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Scopes NOT MADE IN CHINA?

Big Bo

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 7, 2005
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Cal West
The latest project needs glass. I would like to buy a FFP not made in China, budget in the $1000 area. What is available?
 
$1,000? Not made in Chy-na? Good luck! I can't think of any off the top of my head. Vortex AMG is the only one made 99% in USA but I'm sure it's well north of $1k. Are you ok with Made-in-Japan, Philippines, Korea?
 
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Tract has one for $1295, and often have discounts. Not $1000 though.
made in Japan.
 
S
The latest project needs glass. I would like to buy a FFP not made in China, budget in the $1000 area. What is available?
Seeing a scope not made in china at $1000 would be pretty hard man. if possible, tryna adjust your budget to $1300 or so, then you can get a scope of your choice
 
$1,000? Not made in Chy-na? Good luck! I can't think of any off the top of my head. Vortex AMG is the only one made 99% in USA but I'm sure it's well north of $1k. Are you ok with Made-in-Japan, Philippines, Korea?
Yes, ok with Japan, Philippines, and Korea.
 
@gr8fuldoug
Doug at Camerland and the Cronus BTR. I have two, and that sell he’s got is a good way to go. Great scope and Camerland guys are GTG.


Midway also has a sell on the Bushnell Elite XRSll with illuminated G3 ret for the roughly the same price. 1150
Either of those will prob be the best you can find in that price range without
Finding a hell of a deal on something used in the PX section.

Both are hardworking and will serve you well 😁
 
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OP, I hear you on not wanting to buy from China. It's become quite clear they've had a hand in what's happened in 2020, not just with the Virus but also politically, but that's a discussion for another forum, so here you go.

Bushnell LRTS from cameralandny - $750 (Japan)
Vortex PST II scopes (Philippines)
Trijicon Credo (Japan)
Burris XTR II (Philippines)
Bushnell DMR II (forget if it's Philippines or Japan, but it is not China)
Spend $800 more and get a 100% made in the USA Vortex AMG :p

If you give us more specifics on what mag range and such we'll probably help you a bit more
 
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Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. I would like low power of 4,5, or 6, max power of 25, or 30. 30mm, or 34mm MIL/Mil.
 
Correct me if I’m wrong (I very well could be) but isn’t leupold not made in China?

https://www.leupold.com/leupold-core/core-knowledge/faqs#whereGetGlass


  1. Where does Leupold get its glass?
  2. At this time, there are no American manufacturers that can supply enough high quality lenses to support our Golden Ring Optics production. Our lens systems are designed at Leupold, by American optical engineers, in our state-of -the-art optics labs. The glass is then procured from vendors who must meet stringent quality standards. Incoming parts are carefully inspected in our testing facility before they are accepted into the build process.
    All major optics producers acquire some or all of their glass from the same sources as Leupold. Some of these sources are located domestically, some are European, and some are Asian. The source of the base material is not nearly as important as the optical design. Our glass is so much clearer due to our proprietary lens coatings, how we engineer the prescription of the lenses, and the construction of the optic itself.

I would assume that their budget line (like their VX-Freedom and maybe their VX-3i) contains Chinese parts or glass. Where the pricing for that budget line stops, no clue.
 
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Thanks for the help everyone. Went with the Cronus as I have one on another rifle.
Thanks Cameraland.
 
There isn't a clean answer to this question. Even if the optic is assembled in Philippines or Japan or USA, parts or raw materials may still be sourced from China. But since this is a frequently asked question, I've tried my best to answer it.

This list includes the country of assembly for each scope:
Master list of FFP long range scopes
(149 FFP rifle scopes with at least 20X, 501 reticles)

Once you find a scope you're interested in, pick up the phone and call a Hide vendor. They can give their best prices over the phone.

Country of Assembly
Count
Austria
2
Kahles
2
Canada
1
Tangent Theta
1
China
45
Arken Optics
2
Athlon
13
Burris
1
Bushnell
2
Cabelas
5
Element
1
Falcon
1
Hawke
4
Hi-Lux
2
Riton
3
SightMark
2
SwampFox
5
US Optics
2
Vortex
2
Czech Republic
2
Meopta
2
Germany
17
Hensoldt
1
Leica
1
Minox
2
Schmidt Bender
9
Steiner
3
Zeiss
1
Japan
44
March
6
Athlon
2
Brownells
1
Bushnell
4
Crimson Trace
4
Delta Optical
1
Element
1
EOTech
1
Horus Vision
1
Maven
2
NightForce
2
Primary Arms
1
Revic
1
Riton
3
Sig Sauer
2
SightMark
1
Sightron
4
SWFA
1
TRACT
2
Trijicon
2
Vortex
2
Philippines
12
Burris
5
Nikon
1
Primary Arms
1
Sig Sauer
1
Sightron
1
Vortex
3
Romania
7
IOR-Valdada
7
South Korea
2
Bushnell
2
USA
19
Burris
1
Leupold
9
NightForce
3
Steiner
1
US Optics
2
Vortex
1
Zero Compromise
2
Grand Total
151*

* I added 2 from Maven (RS.3 and RS.4) to the database since I last updated the published list
 
The latest project needs glass. I would like to buy a FFP not made in China, budget in the $1000 area. What is available?

Steiner P4Xi 4-16x56. For less money, Nikon FX1000 Black. Both are within your budget.

I have both of these mounted on rifles. The "made in USA" Steiner is a 34mm tube, German glass, and very forgiving eye box. The Nikon is 30mm tube and made in the Philippines and highly underrated IMO. Though, I checked, and both of these scopes are hard to find. But, they are still out there.
 
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The latest project needs glass. I would like to buy a FFP not made in China, budget in the $1000 area. What is available?

I bought one of these and have been very happy with it. Glass is on par with my MK 5 HD.
I really like Ilya's reticle, enough that I want the March High Master with it.

 
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A different summary of the supply-chain information found here: Master list of FFP long range scopes

I hesitate to post this, because talking about OEMs seems taboo. Compiled from public sources, and probably not perfect.

Nobody ever talks about specific OEMs (other than sometimes touting scopes made by LOW). Am I violating unwritten opsec by posting OEM information? Is Vortex going to kick in my door? Should I delete this post and burn my files?

Assembled in...
FFP 20X+
Austria by Kahles
2​
Canada by Tangent Theta
1​
China (not sure which OEM)
16​
China by Miao (OEM)
5​
China by Sam Electrical (OEM)
16​
China by Changhong (OEM)
6​
China by Superior Lens (OEM)
1​
China by Billings Optics (OEM)
1​
Czech Republic by Meopta
2​
Germany by Hensoldt
1​
Germany by Leica
1​
Germany by Minox
2​
Germany by Schmidt Bender
9​
Germany by Steiner
3​
Germany by Zeiss
1​
Japan (not sure which OEM)
1​
Japan by Japan Optics (OEM)
8​
Japan by Kenko (OEM)
4​
Japan by LOW (OEM)
23​
Japan by DEON OEM (March)
6​
Japan by Kamakura Koki (OEM)
2​
Philippines by Kenko (OEM)
2​
Philippines by Scopro (OEM)
10​
Romania by IOR
7​
South Korea by Su Optics (OEM)
2​
USA by Burris
1​
USA by Leupold
9​
USA by Nightforce
3​
USA by Steiner
1​
USA by US Optics
2​
USA by Vortex
1​
USA by Zero Compromise
2​
Grand Total
151​
 
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I know this thread is over 3 months old but I felt I have something worth adding.

I have been trying to find a sub $1k dollar SFP hunting applicable tactical scope for well over a year with the fallowing must haves:
>NOT made in communist China
>SFP bought and tried FFP scopes hated and returned them
>Simple uncluttered MOA ranging reticle has hash marks for both wind and elevation hold offs
>Zero stop elevation
>Zero set windage
>50mm F/O max much preferable 40-44mm
>2-4x minimum 15-18x max magnification
>Some form of graduation marks on parallax ADJ and windage
>Proven reliability in tracking and return to zero
So far the ONLY scopes I have found that match ALL of these must have(s) and been under $1k has been Trijicon Credo HX or Trijicon Accupoint.

All other SFP scopes in the $1k price range I have looked at so far that I am aware of (still looking) that are NOT made in China had reticles that were FOR ME totally unacceptable/unusable for hunting didn't have Zero Stop, didn't have any form of metering marks on either or both the windage or parallax turrets and had much to high a minimum and maximum magnification range such as 5x-21/25x etc to be usable for the minimum ranges I hunt in that typically are from under a 100 yards to beyond 500.

I am in no particular huge rush so I am patiently waiting to see if some other scope that meets my must haves pops up or I find it used at a price I can afford.

For those in the same boat as myself I suggest you look at the fallowing Trijicon scopes:
Both can be found for under $1k. There are also multiple other scopes in both these model lines under $1k.

If you are perfectly happy with FFP scopes or scopes with no Zero stop for hunting the world is your oyster as there are so many out there I lost track.
I imagine it's a cost factor but I do not understand why so many scope makers don't offer Zero stop on more of their sub $1k scopes.
 
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I know this thread is over 3 months old but I felt I have something worth adding.

I have been trying to find a sub $1k dollar SFP hunting applicable tactical scope for well over a year with the fallowing must haves:
>NOT made in communist China
>SFP bought and tried FFP scopes hated and returned them
>Simple uncluttered MOA ranging reticle has hash marks for both wind and elevation hold offs
>Zero stop elevation
>Zero set windage
>50mm F/O max much preferable 40-44mm
>2-4x minimum 15-18x max magnification
>Some form of graduation marks on parallax ADJ and windage
>Proven reliability in tracking and return to zero
So far the ONLY scopes I have found that match ALL of these must have(s) and been under $1k has been Trijicon Credo HX or Trijicon Accupoint.
Burris Veracity 3-15x50 SFP with single-turn MAD knobs. OEM in Philippines by Scopro.
Burris Signature HD 3-15x44. OEM in Philippines by Scopro.
Bushnell Forge 2-16x50 (new 2021). OEM in South Korea by Su Optics.
Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44 CDS-ZL2 (new 2021). Made in Oregon. Obvious choice, IMO.
Leupold VX-Freedom 4-12x40 30mm CDS. Made in Oregon.
Sig Sauer Whiskey5 3-15x44. OEM in Japan by LOW.
Trijicon Credo HX 2.5-15x42 or 4-16x50. OEM in Japan by LOW.
Vortex Razor HD LHT 3-15x42. OEM in Japan by LOW.
Zeiss Conquest V4 4-16x44. OEM in Japan by LOW.
(data from here)
 
I would second the 8x bushnell forge series I have a 2-16 and it's very clear, just a bit heavy as they are 34mm tubes