Why do the Simmons Blazer scopes that come on Savage Packages get such bad press?

[hometheaterman]

So I've always heard how most package deals come with scopes that are junk. I'd been looking at a Savage package that had a Simmons Blazer 3x9x40mm on it and kept hearing out you needed to replace the scope asap as it was junk. So I started doing some research on other sites and looking for reviews. I've only actually found two bad reviews for it. One said it looked fuzzy and the other said it moved the POI on him and wouldn't stay zeroed. I also found several great reviews to go along with these two bad ones. Now they all seem to agree and I agree that it's not up to par with a Leupold, Burris, or any others from a similar or higher end company. However, for a scope to just plink and hunt with it the reviews really seem to say it's decent. Is this something that really has to be replaced right away or is it something where you just need to end up replacing it if you decide you want something clearer? How many of you guys who say they are junk have actually had one and used it?

 

[Big_E]

Ha, well I had a Simmons Blazer spotting scope. It fell 4'' off its tripod and the ocular piece broke off.

For a hunting/work rifle I will not trust anything under $200. Nikon Prostaff are decent but still I would want better optics for low light.

The scope may do well for punching paper @ 100yrds but afield, you don't want your scope: breaking, fogging up, losing visibility at dusk.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Because they(the scope) are junk!

A lot of gun shops get Blazers free if they order a certain amount of product...kind of a consolation prize. lol

They, like anything else inexpensively made will last for an indefinite time give its usage severity.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

The one I had was junk. Like looking through a fishbowl that had never been cleaned and had 10 fish living in it.

 

[ArmedBear]

Because they suck?

Buy some Excedrin before you try sighting it in.

IMO Nikon offers some scopes that perform a lot better than their prices would suggest. They can be a really great value. I have a Burris Fullfield II that works well for me, also. Anything cheaper than Burris or Nikon is probably not worth buying.

If you go too cheap on a scope, you're just throwing the money away. I'm not a scope snob -- I've just thrown that money away a few times already. It's cheaper to buy one scope for a little more, than to pay for and toss two scopes before buying the one you should have bought in the first place.

 

[lopezni]

Yeah these are $35 dollar scopes you are talking about after like 5x the clarity is so bad it makes them useless.

 

[Dookie]

Yeah these are $35 dollar scopes you are talking about after like 5x the clarity is so bad it makes them useless.

They have gone up in price. The first simmons I had on a savage, it was a simmons buckhorn, retailed for $18 at the time.

Oh, they are basic crap of a scope. Out of the three I have seen used all have been bad.

 

[chas08]

They really are a POS. I have one on a .22 lr and it barely suffices and would probably already have been replaced if I used the gun more. I would never trust one on a gun that recoils. Probably the majority of folks who sing their praises have never owned a good scope. There are several decent scopes out there in the $200 price range with lifetime warranties that will serve the average hunter well. Burris, Nikon, Leupold, to name a few.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Who's selling Blazer scopes for $35...! I wonder how they sleep at night...!?! lol hehehe

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

hee hee, Mike....

IMO Nikon offers some scopes that perform a lot better than their prices would suggest. They can be a really great value.

Very wise words, those.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

I guess if you hunted several days a week you could get away with a cheap scope. Most folks that are only able to hunt for a couple weeks a year are going to want equipment that is almost guaranteed to do its job. I don't get enough opportunities in the field to rely on cheap crap.

Break it down like this.

$50 scope at retail.
The store paid $30
The wholesaler paid $15
The factory produced the scope for $1.17

So there you go, head to the field with the best scope $1.17 will buy.

 

[rangerruck]

because they are moslty made in china, and anything from there , can really suck-diddy- suck u suck!!! Anything made over there; from taiwan, to japan, to S. Korea to Phillipines, will be better than Chinese.

 

[rangerruck]

I mean, I understand they are going to start selling cars here in America. You wanna be one of the first to get one? Be the nice amehweecon tester?
No thanks, I may wait 10 years, to get one, but it would be at least 10 years.
the only chinese products that are any good, come from the factories, that are western styled, western run, with western mgmt, or at least western trained mgmt, with strict rules on what passes for parts.
Leapers/utg/ and Centerpoint, seem to be about it right now.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Buy all that Chinese made stuff...don't shed a tear when you loose your job!
Keep buying that junk, and we'll all be squatting in a cardboard huts, eating roman noodles and fish head soup!

There are some better, built Chinese products out there. The Millett line of scopes are not all that bad, but I will agree that Japan or any of the places ranger mentioned are building better product.

 

[Mags]

Wow, alot of opinions and very little fact.
Fact: it is a cheap scope
Fact: it works well on 22lr
Fact: The spotting scope in the Blaser line up is pretty darn good for the money
Show me a product for the same costs that works as well.
I don't know what you guys think you get when you buy something cheap, it sure ain't a Swarvoski but it works. I wouldn't put one on a centerfire rifle but my Simmons Blaser scopes are real clear even when zoomed all the way in. Just don't make it or compare it to something it is not.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

This forum is all about opinions, thats why we are here, if you want facts do a seach online and get the technical specs on the scope.



If works well means it will stay on top of your rifle then I guess it does. If "works well" means holds zero, provides a reasonably crisp image of the target, and provides repeateble accuracy then no. It doensn't work well. I have learned my lesson the hard way, optics are MORE important than the hardware they are mounted upon.

 

[MrCleanOK]

How many of those good reviews were written by people who have owned and used the scopes for an extended period of time, and have the first hand experience to know the difference between the Simmons scope, and one of better quality?

If the people who sit around here and BS about guns for fun, without getting paid, have an overwhelmingly congruent concensus on a product, they might be onto something.

 

[Damon555]

Do not skimp on the scope! Good optics are more important than the weapon itself (assuming the weapon is in good working condition). There is some decent glass for around $200. That's as cheap as I would go.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Hey guy....sorry if any of us have stepped on anyone's toes, but you did ask.

Like mrcleanok said, we are not getting paid to set hear and offer our opinion...there is absolutely NO benefit in it for me, often times it is a hassle to do this, but as many, we love the sport, the industry and enjoy passing along our opinion and knowledge.

If the above opinion and knowledge puts anyone off, than many apologies, but again...you DID ask!

It does me no advantage to say Blazer scopes suck! The advantage is yours, IF you are intelligent enough to realize it.

Buy all the Blazers you want, if you love them....great, but don't chastise us for offering our opinions!.......you did ask for our opinion, did you not?

You might ask next time for our opinions only IF they align with yours!

 

[matrem]

we love the sport, the industry and enjoy passing along our opinion and knowledge.

Well spoken.

As far as Simmons scopes go, those that like them have either not really "used" them,and if they have and still like them, I'd like for them to buy a lotto ticket for me.

 

[JDGray]

My Brother couldn't get his .270 to group, and for the hell of it, tossed my 8 point Simmons 3-9x40 on it. The rifle started shooting one hole groups, and he bought it off me. He threw the Redfield that was on it, in the trash! No telling how the tracking system will hold up, but for $30, he'll take his chances

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

True enough that the 8-point line is not as bad as the Blazer line.

 

[lopezni]

There used to be a theory that went; to get the most out of your rifle, you should spend half its cost on your scope. All the Brazilian, Japanese, and Chinese junk that is on the market, along with the corporate overhead the American firearm manufactures have to put up, is killing the US gun industry.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Excellent lopezni!

The 'half the cost of the rifle' is minimal nowadays. lol

 

[[Pb]]

They are really worthless scopes I can't stand them. Losing zero, hard to look through, etc. I don't think it's unreasonable to spend as much on glass as a no-frills bolt gun to put it on. Good glass is sooooooo nice to shoot through compared to crap glass.