Anyone use BSA tactical scopes?

[82boy]

I really had no basis to call Tasco's Trashco's because, with the exception of the Super Snipers, I have never owned one. I beleive that Tasco still assembles the Super Sniper scopes for SWFA but I know that SWFA owns the name and all rights to the scope. It's just that I never heard any really good feedback from people I know that own them (Tasco's, that is). I didn't mean to step on anybodys toes by trashing Tasco.

Your not stepping on anyone toes, I agree that the new Tascos are trash, but it is sad because some of the old timers remember when tasco was good. Tasco has went out of business, the new name is different than the old company, (This is why I hate K-mart, they had millions of dollars worth of tasco scopes on hand when they went bankrupt, and forced Tasco out of business.) my guess is super sniper is its own company now working out of the old Tasco Japan factory.

[Ducatiman]

I stand corrected that there are good scopes under $200 then. I will have to take your word for it as I have never owned a Vortex, in fact, I never heard of them until last year so and before that the buzzword was "Mueller", another newcomer as far as I knew.

In any case, I'll keep my BSA until it breaks, then I'll take your advice and look at one of the suggested brands.

Eric, I don't own a Ducati. I've owned/ridden just about every brand out there EXCEPT Ducati. Always wanted a Paso. That's the joke between my buddies and I.

[rscotth]

+1 for the Super Sniper (the real ones not the E Bay crap). I am a big fan of the fixed 10X since it was what we used in the military. I am also very impressed with the Millet TRS-2 and it holds zero consistantly- only thing that I don't like is the 1/8"th moa instead of 1/4". It can make for a lot of "dope dialing" that doesn't always seem nessassary.
psharon97 mentioned the Barska and I currently own the swat version in 3.5X10 and it was a great scope until I looked through the Millet. I am slowly outfitting everything with the TSR-2 and only need two more. I have been buying them for $309.00 through a LEO dealer and the optics aren't so bad- It's not a Schmidt and Bender or and IOR but for the price it's not so bad.
RSH

[Flatlander.54]

BSA scopes must really be a hit or miss item on quality. I personally have owned two BSA scopes and have had no problems with them. The first was a 6-24 Target scope that I put on a customized heavybarreled Ruger 10/22. That scope and gun combo was amazingly accurate, wish I had kept that one. Just for kicks, me and my boys would set at a picnic table with a target/backstop 40 yards away, smear some honey on the target, and literally shoot flies with it. Try it sometime..its a hoot.
The second BSA came on a used Savage 10FP .223 that I currently own. Its a 4-16 x 40 Mildot Illuminated Reticle Scope. At 100 yards, all the Mildot measurements are what they should be. 1 mil = 3.6", 2 mils = 7.2. 5 mils = 18", and 10 mils = 36". The view is very clear at all power settings, the clicks are solid and repeatable. The scope will return to zero after shooting a "round robin" target. I really cant compain about it at all. But, keep in mind that these two scopes were mounted on low recoiling rifles also, maybe the harder recoiling .308 and up are too much for the BSA scopes? Common sense has to tell you that theyre cheaper in cost because they are not built as strong internally. But for a low recoiling rifle up to .223 I wouldnt hesitate to mount a BSA on it.

[rjtfroggy]

Ever try a Super Sniper from SWFA? I have two, a 10x and a 16x and have been VERY pleased with both scopes on my tactical rifles. All this in spite of the fact that their parent company is Tasco (Trashco)! They are NOT a Nightforce or an IOR Valdada but they are very good scopes, especially considering the price.

Not true any longer. They were originally Tasco but SWFA bought the rights to them and now have them made for SWFA using the military specs.
The reason they are inexpensive is because there are no middlemen, only sold direct from them to you, and Bushnell is the contracted repair facility.
Very nice scopes, I own 4 myself, some people compare them to $800 scopes or more. I personally am considering replacing all my scopes with them sooner or later.
Give a look www.swfa.com you can also due a lot of research at www.opticstalk.com

[huntin1]

I've had one of the BSA tactical scopes, put it on a Ruger 10/22 custom. Kept it for about a month, pure crap, I wouldn't even try to sell it, threw it away. Replaced it with a Nikon Buckmaster.

I do not own one of the Super Snipers but have heard good things about them, everyone that I know that has one is happy with it.

I have had good luck with Nikon, currently have several Buckmasters and a couple of Monarchs.


huntin1

[5spd]

I have had a BSA platnum target scope (6-18x44) on one of my .223s for 20 yrs and have never had a single problem with it. Its been in pouring rain, snow, mud, dropped more than once, & still tracks perfectly. Yup its still on the gun.

[Southern Shooter]

I have a 6x24 BSA Platinum Jap mfg and a 6x24 BSA Chinese mfg right about when they changed from Japan to China mfg(about 2002)-both still work flawless.Even though i am a Mueller fan and have a few,i just bought a new model Catseye in a 4x16x44 side focus($98+tax) I saw them at Academy Sports,once you handle it and look thru it you won't be able to put it down-i couldn't.Put it on a DPMS bull barreled AR and went to the range,and i'm totally impressed,so was everyone who looked thru it-even some of the high dollar scope owners that were present.Don't judge all BSA's by the few garbage models they have turned out,because they do have some good stuff out there at a good price.Read the reviews on any model of scope you buy-saves a lot of heartache in the long run.

[keeki]

i bought a 3.5x10x50IR bsa catseye from the sportsmans guide just to throw on a rifle and i have to say that i was impressed. not the best scope i have but certainly not the worst. i have scopes from at least 10 different companies and for 69 bucks it is unbeatable. buy what your budget allows you to buy and dont worry about all the hype. if i can buy a cheap scope and shoot 1 inch groups or an expensive scope and shoot .5 inch groups on a hunting rifle i would buy the cheap one. if i was shooting competition then optics mean a lot more, but on a hunting rifle i would rather have two rifles and two cheaper scopes than one rifle and one expensive scope. at least then i would have a good reason when your shooting better than I am.lol

[keeki]

by the way, for the money the simmons AETEC was probably the best scope i ever had and the worst scope for the money was probably any leupy in my safe. before everyone beats me up for saying that I did say "FOR THE MONEY"

[GaCop]

Maybe BSA has improved their quality control to some degree. The ones I've tried on two 22 rifles gave up the ghost in less than 6 months. Having been given two chances, I'll not be burned a third time by them.

[ICUDIEN]

I have a 36x Target and It's not the clearest but it holds a zero and tracks well. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if the price was right. I also have Leupolds and Vortexes. But the only reason I bought one was it was on sale for $60 and I am pleasantly suprised.

[wsmitty01]

I've had really good luck and very clear optics with Mueller,,great value for the price.

[verminator]

I was told a long long time ago," When you buy the best you only cry once " I don't wanna step on any toes here, but I could never understand how somebody could put a rifle together with the latest and greatest stock, big dollar bbl, aftermarket trigger and top it off with a ten dollar scope ? When I buy Glass it usually costs more than the rifle, That way you don't get any suprizes down the road.

[GaCop]

I see it all the time at the gun and pawn shop I work in. A guy will walk in with a Tikka rifle mounting a Barska high magnification scope complaining about the lack of accuracy and wandering zero wanting me to fix it. I try to educate them on quality glass, sometime it works, sometimes not.

[helotaxi]

I was told a long long time ago," When you buy the best you only cry once " I don't wanna step on any toes here, but I could never understand how somebody could put a rifle together with the latest and greatest stock, big dollar bbl, aftermarket trigger and top it off with a ten dollar scope ? When I buy Glass it usually costs more than the rifle, That way you don't get any suprizes down the road.

I bought a Nikon Buckmaster 6-18x40 two years ago and although it hurt my bank account balance, I have no regrets. The Buckmaster itself was not particularly expensive, in fact you can get one with a mil-dot reticule for $299 fairly regularly, but when I took the rifle it was mounted on to the range and shot it for awhile and then moved over to my Savage .243 that I got in college with its college budget Bushnell scope on it, I fired 4 shots, packed up my stuff and drove to the local Sportsman's Warehouse (sadly closed) and started scope shopping. Since then I've purchased ten other scopes, eight of them Bushnell Elite 4200s and the other two Vortexes. I have the money for Leupold, but IMO it would be wasted. Their glass to my eye is inferior to the Bushnell in pretty much every way. I've looked at every one of the commonly available, quality scopes, Burris, Leupold, Zeiss, Swarovski, Nightforce, Bushnell Elite, Nikon, etc... and I have shot friends' rifles with other less common brands such as Meopta and the SWFA SS 10x. I keep buying Bushnell Elites.

Overall here are my observations:

Burris: Dark glass compared to most of the others. Clear image edge to edge but dim.

Nightforce: Good glass but not "OMG!" good. Built like a tank and full of features. The features and the mechanical build quality are what make them worth the money IMO, not the glass itself. That said, I haven't had the need for the extra features and don't own a Nightforce, yet.

Nikon: Clear image but a little on the dim side. I couldn't discern a clear difference between the Buckmaster and a like powered Monarch to justify the nearly 100% increase in price. The Buckmaster is a good value IMO.

Leupold: By most accounts very well built. Unimpressive optics to my eye. They might have been the gold standard 20 years ago but while they've been banking on their reputation, the competition has been getting better by huge increments and keeping prices low at the same time. Very seriously doubt that I'll ever spend my money on one.

Zeiss & Swarovski: OMG!!! These are the optical benchmark. Clear, sharp, bright. For the most part, light on features; all the money goes to quality glass and it's a LOT of money.

Bushnell Elite 4200: Brighter than every other scope except the Germans. Just as sharp and clear as the Nikons, Leupolds, Burrises and really close to the Nightforce. Getting noticeably better glass is going to cost 2x as much at least. This is the same glass that is in the 6500 series scopes. The difference in price 6.5x vs. 4x zoom range on the different series. At normal prices these are great deals, but I didn't pay full price for any of mine. Midway and Natchez have them on clearance right now for a total steal.

SWFA SS 10x: Meh. Supposed to be built like a tank but the glass was sub-par IMO. It's a $500 premium for the 0.1 mil turrets, hopefully they upgraded the glass for that money. I've heard that the newer models have much better glass than the $299 models but you're getting into the price range of known good glass at that point.

Meopta: A friend has a Meostar 1-4 and it's a nice piece of glass. Not sure I'd pay retail for one, and neither is he. He loves it but he also found it for less than half of retail on clearance. The only real drawback I see with it is the size. It's 12" long and weighs more than a pound.

Vortex: I own one of the Crossfire 6-24x50s that SWFA has had available for $99 for the last 18 mos or so and a 2-7x32 Viper that I got a few months ago from SWFA on clearance. The Crossfire spent its first year on an AR in .204 Ruger and has proven clear enough to see .20cal holes in targets at 200yds. I've seen some reports on issues with build quality but I haven't had a problem and for the money, I've probably been more impressed with this scope than any other I own but I don't think that I would put it on a hard kicking rifle. For varmint shooting it's a real bargain. I bought the Viper based on my experience with the Crossfire. The clarity and brightness is on par with Bushnell 4200, though I don't have one in the same power range to allow a direct comparison. I don't have a lot of trigger time on this one yet buy initial impressions are entirely positive.

Overall: Very good glass can be had in the $300-500 range depending on the magnification range you're looking for. You can spend plenty more than that if you want but, why? For a hunting scope, unless you want bragging rights or simply feel that you must have the "best" available but realize that for every minor incremental increase in optical quality, tack on another 1x multiplier on the price tag. For a tactical or target scope where features are more important, the Nightforce actually starts looking affordable when compared to others. The features Nightforce brings to the table are almost unequaled and the optics, while not Swarovski or Zeiss/Hensoldt quality, are still above average and without the $2500+ price for the likes of US Optics or Hensoldt. Sightron also has quite the following in the target shooting crowd, but I have no personal experience with one having never see one in person.

Again, this is all my opinion. Everyone has different priorities and preferences and should base their purchases on their own set of priorities. A lot people say "buy once, cry once," but why cry at all? My experience thus far has been buy once, crying has been totally unnecessary. The most expensive scope I own I paid $640ish for, and I was prepared to pay $1k for the same scope. I don't cry when I save 35% or so on a scope and end up with a scope totally beyond everything else in the price range that I actually paid.

[bootsmcguire]

I had a BSA 4x32 on a 12ga slug gun for several years. Took a Couple hundred shots and now resides on a 22LR Mark II. Still holds zero and for a $20 Scope it has been worth its money. When I bought a new scope for my other slug gun I ordered a BSA again this time a 1.5-4.5x32. Nathcez had them on sale and I was ordering anyway. Got it, Mounted it, went to the range and sighted it in. That night went out for an early doe only season. Climbed up in the treestand, and didn't see a thing. Climbed down a little early and headed back. On the way back spotted a doe coming out of the timber just 50yds ahead. Pulled up and looked thru the scope to find that instead of a "+" I had an "X" with the crosshairs. I was not rough on the scope, did not bump it or anything. Just walking must have had enough to jar it.

That said, I got a 6x40 Vortex that came on a used gun I purchased. Wow, compared to that ol' 4x32 BSA it is a dream. Night and day difference.
Go with something better than the BSA.

Something else to look at is the Osprey Scopes. I bought a 10-40x50mm with a 30mm tube on sale for $129 at Natchez. I looked at the reviews on line and there were several from around 2007-8 that were not too good. But the 10 or so reviews I could find later than 2009 all were very good. SO I took the plunge and bought one. For a $129 scope I can't complain. Adjustments always return to zero, focus adjustment seems to work well, I cant say that I have had much trouble with glare or bad clarity. The only complaint that I have is the rings that are supplied, while seeming to be decent quality, are a little high for most bolt gun applications. So you would want to but some slightly shorter. Just my $0.02

[Armed in Utah]

I've been considering a BSA because Leupold is just a little pricey. I seen a thing on the Out Doors channel one Wednesday night and they we're talking pretty highly of them. So just wondering if anyone here has personal experience with them.

Friends don't let friends buy BSA scopes.........

:'(

[quickkillaught6]

YES I just purchased one to see for myself what everyone else was concerned about. I done a side by side comparison to my bushy 4200 next to this BSA.. NOW this is how i feel an the pros and cons.

BSA tactical 6-24-44-30mm:
PROS- price, glass etched ret., power range, all the knobs, looks, adjustments and size.
CONS: it isn't near as clear as 4200 but for a 4 hundred dollar diff. it shouldn't be

bushy 4200 6-24-40
PROS.- best glass for the money IMO, solid build with a great warranty repeatable and versatile. Best overall bang for your buck.
CONS: limited adjustment 26moa to be exact
i will have to say i was very impressed with the BSA tactical. it cost me a Lil over 150$ to get it to the door. but here's the thing, i could zero it with a 20 moa base unlike the bushy, it shot the box and returned to zero this is on a 223 mind you and it shot perfectly(i wouldn't put a 200 dollar scope on a 338 lapua mag). Right out of the box, i mounted it in a set of Burris low rings, 6screwcap bmf's and took it to the range the first shot was 3 moa low and dead nuts on windage.I bought the scope to take on a pd trip and yes it is a bit cloudy on the upper end but come on your not gonna get a 3k dollar scope for 200 bucks i have and can honestly say i have wasted more money on something not as nice before. It may give up the ghost one day but if it ain't broke don't fix it, and they all break nothing is unbreakable for a coyote gun that is gonna see no combat at worst maybe some harsh weather and a table in a pd town i think it will do just fine.

[helotaxi]

If you paid $400 more for that Bushnell you got had on that scope. I own two and didn't pay over $400 for either and only one of them was bought during the model closeout sale earlier this year.

As far as adjustment goes, you're comparing apples and oranges. That model Bushnell is meant to be configured for one range. If you want a Bushnell better suited for multiple ranges, the 6-24x50 is better and the 4-12x44 better still with 48 and 80 MOA of adjustment respectively. Both also have side focus and target/tactical turrets.

If I wanted a budget scope for a light recoiling rifle with a lot of magnification and a lot of adjustment, the Vortex Crossfire at SWFA for $99 would be my principle choice. That is speaking from experience. The glass is astounding given the price and mine has held up well over the course of several hundred rounds mounted on a .204 AR and more than 3k miles in the bed of my truck with a bunch of other stuff piled on and around it.

[quickkillaught6]

i bought my 4200 like 5 years ago when they first came out it is the first style if you go to rig pics its on there i paid like 625 to the door, if you got your NEW style 4200 chearper ill send you a cookie. Natchez had them all on CLearance for next to nothing and before i new i needed another scope for my new gun they were all gone. my 4200 has 21 moa up an down supposed to be 26. Non the less the 4200 isnt something i bought recently

[helotaxi]

I got one of mine from Natchez on clearance but the other I bought several years ago and still paid less than $400. Granted I got it on sale but I've shopped around a lot and have not paid anywhere near retail for any of my scopes yet including 8 Elite 4200s. When I find good deals on scopes that I like I buy them. A rifle usually appears under them at some point :D

[quickkillaught6]

Must be nice to be able to afford stuff like that. unfortunalty funds permitting, it takes me a tick longer to acquire things so i check and recheck and double check then doubt myself. Im not gonna lie this bsa seems to be a dec. scope and i hope it holds up for what i do. I hunt and shoot pds once a year for a week i dont need 10 guns to do that. to each their own but id rather have 3 guns that Run the way i want then 10 that i gotta work up loads for. (KISS) method for me. maybe when i get more time on my hands or hit the lotto. I can buy things like that.