Has a cheap scope ever cost you an animal?

Has a cheap scope ever cost you an animal?

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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.
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I just wanted to say that I agree that if you are serious about hunting or shooting then buying a higher price scope is worth it. They hold their resale value, so they are not a ripoff, and the ones with good warranties are gonna be good for life.

I guess the reason my first post was criticizing them so much was because it really bothers me how much the advantages are blown out of proportion. When a new shooter comes onto the forum, and dare he ask about a '\lower prices scope, he gets hounded that its garbage and it will just break. 90% of the responses come from people that never had that particular brand scope, but base it off hearsay. A new shooter, simply does NOT require a $500 scope. If he can afford it great, but he would obviously not be asking about cheaper ones if he can just throw money around. Especially that he probably doesn't know yet if he will be sticking to shooting or not. I know when IO posted about getting a BSA scope, my thread was filled with people discouraging me to get one, based off NOTHING other than opinion. I can't blame them, because I asked for their opinion by posting here, but it's just apparent how much misinformation there is out there.
 
I know when IO posted about getting a BSA scope, my thread was filled with people discouraging me to get one, based off NOTHING other than opinion. I can't blame them, because I asked for their opinion by posting here, but it's just apparent how much misinformation there is out there.
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You just contradicted yourself. It's not misinformation if it's a personal opinion. We all know what they say about opinons....Everyone's got one

If you ask someone's opinion, expect every possible type of opinion/answer from the best to the worst and you make up your own mind which ones are sound advice or internet BS. Some people will have facts to back up their opinions, other won't. Again, it's up to the OP to make up their own minds based on EVERYONE's Opinion that wants to respond.
 
YES! I learned the hard way that you get what you pay for in optics.

I had a Tasco "world class" on my .270 and missed a big 200+lb hog at 35 yards. He was eating under a feeder and I had plenty of time for the shot. The shot felt perfect and I knew I had drilled him. No blood no squealing pig as they usually do when shot.

I was thinking "NO WAY I MISSED" and decided to test my gun on paper. My group was at least 18" @ 100 yards and a couple bullets didn't even hit the paper(thats why I say at least). So I estimate that the tasco had 1 too many shots to handle the recoil of my .270 and the reticle came lose.

I checked all the hardware for loose screws but there were none. I've been a loyal Nikon user ever since. I believe they are one of the best values in optics and have a lifetime warranty if I ever had a problem.

Luckily I found out in September and I dis not miss a trophy deer!
 
I've never had any fail me, but I have personally seen two BSA's fall aprt under recoil......different owners. One was on factory loads .308 rifle. The other was on a 30-06, again, factory loads. If you look up "factory Refurbished scopes" ironically there seems to be more BSA's than any other, next in line was Nikon and then Burris.

I do buy cheaper scopes but I stick with Japanese, Korean or Phillipine made scopes. I find USED scopes on Ebay before I buy anything NEW made in China. Simmons and Bushnell had some very good quality optics out of the Phillipines and Korea. I have a Bushnell Scopechief 3.5-10 x 44 with Bausch & Lomb glass in it. I got it new in the box on Ebay for under $65 shipped. he guy had two of them, I wish I would have bought both of them now! I just stay the heck away from "made in Chine" but admittedly the modern Chinese optics are still clearer than the stuff they made 30 years ago.
 
You just contradicted yourself. It's not misinformation if it's a personal opinion. We all know what they say about opinons....Everyone's got one

If you ask someone's opinion, expect every possible type of opinion/answer from the best to the worst and you make up your own mind which ones are sound advice or internet BS. Some people will have facts to back up their opinions, other won't. Again, it's up to the OP to make up their own minds based on EVERYONE's Opinion that wants to respond.
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I guess what I said didn't portray exactly what I meant. What I meant was I don't blame them for voicing their opinions since that's whats expected from online forums, BUT I guess I was looking for substantiated opinions and not hearsay.

For example, I had another thread on rifles, and your reply was one of the most helpful and I really appreciated it. Not because its what I wanted to hear, but because you based what you said off something solid.

The people that responded saying they think BSA is garbage because their friends have them and they all broke, thats exactly what I was looking for. The good along with the bad. Not comments from people that haven't owned anything but leupolds so anything other than that they bash and say its automatically garbage. The scope I bought was a special edition made for midway and has more good reviews than some leupolds on their site!
 
I have a number of inexpensive scopes on rifles - Pentax, then some Bushnell, Nikon, and Leupold (have even played with some Zeiss).

I have only seen the clarity and optics consistently improving over the years all across the board.

I have a Leupold that is decades old, which has absorbed many thousands of 300 H&H recoils and still works A-OK.

I also have a Pentax which is several years old that has also stood up to thousands or recoils and still is A-OK. (Got this on sale for $49.99; 3-9 x 40.) Pretty amazing that the rings cost more than the scope! (I do have a "thing" about good rings.)

The Pentax is cleaner optically than the old Loopy.

I have zero problem with "cheaper" scopes; all of my firearms and scopes get plenty of testing; so far no worries or missed game shots due to bad scope.

For what it's worth, my Pentaxs did come with a lifetime warrantee; $19.95 when sending in, fix or replace; straight from the literature that came with the scopes.

So, as has been said many times before:
You pay your money and you take your chances.
 
Never cost me an animal but....

I've had 2 scopes fail. One was a relatively expensive Weaver handgun scope that had the guts just fall apart. Paid $225 back in 1984. Was alot of money back then.

The other was an early 70's Redfield that fogged on me. They replaced that one.
 
I know some of you hate to hear it but in all the my experience you do get what you pay for. When i started out at 16 years old i saved up for a $140 bushnell 6-18. On a clear sunny day at atleast 60 degrees I could shoot just as good with that scope as i could've with any. My first season coyote hunting i was out in -20 and had two dogs come to the call, one paused at 100 yards and i couldn't see ****! Fogged. I put that scope on another .223 and after about 1000 shots it wouldn't hold zero anymore...it would move about 1/4 inch per shot, so for fun we put in on my 7mm Mag, and it would move about 2 inches per shot.

That doesn't mean I would tell a guy not to buy a cheap scope. If you are plinking or fun target shooting at the range and not worried about losing (oir even worse wounding) out an animal or a competition then maybe a cheap scope is perfect for you. Hell it'd be nice not to have to worry about taking absolute perfect care of your scope because it cost you 3 car payments to get it! I had to learn to save up and buy the scope i really wanted, THEN i'd save up and buy the rifle, that way i wouldn't get antsy and just settle on a cheaper scope once i had the shiny new rifle in my hands.
 
I know some of you hate to hear it but in all the my experience you do get what you pay for. When i started out at 16 years old i saved up for a $140 bushnell 6-18. On a clear sunny day at atleast 60 degrees I could shoot just as good with that scope as i could've with any. My first season coyote hunting i was out in -20 and had two dogs come to the call, one paused at 100 yards and i couldn't see ****! Fogged. I put that scope on another .223 and after about 1000 shots it wouldn't hold zero anymore...it would move about 1/4 inch per shot, so for fun we put in on my 7mm Mag, and it would move about 2 inches per shot.

That doesn't mean I would tell a guy not to buy a cheap scope. If you are plinking or fun target shooting at the range and not worried about losing (oir even worse wounding) out an animal or a competition then maybe a cheap scope is perfect for you. Hell it'd be nice not to have to worry about taking absolute perfect care of your scope because it cost you 3 car payments to get it! I had to learn to save up and buy the scope i really wanted, THEN i'd save up and buy the rifle, that way i wouldn't get antsy and just settle on a cheaper scope once i had the shiny new rifle in my hands.
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Exactly! I don't think anyone can argue that a 2,000 dollar night force is the same quality as a BSA(even if they have same features), BUT each has its own place. I wouldn't trust a $30 tasco on our soldiers 50 cal sniper rifles, where lives are at stake, but I think we can all agree thats usually not who is asking "what scope should i put on my first rifle". Recommending a new shooter to shell out 600-1000 on a scope seems a bit irresponsible to me, but thats what happens all the time in threads.

Sorry for hijacking the thread OP, I guess our discussion is slightly off topic to whether one has failed in the field or not. But I feel this discussion is important to anyone new thats thinking of buying a cheap scope and stumbles upon this thread because of the title.
 
Never had a cheap scope fail, I have bought a few rifles with less expensive glass on them, I take the glass off put on one of my old trust weathy scopes on it. I have aquired several quality scopes over the years. I take the unwanted scopes to our gun club swap meet where I make sure they don't come home with me.

If your gona buy a caddy would ya put recap tires on it?
 
No because I've seen too many cheap scopes fail at the range so I won't put one on my hunting rifles. I don't want to lose an animal nor do I want to wound an animal because my scope isn't reliable.
 
Scopes

I have a scope on almost every rifle I own. Never have paid over $250.00 for any of them. I had one in ten years flip out the parallax went out but never had one loose zero and I've had some cheapies, NcStar, Barska and even being on the junk side as most here would call them they never did loose a zero.
 
Timelinex, I haven't been here long but a while longer than you. Long enough to say the recommendation for a new shooter to drop $600 to $1000 on a scope is almost nonexistant. You will, however, see lots of us steer them to bushnell elite 3200's, the new leupold-made redfields, burris fulfields, various nikons, etc. You can get a pretty decent 3-9x40 scope for right around $150.
You asked for opinions so here is mine: you only hear what you want to hear & what you want to hear are birds singing the same song as you. I'm sorry friend but your $40 scopes are not as good as my $400 scopes so please stop urinating on my boot & telling me its raining. Quality is rarely cheap. Cheap is rarely quality. When there is a full moon in the winter, I love to lay out on the snow and call coyotes by moonlight. Tried it with junk & couldn't see anything. Tried it with quality & had a blast because I could see almost everything. I've had my fill of cheap scopes because thats what I could afford when I was young & broke. Sorry but I'm not about to go back to them.
 
Never had one cost me an animal, but have had a few cheap scopes break. 3 have been on .22's and one on a pellet gun. I know you're not supposed to put a regular scope on a pellet gun but I have had, and do have some nicer scopes on them and some cheap scopes and never had a problem. I have never had a problem with Bushnell, I have several Sportviews, a couple that are @ 30 yrs. old. Low end Simmons and chinese scopes have given me the trouble. I will never buy a cheap scope again for any application.
 
I guess I've been lucky, 25 or so years hunting with optics and never a failure. I have two early 1970's 336's in 30-30 and .35 rem. They both have what must be 70's model Tasco's on them and I use them all the time with no problem. I also have a pair of those $60 Bushnells from wal-mart that have been great. Of course I have a few top end Leupold's as well.
 
To answer the question; no. A cheap scope has never cost me an animal. On the other hand, I've been punching holes in paper for the past two years with a Osprey International Tactical Scope (10-40x50) and I haven't had one single problem with it. I recently shot 600 yards with it on top of a 7mil. I paid $169 for it and till this day its the most I've ever paid for a scope. Matter of fact I've never had any problems with my other cheap (brand name) scopes either. I do agree that you get what you pay for in some cases, but you don't have to pay a arm and a leg to get a scope that will give you many years of good service.
 
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Its apparent that some have a lot if faith in their tasco, Simmons, BSA and various Chinese specials. For me I would not spend $10 on a $50 scope unless I had absolutely no other option. This is from my hog hunt listed above and a $39 Simmons that only lasted a couple hundred rounds on my mini 14. Luckily I was able to return the Simmons to Wal mart for a refund. When the tasco went out the company had been sold and was no longer honoring warranties on scopes before the sell. (what does that tell you?)

I am as cheap as the next guy and lime to save money. I used to think I'll never spend $500 on a scope when I can get such a good deal on these sub $100 ones. Lessons learned and time in the field have taught me a good lesson. Buy as good a scope as you can afford and buy from a company that will fix it for a lifetime. After all, firearms are a lifetime product and the scope should be also IMO.

I'm not going to knock anyone for buying cheap optics but you will wish you had spent a little more when you realize that $99 special was just a waste of $99 when your scope craps out. This is the way I look at it now at least.
 
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I have never had a (cheap) scope fail.
I have never had an expensive scope fail.
But, I have never had an expensive scope.
I shot competitively for years with my 30-06 fitted with an ancient $3.00 garage sale scope. Consistently made sub-.75" five shot groups. Would a $1,000.00 scope have done better?
I have had an Aimpoint fail. Just quit.
I have a theory that an expensive scope will get damaged just as quickly and badly when dropped on the rocks as an inexpensive one.
That happened to me once when a sling swivel broke. It happens. I would rather lose a $100.00 scope than a $1,000.00+ one.
Hurray for Tasco's and other similar.
I doubt anyone could tell the difference just by looking through them without seeing the price tag first.
 
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