Whats wrong with a Bushnell?

Absolutely nothing.

Bushnell is the best low cost scope on the market, bar none.  While I usually buy Leupold and Elite scopes, I have about 8 Bushnells.

I've got one $29 special 3-9x32 that has had 500+ rounds of 338 mag full power loads thru it.  Then it went on a 5# 20 guage slug gun, that kicks like a mule.  Still working perfect after 15 years of hard living. 

Downside is that they are not as good at light gathering as a Leupold.  Mine have friction adjustments, which I personally prefer over the click adjustments.  No threding for sun shades.

Over all a good value.  Not just a cheap scope.

BEAR

I've only owned 1 Bushnel scope, and it was a 3x9.  It always worked, but as the others have said the glass wasn't up to snuff as higher end scopes.  When I bought my first Leupold I gave the Bushnel to my shooting buddy.  He's still using it, and it's still going strong. 

My step-dad has an old Bushnell 4x, from the early 60's I think.  That scope has great glass in it. 

The first centerfire I owned and purchased, a win m770 .30-06, came with a Bushnell Sportsman(?) in 3-9x40.  It wasn't such a great scope.  Maybe 1" eye relief, black ring around the edges, held zero ok I guess, though.  Not good glass, not good light transmission.  It was probably an 80's model scope, I'm guessing.  It did well enough to get me my first deer, but it was still fairly light outside and only maybe 75 yards away, no big feat for the scope.
I've had several Japanese made Tasco's that were much better scopes.  They weren't $30 Tasco's, and I realize the Sportsman was probably a $50 scope, but still...

I bought an old 3-8x32 banner off ebay for $5, it's probably the oldest scope I own.  You can tell it was used and abused, and then abused more just for good measure, I guess.  But still the glass quality seems more like the old weavers.  This one is a little blurry at the edges of vision, but pretty good overall and does well in low light.

To be fair, a friend of mine has an old Sportsman with BDC on his Winchester 7mm rem mag and it has served him well and accounted for a few deer...

D45/70.....First off I would not tell my buddies to go +)(*)()&(**&)(*& OFF.......OK. Neather should they tell you in a harsh way that you have a lesser than desirable scope on your 45/70.

I will tell you there is nothing wrong with the 3200 & 4200 series scopes Bushnell puts out to the hunting world.

However, YOU are way over glassed for the trajectory of tht 45/70 under normal hunting conditions. A good power scope for that caliber of lever rifle (I assume it is a lever and not a single shot Ruger) would be a scope like Leupold's 1 x 4 or 2 x 7 Shotgun scope. These are rugged and much cheaper than the Vari X's etc. but do hold up under very heavy recoil. I have one such scope on a .458-LOTT for the last 3 years. It has never given me a problem shooting medium to heavy loads out of that bolt model 70 rifle.

I know I am coming in late on this topic but oh well. As I have mentioned before I have 3 3200 Elites' and really like them. That being said, I bought a 1.5-4.5 Bushnell shotgun scope to put on my .30-30 back in November and like it. I have a cheap Sportsman on my ML that has yet to fail, but the one scope I did have fail was  a Sportsman. This scope was on my father's .243. He bought the gun about 1956 new, and the scope at the same time. He hunted with it until he died in 93, and then ?I hunted with it after that. In 2000 the scope bit the dust and would not hold zero. I have since replaced the scope, but stay away from the cheaper line of Bushnell's. Now Simmons, that's a different story. I stay away from them all together.

Hudge

d,

  Glad you like the Bushnell Range finders. I just could not get myslef to like them and bought a Leica last year with my income tax money. The wife about crapped herself, but I told her I only plan on buying one and only one.

Hudge

D4570;

I've got a Bushnell Legend 5-15 mil-dot A/O on a .22 of mine.  Seems to be a very good scope, although I haven't used it as much as I'd liked to.  It's probably going to get moved over to the .223 when that comes in.

900F