Barska scopes?

Barska = junk

who cares if it is made in China. I can guarantee you that 90% of all of your items in your household are made in China. You going to ditch your house because of it?


I bought a cheapo $50 barska for a simple 10/22. After every single shot, the crosshairs jumped in the glass. TOTAL JUNK. Now i'm stuck with a $50 paperweight. Maybe I'll give it to someone I dont like.
 
I think they are a fair cheap scope with giant quality control problems. At least if you decide to get one and get a bad one you won't be out much money.
I have tried the cheap route with Chinese products a few times and have rarely been happy. My advise, FWIW, is save up and buy a decent scope from a reputable AMERICAN company.
 
Simmons are better then I'm CERTAINLY never going to buy a Barska

I would agree with this up up to a point. The current Simmons scopes made in China are not very high quality but the older "Made in the Philippines" Simmons scopes (i.e. the Whitetail Classic line) are a excellent quality for the money.
 
I can guarantee you that 90% of all of your items in your household are made in China. You going to ditch your house because of it?

No, but then I would not throw the baby out with the bathwater: The house was made here, out of quality American materials ...... which can't be done very easily, today- my house was built in the 1950's.

Many of the things in it are indeed made in China, but only because there was no economical alternative .... and many of those things don't work correctly, and don't last like the older stuff.......
 
But stay away from the Barska's & the NCstar's out there. Some will work, more will not.

I guess I am in the "some" category. I only plink in the desert with .22LR so I do everything on the cheap. I have a Barska 3-7x20 ($15) on my Marlin 795 and a NCStar 3-9X40 ($25) on my Marlin 925. Of course they are only mounted on a .22LR, but they have held zero through a few thousand rounds now.
 
I also have a NCstar. I beleive its a 2-7x40 illuminated mil-dot guy that i use on my AR for coyote hunting. It loses zero at times n optically looks a little rough, but it works well enough. BUT, I also keep a EOtech on there most of the time.......
 
Last edited:
Cheap chinese junk.
Statements like this drive me crazy.Only one of my hunter friends has a Leupold scope on his hunting rifle ( all use a .270 or 30.06 & the others all have a Simmons or Tasco on their rifle) and comparing it side by side with my Hawke Endurance leaves the Leupold red faced at best.Another friend just sent a failed Leupold VX-II home for repairs and was so shocked and dismayed by the shoddy workmanship performed that he sold the scope to the first guy who would buy it and bought himself a new Nitrex at Natchezss with the proceeds.Yet another friend had a Nikon prostaff fail him so even the much vaunted Nikon has issues as well.Would I take a free Schmidt & Bender over a Barska? Of course I would,I would have to be an idiot not too.If the moneys coming out of my wallet,Ill snag the Barska every time.
 
Last edited:
and comparing it side by side with my Hawke Endurance leaves the Leupold red faced at best.

The low end of the high-end makers is no better than any low-end maker. In many cases, the low-end scopes of these high-end companies are made in 3rd world countries while the high-end scopes are made in Switzerland. You just gotta put your time into figuring out what is not junk.
 
Be careful when you use the term "made". My ProStaff(s) are "assembled" in the Phillipines but the parts are "made" in Japan. Same with my Mueller. The parts are "made" in Japan (by Nikon I think) and "assembled" in China. Both have been excellent scopes for the money. And if you've ever walked down an assembly line in the US and seen some of the gorillas beating the parts together you might get a different view of things!! :D
 
Sorry this is not about Barska but I spoke to the Nikon rep at Bass pro last week. I asked him what the difference was in the Prostaff and their upper end scopes. He told me the Prostaff is the same as the Buckmaster except it is not shock resitant. He would not say but I can only guess it's how the cross hairs are attached.
 
Well one of my ProStaff's is on my .300 Win Mag so we'll find out just how much shock it can take... :D And why would a company like Nikon even MAKE a scope that isn't shock proof.

:D
 
I asked him what the difference was in the Prostaff and their upper end scopes. He told me the Prostaff is the same as the Buckmaster except it is not shock resitant.

And why would a company like Nikon even MAKE a scope that isn't shock proof.


Price point.


I agree with warbirdlover's rhetorical question: Why indeed would Nikon ever make a scope that isn't shock proof when even the cheapest of scope manufacturers (i.e., Barska) advertise their scopes to be at least "shock resistant"? In the Prostaff section of their catalog, Nikon states "...you can rest easy knowing that Nikon will never cut corners: on optics, ruggedness or on precision." (emphasis mine). Still in the Prostaff section of the catalog, Nikon asserts: "...(Setting are maintained)-even with heavy recoil." (again, emphasis mine).

So, for some I guess, it comes down to whether you take the word of a "Nikon rep" or believe the claims made in Nikon's own publication. I know which source I find the most credible...Others, of course, can choose to give credence to whichever assertion they find to make the most sense.
 
dgludwig I was only stating what was told to me by this person from Nikon. I have 2 my self and have had no problems with them. My son has one that seem to adjust slow (seems to take a couple shoots to settle it in).
I too find it hard to believe Nikon would make a sub quality product, but we must remember market share / sales are very important to keep companies running with a profit.
With that said the prostaff can not have the same features as the Buckmaster and Monarch series it's a price point product, not a bad product by any means. I think it's the best scope for the money at about $150.00 on the market. (3x9).
 
dgludwig I was only stating what was told to me by this person from Nikon.

I understand that-which is why I referenced the "Nikon rep" you spoke with, not you personally.

With that said the prostaff can not have the same features as the Buckmaster and Monarch series it's a price point product

I don't think anybody has said that, certainly not me-though, according to you, the Nikon rep claimed that the Prostaff and the Buckmaster are the same, the only difference being that the Prostaff is not shock resistant. My comments only went to refuting the Nikon rep's alleged statement that the Prostaff is not shock resistant.
 
obviously the op doesnt want to spend alot and on a low recoiling rifle it might be worth trying an inexpensive scope, might check out the leapers or centerpoints also.
 
Back
Top