BSA and NRA

[jon lynn]

I thought the NRA magazine, "American Rifleman" would be a good source of info on products. The May issue, with "Top Picks '06 has the BSA illuminated, 3-9x 40 and 50mm scopes.

Why.......oh why? I just dont get how famous companys, with good reputations even bother to carry low-to-no quality scopes, and sell them with a clear concious. BSA, Tasco, Leapers.......blah.......blah.........blah

[BILLY D.]

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, QUITE SIMPLY, BECAUSE POOR WHITE TRASH LIKE ME BY THEM TILL WE CAN AFFORD SOMETHING BETTER.

NOT ALL OF US CAN JUMP RIGHT OUT THERE AND PURCHASE A U.S OPTICS, KAHLES OR A SWAROVSKI FOR OUR REMMIE 597, 22 RIFLE. I'M REALLY GLAD YOU CAN.

I HAVE 2 TASCO'S AND 2 BSA'S THAT HAVE SEEN SERVICE ON EVERYTHING I HAVE IN MY INVENTORY FROM A 17 REM CONTENDER CARBINE TO A MAUSER ACTION 458 WIN MAG AND THE ONLY ONE THAT WENT TO LUNCH WAS A BSA THAT I FELL DOWN A STAIRS WITH AND DENTED THE FRONT BELL AND BROKE THE LENS.

HARDLY A MANUFACTURERS DEFECT. I'M SURE ONE OF THE HIGH END SCOPES WOULD HAVE SURVIVED. HAR, HAR.

SWEPT IT UP OFF THE FLOOR, MAILED IT BACK TO BSA ASKING FOR REPAIRS, THEY SENT ME A NEW SCOPE FOR THE SHIPPING FEE.

I'M SURE THE HIGH END COMPANIES WOULD DO THE SAME, AREN'T YOU?

[Brithunter]

Hi Guys,

Sorry Billy but I really don't think that BSA do themselves any favours with their scopes. But then again it's not the proper BSA company anymore just some one else that brought up the name I am not even sure if BSA Guns Ltd have anything to do with the BSA scopes.

BSA Guns Ltd is tied up with Gamo in Spain where I believe their spring powered air rifles are now made, heck the whole BSA Guns Ltd is housed in the old stocking shop of the original BSA Smallarms company

There are a lot of these scope compaies who buy their products from the same factory and just have their own name put on them and I don't think that the quality is always as good as it should be or once was. I remember the first proper new scope I brought which was back in 1979, it was a Japanese made 4x32 with duplex reticle made for the ASI (Anglo Spanish Importers) company and it was put on my new Feinwerkbau Model 127 air rifle, the scope cost £29:95 ($53:91US) and I was earning about £60 ($108 US) per week so the scope cost me about 1/2 a weeks wages before stoppages but was a much better made scope than the cheap ones are now.

I still have that scope and it's currently on my BSA Super Sport Five rim fire rifle, the Feinwerkbau is leaning up agaist the side in the other room and has an old Tasco 4x40WA scope fitted to it that I picked up S/H somewhere.

Please note that not all cheap scopes are made poorly, the trouble is telling them apart from the poorly made ones I picked up a Chinese 4x40 scope which is a copy of the old 1970's Tasco ones and it's been on several rifles including a P-14 sporter and I have actually used it to shoot at 600 yards on the P-14. Just got lucky with that one, heck I have had it now for about 15 years .

[jon lynn]

FIRST off Brithunter, Gamo does own BSA. On my last visit to the Nürnberg Industry Gun Show, the Gamo's and BSA were on the same table. With a big ling looking at the airguns, but the scopes were pretty much ignored.

BILLY D, I cant afford to buy what I want either. Especally now where I work again for US forces at $8.00 an hour, and the Euro is strong (I feel like a Peso spender).

My first Leupold was a gift, and my second was a swap (very lucky). I sepent so much money on pieces of crud than I care to admit, with all that waste of money I could have got top optics first.

I started real deer hunting here in Bavaria, in Oklahoma and Arkansas, where I grew up, I used a .22LR open sight on squrrel and rabbit. And a puny .410 for fowl. Here in Germany a scope is almost mandatory. I know several land right holders who wont let anyone hunt roe deer without a scope.

So having a very basic M98 sporterized, I needed a scope. At the time I had nothing to do with US forces and couldn't use the Rod and Gun clubs, and had to get a scope through the mail, the advert was for a Tasco 'Euro Class' At the time that was a simple World Class with a 30mm tube, and the usual 30-30 reticle. boy did that scope suck!

So a few meager pay days later I got some Euro cheapie; I dont even remember the name any more (it was back in 1992, and it is no longer avilable), but it cost me the equivelent of $150 (like 300 Deutschmark). For the cost of the Tasco and the Euro cheapie, I could have waited a bit and gotten a Baucsh & Lomb 3000 for the same price.

BUT THE POINT OF MY POST............was/is.............famous dealers of hunting optics push the cheap (as in non-quality) stuff. Their are lower priced scopes that are good scopes. A few of US dealers purchasing has a say in quality controll in Tiwan and China. But they don steer you to the real bargans, and that is what bothers me.

For example, with the exception of reticle styles suitable for German hunting, the Bushnell Banner/Trophy would work until you could save for an Elite 3200.

They still advertise Tasco World Class as a good value. The Chinese Tasco's are crap, you may get a good one where the worker actually set his tolerances, but you may have better luck winning the lottery (and buy all good scopes ). But I did have a Tasco I liked very much, that was made in Japan. But I was never informed by any sellers that Tasco moved to China.

I think the Millett Buck Gold is a very good scope for the price they charge. I used one here for a season on Roe Deer. Was it great? NO! But it was better than the BSA I purchased before it, for the same price. But the BSA had a 'More cool' advert in the sellers webpage than Millett.

[gd357]

Jon,

Know what you mean. The first (and only) BSA I ever owned worked fine all year until I got to deer camp. First morning, went to crank up the scope, crosshairs went from a T to an X. Started shopping around, and found a Burris Fullfield II online for $170 (they still have this deal at Natchez for those of you interested). The bottom of the line as far as I'm concerned is Bushnell, so far so good with all of those I've bought/used.

gd

[Tall Shadow]

I too have had to cut back on my expenses, due to the local (Michigan/automotive) market being in a slump. I have been buying guns that I want to own, before I can not own/buy them anymore.....But, I can't afford to buy them & an expensive optic too.

A few years ago I had some things go unusually well, and I found myself with the cash for two of the rifles that I'd wanted for 10-15 years. They are both .50BMG bolt actions.

Needless to say they were not cheap! And the cost of a $$High$$ dollar scope just wasn't in the picture....

I called around, and talked to the guys at BSA about their Platinum scopes, and if they would hold up to what I was going to put them through with a .50BMG?

Well they have, and I'll buy them again!

I figure that if they can take the pounding of a .50BMG and still hold zero, and be sharp and clear....My "Smaller" rifles will be a cake walk for them.

I shoot a bunch of scopes, and have failed at least one from every make that is out there (outside of something like a $3000 custom optic..but who can afford that + a rifle?).
They all will fail, All of them....

Tall Shadow

[skeet]

I too sold quite a few BSA and Tasco scopes when I had the gun shop. The early Tasco scopes were pretty well made. Most of the BSA scopes I sold were the higher powered variables. A friend put one(6X24 Platinum) on a Ruger 22-250 a few years ago and it hasn't varied a bit since it was sighted in. Mostly the same with the others I sold. Most people really can't afford a 600 buck rifle and an 800 buck scope all to one time, lessen they save all year to buy the one rig...and then they usually compromise on the scope a bit. Even with my buying at wholesale for most things it gets very expensive. I started using some of the Bushnell Elites(4200 and 3200) and quite a few of the Nikon Buckmasters. Hey a 4.5x14 Buckmaster Nikon is over 200 bucks cheaper wholesale than a comparable Leupold. And the clarity of the Nikon is right up there with the leupold. I also have used and will continue to use Bushnell Trophy scopes. Very close to the 3200 Elites. I bought a combo deal(3 actually) to take to the last gun show I did earlier this month. Bushnell Trophy 3X9X40 with a 20 power spotter. Sold two of them at 100 bucks apiece. They really aren't a bad deal for most hunters. But there is a lot of difference between hunters and riflemen. Still all in all, If you're gonna have to compromise on something..do it on the rifle. Get the best scope you can AFFORD

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

Well in case you have not figured it out Magazine writers and advertisers LIE

All they care about is the advertising revenue and truth be damned even if the writer wants to tell the story as it is do you think that the editior whose eyes are on the advertising revenue will print the truth? No way hose

There are those like myself who have found out the hard way that cheaper optics can cost more than just money having a beast in front of you and not being able to determine the correct spot to shoot or being able to tell which way the beast is facing due to poorer optics really sucks. After this happened to me I decided to upgrade the optics on my rifles but being financially challanged (i.e broke) I scoured guns shows and gun shops for good second hand scopes so now after several years of doing this the chances of this happening again are greatly reduced

Most rifles can be tweaked to shoot acceptly well but cheap lenses and poor optics will alway remain cheap and poor unlike a rifle it cannot be tweaked by the owner or a smith for reasonably cost/ Sure we all like good quality rifles that look nice but a best rifle with a cheap poor scope is an abomination

[Talon]

Hello,

IMHO alot of people find it difficult to purchase a scope that costs more than the rifle that it would be perched upon. Many view that optic cost as "I could buy this______( insert desired firearm) for that money"

Hence the market for an affordable optic that gets the job done. So of course gun rags are going to focus their attention to these makers who advertise with them.

Of course some have had disasters with "low end" optics in the field. BUT there are numerous others that have had tremendous success's with them. PLus if the low end manufacturers offer a great repair/exchange warrenties all the better.

Peace
Talon

[wrenchman]

I bought a bsa for a gun and i couldnt get it to adjust to bore site
i sent it back and bought a simmons.
I have had great luck with bushnel and simmons my brother in law has had to have his leapold and his older redfield repaired
my brotherinlaw got to canada for a dear hunt found the cross hairs on his leapold broke.
I have come to think of them as like cars the more you pay the more performance you should get and in most cases they do and the cheeper ones will work just fine in most cases.

[moneychanger]

i was talking to a guy who shoots competition with a 300 mag
and his choice for a scope is the bsa,also one of the guys in deer camp shoots a 7 mag also topped with a bsa.

i guess it's the luck of the draw.

[jon lynn]

I do have a serious reputaion for having bad luck as it is. There could be a full pallet of 1000 riflescopes. They could cost $100- and the other 999 guys and gals who bought one will have them last 'til their grandkids need that spare scope they saw in grandpa's cabin, I, Jon, would get the only defect.


But I do stand by avoiding BSA, Tasco and Leapers. I ran out of cheeks to turn when giving second chances. But the German Bushnell rep at the Nuernberg Gun Trade Show this weekend, was trying to convince me the 'new' Tasco's are of quality. But the Bushnell rep from France who was with him kinda shook his head "No!"

[Dan Morris]

Only BSA I was ever blessed with....got it in a trade....wound up in a dumpster!
Dan

[Catfish]

I`m not rich, but I`m old and have my kids raised and my home paid for, but ever since I got my first Leupold scope back in 1968 I`ve been trying to put Leupolds on all of my scoped guns. I`ve bought Leupold at gun shows, flee markets and garge sales untill I now have some for sale. I still have afew of other brands that I got in trades on guns but even the ones still on guns are for sale. In all of the use and abuse I`ve give Leupolds I`ve destroied 1. I dropped a 13 lb. gun on the frount bell of a 24x target scope. I cannot afford scopes that cost more than Leupolds and I will settle for no lower quality than a Leupold. Even the cheap Leupolds last forever.

[BILLY D.]

Well kiss my grits.

Went out shooting yesterday and my BSA(Barely see anything) scope went to lunch. Third shot and the cross hairs fell out.

Anybody need a 32 power spotting scope a with adjustable objective?

Well, it's only been on there 9 years and the good Lord only knows how many shots have passed through that rifle, it's getting time to re-barrel anyway.

This scope passed the square test on my 458 Win Mag also. That gun is my favorite scope tester. If? the scope lasts on there it will make it anywhere.

Thought you guys might get a chuckle out of the news.

Best wishes, Bill