Rifle Scopes ACOG, Hair or Crack? Or Gotta Go Back?

[Strykervet]

So I just bought an ACOG on Ebay. Before you start in on Ebay, I knew it was risky buying an optic on there but I actually bought two recently, one is like new, the other is in excellent shape, came with an ARD and QD GG&G mount, nearly $300 worth of extras. Both are TA-33's, both were $600 each. The .300BLK one is perfect, the one I got today is a 5.56 model and has what appears to be either a hair (looks like an eyelash) or a crack inside of the optic. It's clearly inside of it. Tried bumping it on the bed, nothing moved. The mask also has a small smudge that lets light through in the bottom right corner (which is really not a problem but could have happened the same time as the hair, the hair appears to be laying on it). Original owner sent it back in January for a general inspection and they gave it a clean bill of health. Possibly they put the hair in there when he sent it back and they didn't inspect it under bright enough light and missed it, as it's not as visible in dim light or with poor eyes.

I don't think he was trying to pull one over on me but I could be wrong. Even if it's gotta go back it's still a phenomenal deal. And I'm sure Trijicon will fix it, at least I've heard of them removing eyelashes before.

Anyone here have experience with Trijicon CS? Anyone ever had a hair in their scope or smudged mask (the black field outlined around the image in some scopes/Acogs)? How was it handled?

 

[vh20]

I don't have any experience with their CS. I do have an ACOG, and even after reading your explanation I still don't understand what the "mask" is? When I position my eye relief properly, I get a full field of vision through the scope.

 

[Strykervet]

You get the full field of vision through the mask.

The mask is the black area around reticle. Notice on the bottom where it has the mag. and caliber? Light comes through there. The defect is there's a spot next to that where it seems the black has been smudged off. Optics makers use masks to make the FOV more round or to make the reticle appear more centered or for other reasons.

Look at a USO scope, they don't use a mask and you'll notice a different FOV. Some people don't like it. The mask makes it more "neat" but at the cost of elevation travel. On the ACOG it's not an issue though with the BDC reticle.

But on second look, it appears that it's not a hair after all but a scratch. I aimed it directly at a bright lamp and looked into the optic. It seems the last time it was apart (either in January when it was sent in for inspection or when it was made) the prism was handled and washed, possibly laid on a hard surface, dried and reinstalled. It suffered a scratch when it was laid down and water spots dried on the prism. The mask was either damaged when the prism was out or when it was reinstalled, I couldn't begin to speculate. But I believe the above is how it happened, but whatever happened it happened at Trijicon because they were the only ones to have it apart.

Anyway the warranty will cover it and they'll either fix it or replace it. I'll be sure to let them know to inspect it well under bright light because these defects get harder and harder to see the dimmer it gets. In daylight it's pretty obvious and against a lamp each defect is clearly visible. I bet this is how it went missed.

We'll see how Trijicon's CS goes, I've heard they at pretty good but they did drop the ball in January. Hope not this time!

 

[samnev]

The fiber optic on my TA31F started to have bubbles in it . They fixed it even though they assured me that it wasn't causing a problem. Had the ACOG back in 3 weeks fro the time I sent it in.

 

[Strykervet]

Yeah, I talked to them today and they took down my updated info and they promise to change the prism and address any and all defects and will inspect subtensions and tracking before sending it back. She claims that it could have occurred when they purged it when it was sent back in January for a routine inspection. It's possible some piece of debris got blown in there and caused all that. Don't care either way, they promised to send back an as-new or a new scope. I'm fine with either, I only paid $300 for the scope itself, which retails for $1200 (paid total of $600 counting the ARD and QD mount). Still a great deal.

It occurred to me that buying scopes on Ebay isn't as risky as one would imagine. If they have good pictures and overall good feedback, then it's generally a safe bet on high end optics because they honor their warranties and usually fix anything for free if there's a problem. Worth checking on the warranty of an item you plan on buying first though. But I'd say it's about as safe as buying on here --it's all sight unseen and online and the Ebay seller is probably an as avid shooter as anyone on here if they are selling $3000 scopes and such. And Ebay has feedback tracking, something we desperately need on here.

But thanks guys, from what I've read around and from you two and based on my call with Trijicon today, I'm comfortable that they will make this right.