2022 Optic Of The Year: Crimson Trace Brushline Pro 4-16x42 mm BDC

American Rifleman is pleased to announce the 2022 Optic Of The Year Award goes to Crimson Trace.

by
posted on June 20, 2022
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
Crimson Trace Brushline Pro 4-16x42 mm BDC

Now in their 20th year, the Golden Bullseye Awards are chosen annually to recognize the firearm industry’s best new offerings. Here is this year’s winner as selected by the editors of “The World’s Oldest And Largest Firearm Authority.”

Crimson Trace Brushline Pro 4-16x 42 mm BDC riflescope optic review magazine article illustration text

Best known for essentially creating the firearm-mounted laser sight industry back in 1994, Crimson Trace has nonetheless steadily branched out in recent years, adding both red-dots and variable-power riflescopes to its catalog a few years ago. And 2021 was a big year for the company in this regard, as it introduced four new scope lines—the tactically oriented Hardline and Hardline Pro and the hunting-focused Brushline and Brushline Pro. Our staff was able to evaluate the latter in its 4-16X 42 mm BDC guise in the “Dope Bag” section of the magazine, and we determined the scope offered a lot of performance given its reasonable price tag.

Features on the second-focal-plane Brushline Pro include a tool-less zero-reset, the company’s proprietary scratch-resistant Maximum Optical Clarity multicoating and an eyepiece with very effective purchase-enhancing grooves. Our testing found the scope was able to shrug off considerable recoil, was waterproof, offered consistent adjustments and that, “in side-by-side tests, its optical quality was equal to—if not better than—scopes from other long-established brands.” For providing a quality, feature-rich new optic option that doesn’t break the bank, we felt Crimson Trace’s Brushline Pro 4-16X 42 mm BDC earned its place as Optic Of The Year. crimsontrace.com


About the Golden Bullseye Award:
The Golden Bullseye Awards were created two decades ago to recognize quality, innovation and value within the firearm industry, with the editors of the NRA Publications Division convening annually to nominate and select the standout performers from the previous year’s crop of new products. The discussions can get animated at times—as each year there are always more new guns, ammunition, optics and accessories worthy of accolade than we could possibly call out—but consensus eventually results in winners being selected, with the passionate back and forth serving as evidence of the firearm industry’s health and innovative spirit.

Latest

Hearing Healthy
Hearing Healthy

Summer Suppressor Deals On Now

Whether it is a BOGO deal from SIG or free tax stamps from Guns.com and Silencer Central, there's plenty of hearing-safe savings to be had this summer.

Rifleman Report: Defending Freedom For 250 Years

"Anyone who claims not to understand the plain and simple intent of the Second Amendment—especially if that person happens to be a constitutional law professor, Supreme Court justice, congressman, senator or president—is likely hiding nefarious intent: to strip individual liberty from American citizens for the express purpose of making them susceptible to a tyrannical government."

Book Review: 2025 Traveler’s Guide To The Firearms Laws Of The Fifty States

Newly updated for 2025, the 29th edition of the Traveler’s Guide To The Firearm Laws Of The Fifty States is packed with all the need-to-know information for cross-country trekkers seeking to bring their arms along with them and remain legal in all localities.

Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses

Small, yet fierce, the namesake of Springfield Armory’s latest large-format pistol is a revered forest dweller in the land of its Croatian manufacturing partner, HS Produkt. The new Kuna is poised to be just as welcome in America.

The Armed Citizen® June 30, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Book Review: Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers Of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler

The result of a decade of research, Clockwork Basilisk is a comprehensive, two-volume history of the rare revolvers that preceded the development of the well-known Colt guns of the 1830s.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.