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The Bushnell brand is well-known throughout the world of hunting optics for producing good quality optics at reasonable prices. Bushnell also offers riflescope options built for almost every shooting or hunting scenario and made for virtually any budget.
While Bushnell features several different rifle scopes in various families, the one I want to focus on is a limited production series of scopes called the Bone Collector series. The most common question about this family of riflescopes is this question: What are Bushnell Bone Collector Scopes?
About the Bushnell Bone Collector Series
Bushnell’s Bone Collector scope models are part of a collaboration that Bushnell did in conjunction with Michael Waddell, a well-known outdoor personality and professional hunter. Mr. Waddell’s nickname is the “Bone Collector,” and he also owns a company under the same name. Waddell is also a brand ambassador for Bushnell, which is how the Bone Collector series of scopes, rangefinders, and binoculars came to the market.
Mr. Waddell is a world champion turkey caller, which landed him a job with the RealTree Outdoors brand. He began as a guide and then moved on to cameraman. Those experiences led RealTree to offer him his own show called “RealTree Road Trips,” and he continues to build the Bone Collector brand.
If you are not familiar with Michael Waddell, here’s an older video clip of him introducing this scope brand to the market:
It’s important to note that the Bone Collector is not exactly a series within Bushnell’s current line of products but was a limited run of certain optical products that bore the “Bone Collector” brand name.
This collaboration started in 2010, when Waddell partnered with Bushnell to introduce the Bushnell Trophy XLT scope series with the “Bone Collector” logo. Between 2011 and 2014, Bushnell expanded their “Bone Collector” product offering by introducing Trophy XLT binoculars, a series of laser rangefinders, and a Trophy line of trail cameras under the Bone Collector co-brand.
In 2018, Bushnell phased out the “Bone Collector” series of scopes but still offer binoculars and rangefinders under the Bone Collector co-brand.
At least once or twice a month at my day job, someone comes in asking “where the Bone Collector scopes are,” which is a testament to Mr. either Waddell’s growing popularity, Bushnell’s savvy marketing efforts, or a combination of the two.
Bushnell Trophy XLT Bone Collector Scopes
This series of scopes was offered in a few different configurations:
- Â Fixed 4×32 model with duplex reticle (which wasn’t all that common)
- 3-9X40 scopes with either a Duplex reticle or Bushnell’s DOA-600 BDC reticle.
The Trophy XLT series was designed and marketed as a budget-friendly entry-level scope that would appeal to a broad audience. This model features glass marketed as slightly better and brighter than the optical quality on the standard Bushnell Trophy scopes. The 4×32 model wasn’t a great seller, but the 3-9×40 models were popular for Bushnell.
Since this scope series was phased out in 2018, they are hard to find any NIB models on the market today.
Here are a few pre-owned models that I located for sale:
Bushnell Trophy Bone Collector Binoculars
Although my typical focus is riflescopes, I wanted to mention the Bone Collector binoculars as I felt they were a stellar buy for the money. In my opinion, the BC binoculars were the best buy within the entire Bone Collector series of products. These binoculars, especially the Powerview series, were reasonably close in optical quality to some of my Leupold binoculars at about half the costs.
Most all the binos in this series are 10×42, and many of them feature a Realtree camo outer shell.
These binoculars are still available on the market here and there. Here are a few that I still found for sale:
FAQS
Here are a few of the more commonly asked question that I see regarding the Bushnell Bone Collector scope models:
Why did Bushnell discontinue the Bone Collector scope series?
Although I’ve posed this question to different Bushnell account reps, I’ve never really gotten a specific answer as to why this series was phased out.
I suspect that it was just a situation where the product ran its normal course of life, and it was time for new models to be introduced. From what I can tell, Michael Waddell is still associated with Bushnell as he’s still listed as a brand ambassador, so I don’t think it was a parting of the ways between him and Bushnell.
Are the Bone Collector scopes any good?
I thought that the Bone Collector series of scopes offered an excellent buy for the cost. First, they were not that expensive, and I thought the optical quality was slightly better than the standard Bushnell Trophy XLT scopes. They are significantly better than some entry-level scopes on the market in the same price range.
Can you do a Bushnell Trophy XLT 3-9×40 bone collector scope review?
I probably could get my hands on that specific scope model for a review, but I don’t think it’s worth the time as there are already many reviews of that scope series online and on Youtube.
I seriously doubt I’d be offering or providing any new information that hasn’t already been covered, other than a different perspective.
What kind of warranty do the Bonecollector scopes come with?
All of the Bushnell Bone Collector scopes are covered under Bushnell’s Lifetime warranty, and Bushnell has a reputation for standing behind their products.
And, even though this series of scope is no longer in production at Bushnell, it’s still covered under their warranty program.
I’ve been working in the firearms and sporting optics industry for over 20 years, with a personal and professional interest in all things related to rifle scopes, Through a combination of work experience, formal training, and personal experiences, I have extensive experience mounting, testing, and evaluating different rifle scope models across most major optical brands.