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Scopes That No One Likes To Admit They Own

Yep thats why I have mine too. Now people putting ZCO’s on rimfires, times have changed
There was a guy at the range that had a beautiful ZCO 5-27 on a CZ 457 yet couldn’t keep up with my RimX/Midas 6-24 past 300 yards.
Sad.
 
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Yep thats why I have mine too. Now people putting ZCO’s on rimfires, times have changed
My cheapest setup...
E9C2513F-7265-455E-A07D-B75DA67D9327.jpeg

I figured I'll go high end next time...
 
Who has invested in a cheap scope that has worked out better than you thought it would? Let's be honest, we all don't mount $3,500.00 scopes on all of our rifles. I know I've purchased a few cheap models, (Tru-Glo, Bushnell, and more recently Sniper, (made by Presma Inc.), over the years. And I have to admit, all of them have worked out much better than I expected them to.

Perhaps I've been lucky. But I've run into others that have purchased several of the Presma models, and most all of them rave about their performance. (Presma Inc. is one of the largest optics manufacturers in Asia). I have to admit, for the price, the clarity and repeatability of their scopes is pretty amazing.

How about you guys? What inexpensive scopes have you purchased that have pleasantly surprised you? And which one's have turned out to be nothing but a POS, that ended up at a garage sale for 2 bits on the dollar?
Bushnell 3200 3-9 for the win.
 
Uhh...
About 40 years ago I bought an original Charter Arms AR7 at a pawn shop for (if I remember right) under $50.
It had a seriously cheeseball side hung mount with an even more cheeseball Tasco scope.
Now I'm being perfectly honest when I say the scope has a plastic main tube.
There is no way it ever went for more than $15 new.....no way.
I still have it and I know exactly where it is.
I threw it into the top tray of a toolbox all those years ago and there it still sits (I made the AR7 into a pistol since it was legal to do that back then).
I haven't the slightest what ever happened to the AR7 but I'll dig out the scope tomorrow and take some pics you'll all be envious of.
I've been meaning to throw the thing away for decades and have no idea why I never did.
Maybe it was for moments like now ?

BTW, I think it's a 4x18 or maybe 19.....I know it uses tip off ring mounts (jealous ain't ya? huh ?).
 
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If I go by you folk’s standards my scopes are toilet paper tubes😉
Purchased a Japan made BSA 6-24X44AO w/TT around 25 years ago, dropped it on a SA54 sporter and used it on silhouettes for 2-3years, still have it somewheres.
Purchased a CenterPoint 4-16 blister pak scope ($80) from Wally World 15 years ago, dropped on a Finnfire range and it now sits on my Rem 504.
Was given a $60 bargain cave Cabelas pine ridge, dropped on a rifle and sighted in, it’s rested on several guns since- it’s weird 1/8 vertical and 1/4 iphy clicks take getting used to.
All these have allowed me to compete successfully so they’ve earned their place, they just don’t have the vert travel or FFP I prefer for MARS matches.
 
If I go by you folk’s standards my scopes are toilet paper tubes😉
Purchased a Japan made BSA 6-24X44AO w/TT around 25 years ago, dropped it on a SA54 sporter and used it on silhouettes for 2-3years, still have it somewheres.
Purchased a CenterPoint 4-16 blister pak scope ($80) from Wally World 20 years ago, dropped on a Finnfire range and it now sits on my Rem 504.
Was given a $60 bargain cave Cabelas pine ridge, dropped on a rifle and sighted in, it’s rested on several guns since- it’s weird 1/8 vertical and 1/4 iphy clicks take getting used to.
All these have allowed me to compete successfully so they’ve earned their place, they just don’t have the vert travel or FFP I prefer for MARS matches.
0E0A3A12-3EEE-443D-B0BF-7C43CE688F19.jpeg
 
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The new primary arms 2x prism is spectacular. I thought I was buying it for a backup rifle, ended up putting it on a shorty setup in my bedroom. Under nods the diopter adjustment means I can easily get behind the prism with 2x mag…. It’s honestly way better than I thought it could be. For day shooting it’s not bad either lol
 
@Huskydriver You're only laughing because you know I'm telling the truth. The people who dispute things like this are the ones ashamed they spent so much, to gain so little. Everything is overpriced these days, and optics have gotten retarded. No rifle scope should cost over $2,000...Period. The manufacturer's profit margins keep getting fatter every year, while they refuse to pay their employees any more money with inflation. The same thing is happening in the construction industry... How do I know? Because I work in it everyday for a company that does the same bullshit. "Uhhhh, uhhhh, uhhhhh but COVID.....Broke.....Can't afford to give you a raise.... Blah blah fuckin' blah..." Every business has been playing that bullshit card for 2+ years. But yet, they survived the 'RONA by being "essential", and kept making money, and got all that sweet sweet government money...And yet, none of us peons that kept working and making them the money, instead of getting $1,000 a fuckin week on unemployment like some lazy pieces of shit (which is more than we make working after taxes), kept working, and we never saw a fuckin extra dime. 🤔

So you work in "construction" (which could mean anything from CEO of a major builder to emptying portapotties at the job site) but you for sure know the economics of the precision optics manufacturing business.

I call bullshit.

Stop being so bitter about being underpaid and do something to fix it.
 
Who has invested in a cheap scope that has worked out better than you thought it would? Let's be honest, we all don't mount $3,500.00 scopes on all of our rifles. I know I've purchased a few cheap models, (Tru-Glo, Bushnell, and more recently Sniper, (made by Presma Inc.), over the years. And I have to admit, all of them have worked out much better than I expected them to.

Perhaps I've been lucky. But I've run into others that have purchased several of the Presma models, and most all of them rave about their performance. (Presma Inc. is one of the largest optics manufacturers in Asia). I have to admit, for the price, the clarity and repeatability of their scopes is pretty amazing.

How about you guys? What inexpensive scopes have you purchased that have pleasantly surprised you? And which one's have turned out to be nothing but a POS, that ended up at a garage sale for 2 bits on the dollar?
Bought a cheapo $100 Tasco spotting scope a number of years ago. Worked great for shooting out to 200-yrds, at least. Bright, clear and a great case! (The case probably cost more than the scope!) I liked it! I recently bought a Bushnell Legend Tactical. I RELUCTANTLY passed the old Tasco down to my son.
 
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COMPLETE over priced pieces of junk. barely hold zero and most are cloudy with extremely tight eye box and poor retc options. FOV is atrocious and edge to edge clarity is non-existent. flaking in the internals is common and if it gets humid just shut er down for the day. tracking is possibly the best part of them well maybe one of them... If they didnt have provenance they would maybe be $50 scopes at best. haha ;/

crazy world lol.

my best cheap scope i use is an old moa/mil Zeiss Conquest 4-14. 1" tube and has just over one rev of ele. glass is decent and tracks so its on my rimfire.

Regards
DT

WWII Snipers.JPG
 
I really want to get a counter sniper scope, mount it on a tacticalrifles.net rifle, and pick up the most accurate ammo ever posted on SH (if you remember the thread from back in the day where the guy rapid fired 10 rounds or so from “500” yards, pointed the camera at the ground, walked in circles for a min or two, then panned the camera up to the target that had a tight group of lightly greased phillips screw driver holes poked in it). Then I’d show up at a PRS match, wouldn’t sign up for the comp, but I’d walk around with the rifle/scope combo slung across my back so everyone knew I was a chilly muthafucka.
 
I really want to get a counter sniper scope, mount it on a tacticalrifles.net rifle, and pick up the most accurate ammo ever posted on SH (if you remember the thread from back in the day where the guy rapid fired 10 rounds or so from “500” yards, pointed the camera at the ground, walked in circles for a min or two, then panned the camera up to the target that had a tight group of lightly greased phillips screw driver holes poked in it). Then I’d show up at a PRS match, wouldn’t sign up for the comp, but I’d walk around with the rifle/scope combo slung across my back so everyone knew I was a chilly muthafucka.
Is this thread still available?
 
There was a guy at the range that had a beautiful ZCO 5-27 on a CZ 457 yet couldn’t keep up with my RimX/Midas 6-24 past 300 yards.
Sad.
Should have gambled for his scope on marksmanship. Duh
 
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just recently bought 3 nc star ( not china's best products) to top a couple of pistols
I am surprised they worked still not a good buy at all but it did beat the hell out of paying 400.00 dollars for one for another 2x7 or a 3x18 so it is what it is .
 
P/A 3X Prism on a .300Wh AR PDW-every time I shoot at 4" steel at 100...it goes "ring"
 
SWFA SS 2.5-10 with the bdc reticle, it works great with 55gr loads. Image is rough past 150ish at 10x but great at 8x, its like 11oz and survived a lot of abuse. I keep it on a backup ar with a strong red light for coyote hunting if someone doesnt have NV.
 
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How well does it work? Looks to be a direct copy (other than S&B logos) externally...

in reality i dont have it :LOL:

but friends have vector optics 34mm FFP scopes (~1000$), and they tell that 'premium' chinese scopes are quite good these days.
internals are made from aluminium, but optics are quite good.
 
in reality i dont have it :LOL:

but friends have vector optics 34mm FFP scopes (~1000$), and they tell that 'premium' chinese scopes are quite good these days.
internals are made from aluminium, but optics are quite good.
Aluminum internals are a deal-breaker... LOL
 
The 4x32 that came on a Barnette crossbow. No idea what Chinese company makes it but it’s held up and held zero year after year. It’s not been in downpours but has been wet and snowed on. Never fogged up which surprised me. Illumination is pretty solid.
I was going to post this almost exactly; it’s a badass little optic. , taken some bumps lots of bad weather , illumination is daylight bright and it’s never lost zero.
 
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still have a few Simmons Whitetail Classics on some fudd guns

The ones from the early 2000s were decent enough scopes for the guys shooting deer center mass at 75 yards.
 
View attachment 7840652Weaver grand slam tac 3-10 is still the best 250 bucks Ive spent on a scope
The one Weaver made for Cabelas was my first mil/mil/ffp scope years ago.

I paid a stupid low price for it, I think $300 out the door. Honestly, if it had parallax adjustment and a SCR-like reticle it would still be relevant.
 
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I have a Tasco 6-24 Target, it is a total piece of shit optic in every possible way. I use it for instruction, to demonstrate to morons that higher magnification is far less important than glass quality.

If any morons need me to explain, just raise a hand, it's about time for another, "you gotta be a stupid motherfucker..." class.
 
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I own more Varmint/Target Tascos than I have fingers, plus three Mueller 8-32x50's, and eight Bushnell AR Drop Zone BDC scopes with reticles for 223, 308 and 6.5 CM.

None have failed me yet.

Greg
 
I was going to post this almost exactly; it’s a badass little optic. , taken some bumps lots of bad weather , illumination is daylight bright and it’s never lost zero.
I’m gonna tell people I read it was made in the same factory as Holosun 🤣
 
I have a Tasco 6-24 Target, it is a total piece of shit optic in every possible way. I use it for instruction, to demonstrate to morons that higher magnification is far less important than glass quality.

If any morons need me to explain, just raise a hand, it's about time for another, "you gotta be a stupid motherfucker..." class.

stripes-lighten-up.gif
 
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2 vortex pst's gen 1 2.5-10x32 one on .22 wmr the other sitting on cz 452 .22lr
TYB has a 3-9x40 tasco "world class" on his .17 hmr savage he also has a 4-16 Diamond back tactical on his Howa Mini .223

A lot of game has been killed with these cheapies thus far.

I cant afford premium for everything.

When I was a kid and my first rifle was a Brno Model 2 .22 lr with Nikko Stirling 4x40 Silver Crown scope (I cut the skin pieces of the wool and sold them to save for the outfit) I used to shoot Winchester Power points out of that thing, only rifle I owned for many years. It was deadly accurate and game shot with it (rabbits, foxes, other stuff) was in the thousands. At this time Leopold was literally the ZCO/SB/March genesis of scopes in my locality, you were considered a billionaire if you owned a leupold,,,at least hats what I thought. Tasco World class was considered the start of "quality" optics for the normal punter.
 
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I had two of last series of weaver grand slam; 4-16x42 and 5-20x50. optics were mediocre, but mechanicly were build like tanks. for 300$!
One of my biggest scope regrets was getting rid of my weaver tactical
6-30x56. Very underrated scope, it competed well with mechanics and glass to anything in its retail price range, so when they were blowed out at 750$ they were a absolute steal!
 
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