BSA Scopes~How are they?

Bad. Best used as a tack hammer; once beaten into an oval you aren't tempted to use or repair them again.

Jaywalker

I have had one experience with a BSA. It was on a borrowed rifle. We sighted in the rifle and then it lost its zero by the next day. A scope that won't hold its zero is 100%, no exception, WORTHLESS. Defeats the whole point of a scope.

I was attempting to sight in a friends Howa with a BSA scope on it. The gun was fine...the scope on the other hand is another story.

Sight picture through the scope was very cloudy. As if someone were holding a cigarette in front of the objective. Inconsistent movement on the elevation/windage adjustment. Supposed to be 1/4" click yet we had to crank on them quite a bit to move bullet impact.

I'd save up and get something you won't have to replace.

Ed

Usually use higher end scopes, but recently purchased a BSA "Sweet 17", designed specifically for the trajectory of a .17hmr.

It is a 3-9x variable with the elevation turret calibrated for the .17 hmr. Zero it in at 100 yards, set the witness mark to 100 and then just twist the turret to the range you are shooting.

So far it has worked just fine, both on the range and in the field. I have not banged it around a lot so don't know about long term durability, but it holds zero, the image is crisp and clear, and the range thing works fairly well (not exact, but close enough).

The negligible recoil of the .17hmr in a heavy bbl. varmint gun should treat the scope gently, so I have hopes that it will last.

I bought a 3x9x39 for my 10/22. Once zeroed, it's been perfect ever since.

No complaints here.

I had a custom Ruger 10/22 built and mounted a BSA scope on it. I think it was 6-24x. The first one went bad, I sent it back and they sent me a new one. The second one went bad, I sent it back and they gave me a new one. I GAVE the second one away to someone on The Firing Line for free only after he assured me that he absolutely didn't have the money for a good scope.
I honestly don't remember what happened with the first one. It has been at least five years ago. The second one had the power zoom knob freeze up and it wouldn't rotate.
I have bought a lot of cheap scopes over the years. You know the old saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I just couldn't get it in my head that there really was no free lunch. I honestly thought I could buy a precision optical instrument for less than $100. At some point I got older and wiser and realized that with all the money I spent on these junk scopes ($50 at a time) I could have bought a really good scope that would work correctly and last me the rest of my life.
That BSA was the last cheap scope I ever bought. For about six months I saved what I could out of every paycheck and equipped each one of my rifles with a Leupold scope. They may not be the best scope made (depends on who you ask), but they are the best scope I could afford at the time. And they are still are performing right up to my expectations.

I often hear people talking about buying a cheap scope at work, or it might even be one of my friends. I tell them not to waste their money. I go home and dig a cheap scope out of my closet and give it to them. That way, WHEN it fails, they only have to suffer frustration and not also dwell on the fact that they also got ripped off.

What 444 said.

I had better luck with their motorcycles, and that's saying something!!

They're iffy at best.

I've had several, I liked them at first. Never had one lose zero, but had the reticle break on some. Others are still working fine.

Its a crap shoot whether you get one that will last.

Try something else.

Smoke

stands for "Bought Sh*t Again"

If you want an inexpensive scope that's good, buy a sightron (econo-leupold). It's gonna be $125 for a cheap one, and a really nice one with all the features for a bit over $200. After 2-3 BSA's it will be what you wished you spent your money on instead.

It was a while ago that i learned that paying a bit more for quality is well worth it in the long run. Why save $50 if you're gonna have to spend that and more fixing a mistake.

Fella's;

Last summer I helped a newbie sight in a package gun he'd purchased. It was a low-cost .22 rimfire with a BSA on it. Honestly, I think I've seen better glass in the bottom of a coke bottle. The outer 1/3rd of the sight picture exhibited a radial flare that had to be seen to be believed.

I sighted it in & my eyes hurt.

900F

If it aint a Leupold (at a mininimum) its not worth it.

WildbasicruleAlaska

haha. good for a .22 maybe if you handle it like old dynamite! the only one i had the reticle rotated about 45 degrees. they suck

BSA and Tasco seem to be of the same quality. Their image quality is good if you've got a lot of light. On an overcast day they look like someone left it sitting in a chain-smoker's bar (cloudy and dark).

They stand up to impulse on light recoiling rifles only (up to .223). I've watched .308's beat scopes to death after 20 rounds.

BSA works for me


I put a 8 x 32 on the savage FP110 in .223 and 6 months later, still sighted in and winning bolt gun competitions in IPSC & other venues. $99 was a pretty good deal, don't knock them if you ain't really tried them.

don't knock them if you ain't really tried them.

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But if you have, go ahead and tell it like it is...