[Diesle]

They are so damn much cheaper than the rest...

Whats the story?


Diesle

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

They're cheaper cause they're JUNK. Don't waste your money.

[Marshall]

Good for a pellet gun. :D

[dude]

Will the pellets go through?

[Dan Morris]

OnlyBSA I ever had went in the dumpster.....:(
Dan

[Smoke]

hmmmm....I don't think they're that bad.:rolleyes:

Not as good as Leupold, Nikon, Burris, Kahles.

Better thatn Tasco, some simmons, and off brands.


You get what you pay for with a scope. I have a BSA on my 10/22 and am very happy with it. I have another on a .222 and like it as well. If you have the money, buy something else. But if you need a mediocre scope its a decent buy.

my $.02

[Bacchus]

I have one and haven't had any real problems with it (once I got it zeroed, which took a while). I don't usually change the settings for longer distances but rather just hold under/over. I think that they are OK for the money. I have the 3-9 and got it for about $70.

[Archie]

It's mounted on my .22-250. Seems okay. It's not a Leupold by any stretch, but it's been holding a zero for the last year or so.

[P95Carry]

I wouldn't quite call em ''junk'' but .. they are a tad low on the ''wish list''!! Probably not too bad for value but . only one I have/had was on a pellet rifle ..... doubt I'd be more ambitious than that!

[yankytrash]

I've got a couple on a 22 Hornet and a 22 mag of mine. They've both taken game in rain, fog, snow, humidity, and have gone through falls, tumbles, long sits in the safe, and even submersion in one incident, without the first readjustment. Can't say they've done me wrong yet, but then again I can't see paying a pile of money for scopes. If you can see through it and it holds a zero, it's just fine.

[swingset]

"They're junk!"

"They stink"

"Threw mine away"


Gosh, sure glad I didn't listen to the pundits. I own a couple, both perform well and are plenty rugged. I've used both in incliment weather with no problems. Guess sometimes the cheap ones do work, huh?

[diyj98]

I made the mistake of putting one on one of my heavy barrel 22-250's. It wasn't very clear and it wouldn't hold it's zero. I gave it away and put a better quality scope on. I'd never buy another BSA.

[Matt1911]

Well what is a decent "cheap" scope?
I know this is a "get what you pay for" area,but i can't be the only guy on a budget,right?

[Loach]

Well, if "You get what you pay for with a scope" then Swarovski scopes must cast a spell on each bullet making them incapable of missing their target. Or at least that what they ought to do for the outrageous prices they charge...

[Marko Kloos]

Hmmm...I have one of their cheap red dots on my AR, and it's been working fine so far.

[cratz2]

I've owned about six of them. One Platinum, one Catseye and the rest Contenders. Never had a problem with any of them. Impressed several people enough that they bought one or more. My local dealer who has always been very honest with me tells me the only one that's ever been returned was used on a 50 BMG rifle. Sure, they're no Leupold or Weavers but for higher power scopes for a low price, they're not complete garbage that some say they are.

Don't get me wrong, they're Tasco class scopes but maybe a bit more consistant. Another thing is that some of them have brushed aluminum finishes and some have a slightly rubberized finish that I don't like at all.

I have many high quality scopes and have sold or traded most of the BSAs but I still have one 4-16 MilDot with an illuminated that I have no intention of getting rid of. It is very bright and is prety repeatable. Not all of the BSAs I had would return to zero very well.

I think a Platinum bought at a good price would go very well on a Savage 12FV as a low priced precision rifle.

[The Mighty Beagle]

Have 2 BSA's.

The 4x - 16x target scope I paid $150 for won't hold it's zero on anything other than my .22 bolt action, and even then sometimes it won't stay.

The second one is a red dot that I got as a gift. It was broken right out of the box, so I haven't used it.

From now on, I won't be accepting any more BSA's as gifts.

'Nuff said.

[Wil Terry]

Both were trashy junk with the poorest optics I've seen in 43 years of lookin' through rifle scopes. Both were returned for credit.
The best inexpensive rifle scopes I have persinally used are the AETEC scopes from Simmons. I have both iterations of the AETEC's and both have worked perfectly with optics well above average.
Swarovski rifle scopes and binoculars are worth every penny!!!

There are several things in life you CANNOT pay too much for:
A good stetson;
A good sixgun;
Good boots;
OPTICS.

[cratz2]

Everytim time a thread like this comes along, I thank my lucky stars. I must be the luckiest sumbitch ever! I've had three 6-24x Tascos, one 6-24x Platinum BSA, two 6-24x Contender, one 3-12x Contender, one 4-16x Ill Reticle MilDot and one 3.5-10 Big Cat, not Cats Eye as I previously stated. Every single one of them has worked exactly as it should. Now if you measure the value of one click at 100 yards, I wouldn't bet money that it is exactly 1/4" or 1/8" and I wouldn't rely on them returning to zero perfectly from 100 yards to 500 yards and back to 100 yards. But what do you expect for $70 - $100 for a brand new high power scope? Everyone I've looked through has been very clear if not the brightest thing ever. A friend who is the best shooter I know has four Savage rifles with BSAs mounted and they all work perfectly well. He is a benchrest competitor and is used to custom equipment and big dollar scopes as am I. Not saying a $100 BSA Platinum is the equilavent to his $1,700 Schmidt & Bender but a reasonable man wouldn't expect it to be. It probably isn't the optical equilavent to a Weaver K4 or CV10 but, if for whatever reason, you are wanting a 16x- or 24x-capable variable scope, the BSAs and Tascos are about the only option short of spending $400 for a VariX II or $350 for a Weaver Grand Slam.

Coming from someone that has been shooting at 300 yards for a while and gets to shoot out to 600 yards from time to time, I can assure you that I'd rather have a quality 10x or even a 6x scope than a cheap 24x capable BSA or Tasco. My long range rifle has a 2.2-10x Zeiss and the friend I mentioned uses a 4-16x scope out to 1,000 yards. And he almost always sets it to 10x out to 600 yards. It is possible, completely possible. There are even advantages to lower-powered scopes at long ranges. Palma shooters use arpeture sights for christsakes! But most folks want to have high power scope on their varmint/sniper rifle and I understand that.

Point is, if you want to get a heavy barrel rifle and 24x scope and you have $500, you can either go out and buy a Savage 12FV and a BSA Platinum and start shooting or you can buy a nice Leupold scope and save another $600 for your 700 VS.

[Mannlicher]

Diesel asks: They are so damn much cheaper than the rest...


There is a reason for that......................

[rjk2475]

champion shooters carried them when i bought my 1710. put a 6X24 platinum on it. no problems.

[redneck]

I had a .22special (4X32) on an air rifle for awhile (it came with the gun)
Had a little trouble getting it mounted, had to really crank the windage to get it on target.
After that it was good. It held a zero, and is fairly bright . Has a slight problem with "fish eye" I guess you call it, where the very outside edge of the sight picture is blurred. Its very clear across the cross hairs though, and 99% of the picture is in focus.
I'd say their just fine for a budget.

[RTownsend]

I think cratz2 hit the nail on the head.

Some folks don't mind if all of a sudden one day their rifle shoots 1 MOA to the left. They assume that it is just them or they don't take a steady enough aim to know that the rifle is shooting 1 MOA to the right.

Some folks get upset when their rifle shoots 1/2 MOA to the left. They go home and wonder what in the world happened to the rifle. These folks often shoot at long range and know the sight setting of their scopes for 600 yards. They wouldn't think twice about cranking their scope to the stop and back to zero right before an important shot.

The first group will almost always be happy with any of the cheaper scopes.

The second group consider a Leupold to be just adequate, nothing more.

As Art says, if your looking for MOD (minute of deer), almost any scope will probably work. :D

[cratz2]

Oh yeah, I bought two of the 22 Special scopes for cheap off eBay. Their optics is not in the same class as the other BSAs I've had. They work, but are very economical. I put one on one of my Enfields. Mostly because of what I have available, it fits the part. Optics are nothing to write home about. I'd just really hate to think of someone judging the entire BSA line from the 22 Special. :p

[jjohnson]

Yeah, I have a couple of Catseye Illuminated Reticle types. They're okay for what I paid for them. I really like the Leupold that's on the rifle my wife bought for me as a gift, but I have a hard time paying more than a couple hundred bucks for a scope to put on a rifle that only cost a little more. One of the other comments - the Simmons AETEC is a pretty good value along the same line, better in my opinion than BSA. Neither is in the same class as Leupold, Zeiss, or Swarovski, but then, I didn't have to sell my truck to buy a BSA or Simmons scope. I'd say they're a cut above the "junk" and especially if you look at scopes from, say, the WWII era, they're not bad. Just don't expect German quality optics from China.

[Smoke]

I don't know how this post got drug up from 3 years ago......but I've changed my stance on BSA scopes from my original posting....

They're junk.

Smoke

[borrowedtime69]

i have a 3-9 X40mm BSA on my bolt action .308 with leopold rings. it works great, clear as a bell and very accurate. took it out to sight in and practice last year and put alot of rounds down range. also got a deer with it, one shot at about 100 yards. i like BSA and may get a target model for my modded out 10/22. -Eric

PS, i wont buy Tasco anymore, had too many bad experiances with them, the cheaper ones and a fairly expensive AO model.

PPS, i also like Simmons, i have two, one on my 10-22 and one on my Ruger 22/45.

[444]

I have posted this several times before when this same question was asked so I am not going into detail with this again.
Basically, I bought one for a 10/22 and it was defective. They replaced it free with another one that was defective. They replaced that one and I gave it away to someone on The Firing Line for free new and un-opened.

A friend who still believes in the free lunch bought one of their red dots which he mounted on a S&W .41 Mag. It lasted less than one cylinder full before it literally came apart into pieces. BUT it was a good deal.:uhoh:

[deciple-of-keith]

Yes I happen to like BSA optics !!!! For two reasons ! The first being I also like slaming my Genitalia in car doors & secondly They give me something to buy for Famliy members whom I really dislike :D

If your on a low budjet try looking for second hand scopes or Nikko . There is cheap & then there is Cheap & nasty !

Dave

[Schleprok62]

It probably isn't the optical equilavent to a Weaver K4 or CV10 but, if for whatever reason, you are wanting a 16x- or 24x-capable variable scope, the BSAs and Tascos are about the only option short of spending $400 for a VariX II or $350 for a Weaver Grand Slam.

Well, I don't know about BSA, but was told to avoid them like a plague... so I did and looked and searched for other alternatives in the "affordable" price market. I found a fairly new, and what seem to be well made riflescopes, Barska! OK, I am not going to compare them to the Leupold, Schmidt/Bender, or other high dollar European glass scopes, but, Barska does use glass from Europe. I have two of them, and they have done everything I have asked... up to and including staying at zero... I have the Plinker-22 IR 4x32 (100yds) on my Rem 597 and I have the 4-16x50 on my Stevens 7mm-08 (200 yds). Both were under $100. Both using Weaver mounts and Leupold rings...

[dfaugh]

The only BSA i own is a red-dot, which seems to be OK. I have used Tascos for almost 35 years, and never had a problem. I've looked at (and will probably buy) a Barska. The quality seems to be at leastas good as any of the Tascos I've owne, and the couple people I know who've bought them are very happy. No, they aren't as good the "high-end" scopes, but for 99.5% of the shooting most people do, they work quite well. I've never been able to justify spending as much (or more!) for a scope, than for for the rifle I'm putting it on.

[Koobuh]

Well gee, I guess if you can't afford a Ferrari you really should just walk to work everyday, am I right? :rolleyes:

I have a BSA 2x pistol scope scout mounted on my Remington-built M91 Mosin Nagant. It's solid, I've fired numerous shots through it without losing zero, and I can deal with the little bit of fish-eye warping around the edges. I managed my first MOA shots from that rifle with that scope, and that's plenty good for me.

The rule to remember for cheap scopes; keep it simple. Variable magnification is just asking for trouble because of the complexity of the mechanism, and invariably you will lose zero with low-end scopes as you change the magnification. Also, the glass is inevitably poor quality, so you compensate by asking less of the scope. Get a single setting, lower magnification scope, and don't treat it as a critical-moment life saver.

You can get plenty of utility out of inexpensive scopes; it's true that you get what you pay for, but as with cars, if you're not asking the equivalent of a Geo Metro to win the Indy 500, you'll do fine.

[redneckdan]

I have a 4x34AO air rifle scope on my .22 rimfire bolt gun. Stays zeroed and the optics are clear. good'nuff