out the use for them without reading the instructions. Which is a nice bonus. The three main things that stand out that I want to go over is the throw lever, glass, and reticle of the AR Optic.

Power Change Lever (PCL)

First, let’s discuss the Power Change Lever (PCL) for the AR Optic. Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to like the built in throw lever into the AR Optic but, surprisingly I do. It’s an nice addition into the build of the riflescope. Now, I don’t have to worry about trying to find an aftermarket throw lever to put on the optic. It’s already built in. That attention to detail let’s you know that Bushnell’s engineers were thoughtful in their design philosophy and choices. It doesn’t intrude too much and it’s design footprint is minimal. Can it bee seen as eye sore or distracting to the design? Yes, it can. I don’t believe that to be the case.

The initial moving of the magnification from 1-6x was stiff. Yet, the movement became more fluid after I moved it back and forth through the magnification powers a few times. I think once the scope has more time to break in that movement will become more fluid.

The only question I have about the PCL is will it get stuck or snagged in my gear accidentally when I’m running and gunning. I will find that out when I doing field test of the optic. When, it comes down to form and function of the throw down lever my initial impressions are solid.

Glass

Next, is the glass on this AR Optics 1-6x. Glass on an optic is so hard to quantify. It’s such an subjective part of an riflescopes build. It’s like you have or you don’t. When, looking at glass it’s about image clarity through the scope, clarity of your reticle on your target, field of view, and etc. All those elements come into play to form your overall thoughts on the glass.

When, it comes down to it the AR Optics has solid glass. In my time messing with the scope you have solid image clarity when looking through at different powers of magnification. It has good light transmission and color balance when looking through the scope. So, yeah…solid. The reticle is easy to see and clear when on a target. What I will need to test is how it does on a cloudy day versus a sunny day. If it has enough brightness to be able to pop visually when illuminated. The field of view is great at 1x which is to be expected. At, 6x it still provides you a good field of view without giving you tunnel vision.

All-in-all my first impressions of the glass quality is strong.

Reticle

Finally, let’s discuss the reticle. I’m on the fence on the reticle. Mainly because it is new and unfamiliar to me. Personally, I’m use to the ACCOG reticle that I used in the Marine Corps and ACSS reticle from Primary Arms. So, the AR Optic reticle is foreign to me and it makes me hesitant. So, I will have to shoot with the AR Optic and let you know what I think. Other than that I don’t have much to report on the reticle.

Final Thoughts

At, end of the day my overall impressions of Bushnell’s AR Optic 1-6x is a promising one. Solid build construction, well designed with thoughtful additions, and solid glass. You can’t ask for much more than that in an riflescope. The AR Optic 1-6×24 SFP has an MSRP of $279.99 on Bushnell’s website. Which is a great price for an 1-6x low power variable optic. Putting in the competitive price point of Primary Arms ACSS Raptor 1-6x it’s main competition.

For more images check out the full gallery at the bottom. To find out more about Bushnell’s AR Optic check out Bushnell.com.

Do you own a Bushnell AR Optic? If so, what are your thoughts on the optic and reticle. Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks For Reading

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