Bushnell Corporation is an American firm that specializes in sporting

optic Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...

s and outdoor products. It is based in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...

and is a subsidiary of

Vista Outdoor Vista Outdoor Inc. is an American designer, manufacturer, and marketer of outdoor sports and recreation products. It operates in two markets: shooting sports and outdoor products. It is a "house of brands" with more than 40 labels and subsidiaries ...

. Bushnell's produces

binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

spotting scope A spotting scope is a compact high-power telescope optimized for detailed observation of distant objects. They are used as portable optical enhancement devices for various outdoor activities such as birdwatching, skygazing and other naturalis ...

s, riflescopes,

red dot sight A red dot sight is a common classification for a type of non- magnifying reflector (or reflex) sight for firearms, and other devices that require aiming, that gives the user a point of aim in the form of an illuminated red dot. A standard desig ...

GPS device A satellite navigation device (satnav device) is a user equipment that uses one or more of several global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to calculate the device's geographical position and provide navigational advice. Depending on the s ...

laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...

game camera A remote camera, also known as a trail camera or game camera, is a camera placed by a photographer in areas where the photographer generally cannot be at the camera to snap the shutter. This includes areas with limited access, tight spaces where a ...

night-vision device A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The devi ...

s and other optical equipments.

Company history

The company was founded in 1948 by David P. Bushnell, when he returned to California from his honeymoon in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

with two crates of

and sold them by

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

. Bushnell made precision

affordable to middle-class Americans for the first time through a strategy of importing from manufacturers in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and Japan, who provided optics to his patented specifications. Bushnell eventually expanded his business to include riflescopes and spotting scopes. In 1971, Bushnell sold his company to

Bausch & Lomb Bausch + Lomb is an eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intraocular lenses, and other eye surgery products. The compan ...

. The firm renamed itself Bushnell Performance Optics. Three years later, Bushnell retired as vice-president of Bausch & Lomb. In 1999,

sold Bushnell Performance Optics to the

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...

Wind Point Partners Wind Point Partners is an American private equity firm focused on growth capital investments and leveraged buyouts in middle-market companies. The firm focuses on the following industry sectors: Consumer Products, Industrial Products, and Busines ...

through a recapitalization of Bushnell's then parent company, Worldwide Sports & Recreation.MidOcean Partners and Management Announce Acquisition Of Bushnell Outdoor Products, Inc. from Wind Point Partners
, a Press release from bushnell.com. The Serengeti brand was acquired by Bushnell in September 2000. Bollé, Cébé and Serengeti were part of

's acquisition of Bushnell in 2013. In July 2018, Vista Outdoors announced it had reached an agreement with a European private equity fund to sell the Bollé, Cébé and Serengeti eyewear brands. In 2002, Bushnell bought the sporting optics company

Tasco Tasco (also known as Tasco Worldwide) sells consumer telescopes. Tasco mainly imports telescopes for amateur astronomers but has expanded into other optical products, such as spotting scopes, microscopes, binoculars, telescopic sights, and other ...

. Tasco is a major international distributor of telescopes. The company's line of products mainly target amateur astronomers but has grown to include many products besides

telescopes A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

. Tasco's other products include terrestrial

spotting scopes A spotting scope is a compact high-power telescope optimized for detailed observation of distant objects. They are used as portable optical enhancement devices for various outdoor activities such as birdwatching, skygazing and other naturalis ...

microscopes A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisibl ...

, and telescopic sights and other rifle accessories. Tasco sells through specialty outlets, catalogs, and online vendors. In 2005, Bushnell acquired Michael’s of Oregon. Michael's sold holsters, scope covers, cleaning kits, and other gun accessories under the brands Hoppe’s, Butler Creek, Stoney Point, and Uncle Mike’s Law Enforcement. At the time of its purchase by Bushnell, Michael's earned about $60 million per year in profit. Michael's of Oregon was based in Oregon City. The deal was closed with debt and cash. In 2007, Bushnell was acquired by

MidOcean Partners MidOcean Partners is a New York-based alternative asset management firm that specializes in mid-sized private equity and alternative leveraged investments. The firm, founded in February 2003, is based in Midtown Manhattan. MidOcean was original ...

, another private equity firm, which acquired it in a

leveraged recapitalization In corporate finance, a leveraged recapitalization is a change of the company's capital structure, usually substitution of debt for equity. Overview Such recapitalizations are executed via issuing bonds to raise money and using the proceeds to bu ...

. The same year, Bushnell acquired the Final Approach and Kolpin Hunting brands from Facilitator Capital Funds, a Wisconsin-based private equity firm. Both brands are well known among duck hunters. On Sept. 5, 2013,

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American aerospace, defense, and sporting goods company with its headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The company operated in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and other countries. ATK's ...

announced that it had entered into a firm agreement to acquire Bushnell. ATK paid $985 million in cash, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. After ATK merged with Orbital Sciences in 2015 to form

Orbital ATK Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...

, it spun off Bushnell and other subsidiaries as

, a publicly-listed company.

Brands

Bushnell is the parent company of these brands: * Simmons Optics * Millett * Blackwater Gear * Browning Sports Optics * Bushnell * Bushnell Golf * Butler Creek * Hoppe’s * Simmons Outdoor Corporation * Stoney Point *

* Uncle Mike’s * Uncle Mikes Law Enforcement * Primos

Products

Optics

* Riflescopes: Bushnell makes a variety of scopes, most famously the "Elite", "Trophy" and "Legend" lines. They won an Editor's Choice award in 2007 for their Elite 4200 6-24x40 scope from ''

Outdoor Life ''Outdoor Life'' is an outdoors magazine about camping, fishing, hunting, and survival. It is a sister magazine of ''Field & Stream''. Together with ''Sports Afield'', they are considered the Big Three of American outdoor publishing by Money (m ...

'' magazine. Their current line mainly consists of the "Banner", "Forge", "Elite Tactical", "Engage", "Nitro", "Prime", "TAC" series, as well as the previous "Trophy", "AR" and "AK" series. *

Binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

: Bushnell sells a wide variety of binoculars and was awarded the Best Buy award from ''

'' magazine in 2005 for their Browning Sports Optics binoculars and in 2006 for their Legend binoculars. *

Microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisibl ...

s *

Telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

s *

Spotting scope A spotting scope is a compact high-power telescope optimized for detailed observation of distant objects. They are used as portable optical enhancement devices for various outdoor activities such as birdwatching, skygazing and other naturalis ...

s for

target shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms ( firearms and airguns, in forms su ...

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

Game camera A remote camera, also known as a trail camera or game camera, is a camera placed by a photographer in areas where the photographer generally cannot be at the camera to snap the shutter. This includes areas with limited access, tight spaces where a ...

s *

Night vision device A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

s: Bushnell won an OpticsPlanet Brilliance award in 2017 for its night vision products. *

Radar gun A radar speed gun (also radar gun and speed trap gun) is a device used to measure the speed of moving objects. It is used in law-enforcement to measure the speed of moving vehicles and is often used in professional spectator sport, for things su ...

s for sporting use *Simmons Optics, a line of rifle scopes, binoculars, and other optical products. Under license from

EOTech EOTECH is an American company that designs, manufactures, and markets electro-optic and night vision products and systems. The company is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan. They produce holographic weapon sights for small arms that have bee ...

, Bushnell also sells Holosight, a polymer-cased non-magnifying holographic weapon sight that generates an illuminated virtual

crosshair A reticle, or reticule also known as a graticule, is a pattern of fine lines or markings built into the eyepiece of an optical device such as a telescopic sight, spotting scope, theodolite, optical microscope or the screen of an oscilloscope, ...

that appears to be floating in front of the gun in perfect alignment. Bushnell introduced the AR Optics 1-4 scope in 2018. It has a 30mm tube and has an objective lens diameter of 24mm. It has caliber-specific reticles that are illuminated for use in low-light. The AR Optics 1-4 is intended for use with modern sporting rifles.

Outdoor

Bushnell produces WeatherFX personal weather stations for hikers, campers, and others who can use it to keep informed of potentially hazardous weather issues while away from home. Bushnell created two GPS products in 2006 that are the first such devices to integrate aerial and satellite imagery into the display. They also have integrated XM radio to provide real-time weather data and can overlay weather maps and weather radar info. In 2007 the Onix 400 GPS unit won the "Best of the Best" award from ''

Field & Stream ''Field & Stream'' (''F&S'' for short) is an American online magazine focusing on hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. The magazine was a print publication between 1895 and 2015 and became an online-only publication from 2020. History ...

'' magazine. Bushnell also has a line of simple GPS devices called ''Backtrack.'' They allow users to set up to five locations (depending on the model) and forget about the device until they have to return. The device then uses a digital compass and basic GPS technology to guide users back to the set location. Bushnell sells SolarWrap and SolarBook solar-cell charging stations for small electronic devices. The SolarWrap wraps around a battery like a scroll when in storage and is unrolled when in use. The SolarBook flips out like the page of an open book.

Radar guns

Bushnell Speedster

radar gun A radar speed gun (also radar gun and speed trap gun) is a device used to measure the speed of moving objects. It is used in law-enforcement to measure the speed of moving vehicles and is often used in professional spectator sport, for things su ...

s are designed for athletes, coaches, trainers, etc. to track speed with an accuracy of ± within a range of .

Golf rangefinders

In 2019, Bushnell released the Pro XE laser rangefinder. The Pro Xe is accurate to within one yard from a distance of 500 yards. The Pro Xe also includes an adjustment system to take into account the slope of the course; the unit even takes into account differences in air pressure due to altitude and other elements such as temperature to improve accuracy. The Pro Xe's optics offer 7x magnification. The Pro Xe is also equipped with magnets so it can be placed any metal portion of a golf cart.

Magazine loaders

Bushnell released an electric magazine loader under its Butler Creek brand in 2018. The ASAP Electronic Magazine Loader automatically positions loose ammunition and feeds it into magazines. The magazine loader's hopper can accept 60 rounds at a time. Users select how many rounds they want to be loaded and the press a button to start the process of loading an attached magazine. Bushnell also offers manual magazine loaders under the Butler Creek brand.

References

External links

Official website
{{Vista Outdoor Brands Manufacturing companies established in 1948 Japanese companies established in 1948 Manufacturing companies based in Kansas Companies based in Overland Park, Kansas Optics manufacturing companies Telescope manufacturers Instrument-making corporations 1999 mergers and acquisitions 2007 mergers and acquisitions 2013 mergers and acquisitions American corporate subsidiaries