$29.99 for a Banner??

O

old fart

New member
I just got an email from Natchez Shooters Supply and I thought I got a deal a few weeks ago on a Bushnell Banner at $54, they are now as low as $29 with lots of other stuff and ammo on sale too. I have a spare already but I don't think I can pass this up, anyone else buy something just cause it was to cheap to pass up? thanks
 
I do my best not to, unless it is a product I have already researched and planned to buy/upgrade as some later point anyway. Buying things on a whim because they are on sale always ends me up with something collecting dust.
 
Why are you throwing away money on a scope you know will fail you? They weren't a good scope 40 years ago when they cost $60, they aren't any better now no matter how low the price goes. Save up the price of 3 or 4 of the Banners and get a decent scope.
 
Scorch said:
Why are you throwing away money on a scope you know will fail you? They weren't a good scope 40 years ago when they cost $60, they aren't any better now no matter how low the price goes.
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How are they likely to fail? Where are the weak spots?

Do you think one would be OK for casual, occasional range use...i.e., no hunting, weather-exposure or getting banged around, etc.?
 
How are they likely to fail? Where are the weak spots?
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In every way possible.
The weak spot is the company, compounded by the cheap materials, poor quality control, and unskilled foreign labor assembling them.

A Tasco would serve you better.
 
Scorch said:
Why are you throwing away money on a scope you know will fail you? They weren't a good scope 40 years ago when they cost $60, they aren't any better now no matter how low the price goes. Save up the price of 3 or 4 of the Banners and get a decent scope.
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I dunno. I've got a Banner I've had for close to 40 years and it was used when I got it. It hasn't failed yet.
 
Center point and barska are the 2 lowest IMHO.
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I could probably think of some that I would rate lower, but I agree that I rank those two below Tasco.
And I have also never had a Tasco 'World Class' or 'Pronghorn' fail, that I can recall. Rimfire and airgun scopes, yes. But not the World Class or Pronghorn. They're cheap. They're nasty. But they usually work, and I'll take one over a cheap Bushnell any day.

Ironically, Bushnell owns Tasco now.

I dunno. I've got a Banner I've had for close to 40 years and it was used when I got it. It hasn't failed yet.
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Different company. Different materials. Different manufacturing facilities. Different assemblers. Different scope.
The Bushnell we know today is not the same Bushnell of the '70s and '80s, no matter how much they advertise being in continuous business since the '40s.

Some of their other products are still reasonably decent. But I won't touch low end Bushnell scopes any more.
Even the Elite 4200 that I gave a shot about 12 years ago ended up failing me in the middle of an elk hunt. And I wasn't happy with it before that, either. It was inferior, optically and mechanically, to two Redfield Revolutions that I bought at the same time, but it cost three times as much.
 
Once every scope manufacturer discovered that there is one factory in China that will make 90% of all the low-end scopes in the world, well.....:D
But I won't touch low end Bushnell scopes any more.
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I won't either--ALL of the low-end Bushnells I've bought have failed within a few years.
 
Hawg said:
I dunno. I've got a Banner I've had for close to 40 years and it was used when I got it. It hasn't failed yet.
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Agreed. I have a few that still function fine. Optical quality SUCKS, but scope holds zero and cross hairs don't move with power adjustment.
 
I bought a Millet SP-1 Red Dot sight from Midway on Closeout sale ...
it was cheaper than the one I bought 12 years earlier and installed on a Ruger MKII Target . It was an offer I couldn't refuse !

I'm a sucker for a Closeout Sale ... I've bought pocket knives , holsters , Ruger Steak Seasoning , revolver grips , NOE Bullet Moulds ... you make me a good enough offer and I'll buy it !
I hate to check my E-Mail sometimes ... too many Close Outs , too few dollars !
Gary
 
How are they likely to fail? Where are the weak spots?
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You can do math, I'm sure. If a Banner cost $60 in 1980 and costs $40 now, you know right off the bat they are making them as cheaply as possible, not even counting inflation. The most common failures I see in cheap scopes is they won't hold zero, but the optical quality of cheap scopes is what turns me away from them. Why do I need a scope I can't see clearly through?

Quick story: about 25 years ago, a friend of mine wanted a scope for his stainless Ruger Super Blackhawk. I told him buy a Burris or a Leupold or something good. He bought a Bushnell because it was cheaper, it was silver like his gun, and it had a lifetime warranty. I jokingly told him to buy 2 of them so he would have one to put on his gun while the other was being fixed. A couple of weeks later, he was complaining about his scope not holding zero. I told him to send it in for repair. He did, and while he was at the store he bought another one of the same Bushnell scope for his pistol. Before he even got the first one back, the second one was broken. We laughed about it. But next time we went out shooting, he had a Nikon scope on his Super Blackhawk.

Just saying.
 
My 2 preferred brands are primarily arms and leupold. The quality of the glass is just superb on both. Only downside to primary arms is weight.
 
Trophy and up are decent but I would avoid sportsman and banner bottom feeding bushnell's. Blurry glass and poor constructions.
 
What amazes me

Darn few companies produce products of such widely varying quality as Bushnell.
Esp. with optical products, the manufacturer reputation is meaningful.

The high end Bushnell's are very nice, the low end is suitable for airsoft toys.
 
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