Tasco Scopes?

[WoodchuckAssassin]

Just made a $30 impulse buy on a Tasco 3-9X40 scope for my .270. I heard from my grandpa that Tasco's are crap, but I know that companies can change over time.

Thoughts?

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

you get what you pay for.....Tasco is a prime example....live and learn.

 

[Abel]

Chinese garbage. But, you mount it, sight it in and decide for yourself. Your idea of an impulse buy and my idea of an impulse buy are totally different...I would have ended up with another Leupold!

 

[greyling22]

lots of folks poo-poo on cheap scopes. I have a tasco world class that I have had for a few years. I typically use it as my spare tire scope. It sits in a drawer until I need to test fit a scope or use on a rifle while I decide what I want to buy instead. I keep expecting it to fail, but it just keeps chugging along. It has a pretty short eye relief, small eyebox, is not very bright and gets dark fast as the daylight goes, and the adjustments aren't very precise or repeatable, but it seems to stay where you put it once you get there. I have taken several pretty beat up tasco's off marlin 30/30's that have shot lots of deer. The deer were just as dead as with a zeiss.

It reminds me a an old beater pickup. It's not real nice, impresses nobody, and has lots of shortcomings and missing features like radio and AC, but if all you need is to get a couch home or hay to the cows you don't really need those things.

You can get a much better scope for 4x the cost, but is it worth 4x the money? I don't know. For something cheap on a 22 it's great. For taking a pot shot at a pig it will be stellar. If you miss the deer you paid $4k for a lease for it may not be worth the savings.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Not all Tascos are crap. The old company's World Class are very good. The even older models with Japanese glass are also very good.

 

[gunit43]

Yeah but news ones are junk.

 

[peacemaker45]

I've got a Tasco 6-16x50 on my granddad's old groundhog gun. It isn't atrociously awful; it does get the job done, so long as the job's not too demanding. The single biggest limitation is that once it's zeroed, you'd better just leave the knobs alone. Trying to dial corrections is chancy at best, and you're unlikely to get your original zero back by taking the corrections off. The clarity is pretty mediocre. I've not really tried shooting it in low light, but don't imagine it would shine there, either.

 

[ford8nr]

I've got a newer 6x24x42 on a .22 siloutte gun that I dial up and down 24 clicks each way twice a week plus windage corrections. If I dial back to my zeros it's dead on at 50yds. I've tried shooting the box from hell consisting of a center point, 4 corners 40 clicks apart and back to the center. Was only off 1/2" on the first and last center shots at 50yds. The corners were off on their measured distances slightly but repeatable. Would I try to dial in a long range shot just based on clicks...no. But for the average set it and forget it shooter, you'll be fine.

 

[hdbiker]

I agree with ColtPythonElite ,the Jap built Tasco World Class scopes were a great scope for around 100 bucks. Bright clear optics with good positive adjustments.I still watch the gun shows for these old Tascos...hdbiker

 

[El Viejo]

I've had a Tasco on my 308 for probably over 40 years. It's a dang good piece of glass. I can understand about the newer ones being crap though.

 

[frankenstein406]

I have a older one that seems good, can't comment on new ones.

 

[gearchecker]

Your expense will quickly show it's value once you start shooting with it. For $30 I wouldn't expect much on any rifle more powerful than a 22 LR. For a 22 and 50 yd shooting it should serve pretty well. But going out much further you'll find the glass isn't all that sharp.
The biggest issue I've had with the Chinese Tasco scopes is they won't hold zero. Even a 22 can shoot them loose. Anything more powerful than the 22, and you're looking for a quick failure.

You won't know how well it's going to work, until you press it to the limits. For $30 it should be fine for plinking and gophers.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I don't put cheap glass on a .22.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I have 2 from the 1980's and they are still going. The new ones all I hear is they are Bad.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I remember Tasco as an importer name for Japanese made optical goods, including telescopes, riflescopes and binoculars.

The newer imports under the Tasco name, as repeatedly pointed out, are Chinese made, and not as good as the older Japanese imports under the name.

But adjust prices for inflation: $30 today would be $4 in 1960. I recall paying $10 for my first Weaver B4 .22 riflescope with Tip-Off mount included.

 

[JohnBT]

"the Jap built Tasco World Class scopes were a great scope for around 100 bucks"

That was 20 years ago. My father had two of them, one on a .280 Rem BAR and one on a Model 70 Featherweight in .243. They were $99 scopes and very nice.

 

[JohnBT]

Fwiw, George Rosenfield sold Tasco in the mid-90s. Since then it's been owned by Celestron, Wind Point Partners, Bushnell and MidOcean Partners.

In summary, there is nothing left of the original company. Everything was liquidated in 2002. Everything except the name.

 

[Sunray]

"...Not all Tascos are crap..." Nope, but they don't last. Had a 4X on a .243, long ago, that I could watch, through a bore sighter, the reticles bounce back and forth as the action was opened and closed. It wasn't more than a few years old. Cost me a princely $40 on sale.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Some last....I have two old World Class models that haven't needed rezeroing in years. They were not budget scopes. I think they were 100+ bucks 20 years ago.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I also have a 705 external adjustment like a Unertl. Its Japanese glass is crystal clear.

 

[eastbank]

i sent a tasco 4x pistol scope in for repaid(crosshairs came loose) and they would not even accept it when their repair shop was in florida. fast forward to last spring, i sent a older leupold 3.5x14 lps 52mm in for repair and they called saying it could not be repaired and they didn,t make that model any more(damage to the scope was my fault). i was given my choice of three different new scopes for free and i picked a veri-x3, 4.5x14,30mm tube,side focus with CDS #115240. after i picked the scope i wanted,it arrived in 8 days. so it,s leupold for me. eastbank.

 

[skoro]

I had a Tasco back in the 80s. Like others have already mentioned, they were OK back in that time period. Not real good, but certainly usable. I've heard nothing good about their current offerings.

 

[Jim Watson]

A friend has the oriental factory codes and can separate the sheep from the goats no matter what brand name the importer has put on them.

I have been to a few SHOT shows and recall the displays of optics staffed by polite oriental gentlemen. I suspect they would take an order for a crate of official High Road scope at whatever level of quality we cared to pay for.