Has a cheap scope ever cost you an animal?

Has a cheap scope ever cost you an animal?

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F

Fusion

New member
I know that many of us have used cheap scopes in their life. This made me wonder, has a cheap scope ever cost you an animal? If so, why? Did it fog up, had it lost zero since the last time you shot it, did the crosshairs come apart while sitting in the stand? What happened, and what type of scope was it?

The main reason I got to thinking of this is I was at a friends tonight, and several of them have a ton of guns and use Simmons or Tasco's on 99% of them. They were telling me again today how much they loved their scopes, and one of them had bought another Simmons and was showing it to me. I realized that while I don't really care for cheap optics like that, that the two biggest deer I've ever killed in my life were both with a Tasco that was $30 from Walmart. I've never missed a deer because of a cheap scope failing. I've just learned to like better glass, better tracking, and even though I've never had a cheap scope fail, I worry about that when using them. I still do have a cheap scope on my muzzle loader and I've thought about changing it, but it's never really given me a reason to and for the couple of times a year I shoot it, it seems to work fine.
 
Have had the zero change and the scope fog. At least the scope fog keeps me from shooting wild and scarring the **** out of the animal. I would say the change in zero was the trail into the woods and every tasco I have ever owned never makes it.
 
One thing I've learned about the gun crowd, through all my reading on forums, is they happily pay 10X more to prepare for the 1:1000 chance. Its funny, I come up on these threads almost on a daily basis, where people say their cheap scope has treated them very well, and usually there will be a few people that come in an agree. Then on all the threads of people asking what scope to buy, every post says not to buy a cheap scope because it wont be 'reliable'. While, going to the next thread, its a thread on X high cost brand failing.

I think what I got out of it is that BOTH cheap and expensive scopes fail. The diff is that The price gets blamed for the cheap ones, and if it happens to an expensive one its a "i wonder why it failed". Sure the expensive ones have warranty, but who cares? Ill sell you daewoo car for a million dollars and give you lifetime warranty. If its so cheap that it can be replaced every couple years and still cost 10 times less, warranty can't compete with that.

I bought a BSA 6-24 tactical(midway special edition) against half the recommendations I got online, and its been GREAT. Now it wasn't tasco cheap, but for 150 dollars you get ALOT of scope. SURE I agree, that past 16x the resolution deminishis slightly. Which would seem like a win for the optic snob's, EXCEPT they are comparing apples to oranges. For 75 dollars more I would barely be able to afford a leupold that goes up to 7x, and sure it will have clear glass. But let me tell you, at 12x or lower, my glass is as clear as glass could be. Could not be any better resolution that my eye would be able to tell the difference. But on top of that I get 24x of magnification for when I need it, and I actually use it alot.
 
i fire 10,000-30,000 rounds of centerfire ammo every year. In our attic is a box with 14 or 15 cheap scopes that went bad over a 10-12 year period. They have fogged, failed to hold zero, crosshairs have broken and some have just quit. No more cheap scopes for me.

Believe it or not you get what you pay for. In Germany hunters buy a $1,000 rifle and put a $2,000 scope on it. That scope lasts for decades. In the US folks buy a $1,000 rifle and put a $100 scope on it: Then they are greatly surprised when that cheap scope craps out at a most inopportune time.
 
It has never occurred to me to buy a cheap scope. I don't need the high-dollar scopes, but there is a world of decent scopes at reasonable prices.

I either saved money from my pay for decent equipment, or found extra work to generate the money for decent equipment. It ain't rocket science.
 
I voted "no", but I've never bought a cheap scope for my hunting rifles. I buy what I know will work and hold up, which means spending a little more...
 
I have a lot of hunting rifles. My 2 main rifles have a Zeiss and Leupold on them. Both are higher end; not the highest. Both above $500 and less than $1000. All of my other scopes are on the line of Bushnell, Simmons, Tasco, and similar. All of those are under $100. Not one of them has ever failed on their own. I say on their own, because I have had a few lose zero, but that was after dropping the weapon, or banging the scope into something. I've taken plenty of deer, antelope, and elk at distances up to around 400 yards; even with the Simmons and Bushnell scopes.

I'll be honest, and say that I bought the zeiss many years ago, because I bought into the hype of "You get what you pay for". I've learned over the years, that that is the biggest crock of shiite on the planet. While it normally requires a bit more money to produce a better product, modern manufacturing techniques and technology have allowed for much better products to be produced at a fraction of the cost. My FAVORITE scope of all my hunting scopes is an A1optic 6-24x50mm. It has a grid rangefinding built into it and illuminated reticle. Both Red and Green. I've been hunting with it for about 10 years now. It sits on my 7mm magnum, which is my primary hunting rifle. That scope cost me about $90.00.

I was so impressed with it, that I have a A1optic 2x red-dot on my AR-15. Cost was $50. I have a $90 mueller reflex sight on my saiga.

Will I ever spend 2-4x the money for something again because of the "Name"? Hell no. Never happen. I will spend more money however because of capabilities or features. i.e. I am considering buying Eotech 512 for my AR15. It costs about $360. I shot one and liked the way the vision was through it. But I'm not buying the name. The way I buy things now, is that I research forums and reviews. I prefer Manufacturer specific forums. This way, most everyone there is using the same products, and their opinions are honest. They aren't trying to impress the snob crowd, and you don't have the snob crowd arguing with them. I then see what kind of complaints these people have. They don't mind complaining on a forum where everyone else owns the same line of products. Sometimes, you find an item on a forum, where ALL the comments are "Look at my new toy", "I really love this", "Where can I buy accessories", etc... In other words, very few complaints. Even against what all the "You get what you pay for" snobs say. (That's how I determined that the Hi-Point C-9mm pistol is actually a very good and reliable pistol). It's a brick, feels like you're holding an electric drill, can't be concealed worth a shiite, etc... but it's totally reliable and dependable; and for $150, i don't mind having such a gun in my truck, in the garage, on my boat, etc... and know that I can rely on it.

So in a nut shell, if you're interested in a scope or anything, try to find comments, articles, forums, etc... by people who ACTUALLY OWN THEM AND USE THEM. Don't rely on the so called internet professionals. Most of them have never owned or used one, and they are simply rationalizing their spending of 5-10X more on a product because it's what the "Professionals" use. Is my Zeiss "Clearer" than my A1optic? Yes. Does it "Seem" to be better built? Possibly. Is it any more accurate than the A1optics? No! It's only as accurate as I am. Is it worth $700 more than my A1optics? Not just no, but HELL NO!!! The main difference in price is NOT QUALITY. It's because it's built in China or Taiwan and not built by $40-$50 an hour union workers; or it doesn't have a name on it that many people pay for and the company can charge for. There is definitely some crap out there. You can find plenty of people with negative comments. But it's crap because of the quality, not the price. You can find some great products at a fraction of the price.
 
I had a Simmons ATEC that was mounted on a .300Wby that finally broke after a ton of abuse. I've had Tasco's go on .22's so all you see is fog or condensation drops. But the biggest disappointment I have ever had was in Nikon's products.

I purchased a Nikon Buckmaster when I bought my Sako 75 7mm08. We bought 3 rifles and scopes at the time because of a deal that made the combination and quantity come to $800.00 per. But I digress, I was sitting in a stand and had a large buck come out, I sighted in and missed at 100yds with my handload. The reticle had detached on the zero was way off. Sent it off and got it back supposedly repaired. Remounted sighted in and again hunting I missed, the erector spring or component had broken. Sent it in and they finally sent me a new scope. Needless to say, I sold the POS the sent back. I will never own another one either.

As to the poster that doesn't think the Ziess is worth it, I beg to differ. The scope gather light long after cheaper ones quit, its clear and built like a tank.
 
You should have made this a multiple choice poll. I have had two of those options happen to me. Lost zero going from point a to point b. Also, had cloudy or fogged lenses make it impossible to see a target. Cheap scopes are fine for most guys at the range, but I have learned my lesson.
 
I primarily hunt predators using mouth calls. It is challenging enough without equipment failure. Yes, I have lost a coyote to a shifting poi in a cheap scope. Came home ****** off, checked the poi on paper & watched it walk. Threw the scope in the trash & ordered a leupold.
I have become a believer in leupold over the years. I just purchased a 6-24x40 bushnell elite 4200 that seems good but I don't have enough rounds through that rifle to say for sure. If the bushnell hadn't been marked down 40% on close out I wouldn't own it.
Buying a mid or high level scope isn't just buying a piece of crap with a great warranty. It's buying optical clarity from bottom to top of magnification, true adjustments that can be trusted, lenses coated for optimal light transition & less prone to fogging....oh yeah, & a lifetime warranty.
If cheap scopes work for you the that's fine. But I've been there & the difference in quality is very evident to me and i'll gladly pay ten times your cheap scope price to have one that I can depend on.
 
I've never lost an animal to a broken scope, but I had a close call once.

I was on an elk hunt in Colorado. Hunted hard for a week, never saw an elk in shooting distance. Came home, fired a practice session, my Simmons scope had lost it and changed POI every shot by about a foot.

Learned my lesson. I have lots of cheap scopes - on my range toys. My serious hunting rifles get Leupold, Burris and Bushnell Elites at the minimum. You spend too much time and have too much invested to risk blowing it because you used a cheap scope.
 
I don't hunt any more,but when i did,i never had a issue. Now i comp shoot out to 600 yards with a $112.00 NCStar scope. Put a lot of those $1000.00 big name scopes to shame weekly too. true it is a Bench rest rifle,but it holds zero very well and is always on target.I agree with other posts here.clarity on less than full power is every bit as good as the big boys. I was told last year already by (no name) that a $500.00 scope 3 years ago is about a $100.00 scope today with all the advances. True or not?? Can't say i have never wasted big bucks to find out.
 
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Not sure if you call Leupold a cheap scope but my buddy raised his rifle to shoot a whitetail a few yrs ago and it looked like somebody filled the scope with milk.
It was that deer's lucky day.
Good thing for Leupold customer service.:rolleyes:
 
One thing is sure: I've wasted a lot of ammo sighting in cheap scopes and rings, and I've had to tear a scope off of a muzzleloader the day before the season opener and simply use irons due to a complete reticle failure.

I've also had erector spring issues that caused slow creeping failures: the need to tap turrets to adjust, spontaneous zero shifts, etc. This has happened to me with older Tasco and Bushnell scopes, though to be fair, it took many years.

I've not had that happen with my more expensive scopes (which I consider to be anything over $150 or so). I don't really worry much about optical quality, but the scope MUST hold zero,and it MUST adjust consistently.
 
Maybe.

I've had cheap scopes fail and end a hunt early. Who knows what would have happened if I had not had to come out of the woods early. I no longer buy cheap scopes. In fact I'd rather buy a scope with a reputation for ruggedness than one with slightly better glass.
 
I wanted to add one important thing to my other post....

I posted earlier, about the diminishing returns of the more expensive ones and how there is limited advantage most the time, and how my $150 dollar BSA works wonderfully

Regardless, my next scope will be in the 400 dollar range and Ill tell you why. Because so many people on the gun forums are enchanted by more expensive optics and the thought that anything less is garbage, their resale value are great! So I think buying a midprice one is a smart decision, just because I can sell it couple years later for just a little less then I bought it for! I see scopes being posted and selling the same day!

Just wanted to add that tid-bit, to show that while I believe there are diminished returns, there are always two sides to every story.
 
Only one woodchuck.

I had a Tasco 10-40x on my .204 Ruger that served me well for about 4 years. I took it out one spring to sight it in and there happened to be a woodchuck in the middle of the "range". The gun shot about 5 feet right at 50 yards. I have no idea what happened to it. Still, for $129, 4 years of service and consequences no worse that a missed woodchuck.
 
One thing I've learned about the gun crowd, through all my reading on forums, is they happily pay 10X more to prepare for the 1:1000 chance. Its funny, I come up on these threads almost on a daily basis, where people say their cheap scope has treated them very well, and usually there will be a few people that come in an agree. Then on all the threads of people asking what scope to buy, every post says not to buy a cheap scope because it wont be 'reliable'. While, going to the next thread, its a thread on X high cost brand failing.
Click to expand...

I've had cheap scopes fail, and I've had my Leupolds break as well. The difference is my Leupold scope (Burris, Vortex, Nikon, etc...) gets repaired or replaced for the cost of dropping it in the mail. The thing is though I've noticed is that my cheap scopes don't take some of the abuse that my more expensive scopes will take. So if I travel to hunt I'd rather bet my money on a $3-400 scope than a $100 scope. If you have ever seen how baggage handlers load airplanes you'll know what I mean. I’d rather buy one moderately priced scope with a lifetime warranty, than buy 2-3 cheap scopes over the lifetime of use for one rifle.
 
One squirrel. I don't even remember what brand of 'scope was on my grandfather's 10/22, but it was cheap, and shifted zero on me mid squirrel-hunt.
 
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