WELL, I BOUGHT A TASCO SS (GASP)

C

CITADELGRAD87

New member
Ordered it today from SWFA.

It's going on my .308 precision semi rig, or should that be semi precision?

It should get here early next week.

I'll take it to the local 600 yard range and post a report.

I researched this a lot, and appreciate all the input here.

I decided on a either Leup Mk4 or a Tasco, and other than general comments that Tascos "suck," and specific warnings about the side focus model, which I avoided, all feedback was positive. $1000 versus $274, and although not identical, close enough for the amount of long range work I do.
 
I acquired a Bushmaster with a Tasco (High Country?) 6X24 on it. They are advertised at $99.95, some ad I've seen...From the benchrest, the rig easily shoots five or more inside an inch at 100 yards.

I tried one shot at 24X, and one shot at 6X; they were 1/2" to 5/8" apart...

I've bought other rifles with Tascos already attached. I never noticed any problems with them, although I never used them long before changing out to some Leupold, Weaver or Redfield I already had lying around. I dunno how rugged they are.

FWIW, Art
 
Let us know how it works out. I recently had to decide on a scope for a "semi-precision" rifle and seriously considered the Tasco 10x42 SS. Like you I mostly heard good comments about the Tasco, but had some reservations.

In the end, I opted to drop the bucks for a Leupold 3.5-10 Vari-X III M3, but suspect that the Tasco would have been good choice given my needs. Yes, I'll be feelin' the hole in my wallet for a while!
 
Hey CITADELGRAD87 did you get the Military version (parallax is an extra knob on the side) or the regular version with the parallax adjustment on the rear lense? I went to SWFA and they sold out on the military Super Snipers.
 
HiPower-

Yeah, I looked at that, but I have this urge to try to hit at 1000 yards. I can't use a canted mount, and I think I need either a Mk4 or the SS to get enough elevation.

I currently have a VariXIII 3.5x10x50 on it, duplex reticle, 1" tube. I hear the Leups are better optics wise to the tune of 15 minutes longer evening shooting. For the amount of shooting I do, I feel I'm getting a $700 discount. There have been times in my life where money literally was no object, like when I bought the rig itself, but now my family comes first, and this seemed like a no brainer.

Glock Racer-

I got the rear parallax version. The only first hand criticism I could find was that the side focus model seemed fragile, this from several sources, so I wasn't going to spring the extra 100, but in the end, they were sold out.

For what it's worth, they are identical save for this feature.
 
gunmart why do you have to be obnoxious? Your post added absolutely nothing to the discussion. Does remington and leupold pay you a bounty everytime you rag another product?
 
Opinions - we're all entitled to them. So, please don't take them personally.

According to one post I've read here at TFL, Mark IV rings can compress the scope tube too much if the rings are mounted close to the turret. This causes the parallax focus on the 10x42SSM model to go of out sync. So, while the scope could be good, be careful of what rings you use and please give us a range review.
 
gunmart has spoken!!!!

Stop the presses.

I have cancelled my order, based upon what seems to be the advice of the ever pleasant gunmart.

I will also sell my rig, even if I take a loss, and buy whatever platform he suggests.

Let me guess--no Savages, right?
 
Okay, cool it.

Editorial comments which offer no information aren't welcome. My own comment is that a smart fish doesn't go after sucker bait.

:), Art
 
It looks like you all baited me in on this one.

I have had 15 years in the firearms business and have had and seen nothing but trouble out of tasco scopes.

Tasco is a cheap scope no doubt about it.you get what you pay for in optics .tasco always blames the consumer for installing shoddy rings or bad scope mounting technique for the inferior product they make and that is what disgust me about tasco.
Simmons and Bushnell also make a cheap inferior scope but they blame no one they just replace them and thank you for buying there product.

sounds like gary has some experiance with rings that cost more than you paid for the scope.if mk4 rings and bases can mess up a tube then there is SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE TUBE.i have found mk4 rings to be some of the best rings on the market next to talley.



I hope it will give you many years of great service but if it does not then you have no one to blame but yourself.GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY SHOOTING.


[Edited by gunmart on 03-21-2001 at 09:53 PM]
 
My uncle was a gun dealer and gunsmith after he got back to the States from Central America in 1942 until his death in 1977. Somewhere in--I guess--the 1960s he showed me a Tasco 4X, with the comment that they were very, very bright compared to other scopes (Weaver, Bausch & Lomb, etc.), but they "faded" after a year or two. For the price, buy 'em, use 'em, throw 'em away and start over...

I think we're all agreed that you generally get what you pay for. Less expensive "anythings" just can't be as well made; the room for a profit just isn't there.

So we're back to affordability and purpose. Don't we all know that if you're going into competition with folks having the best equipment, we also need the best if we actually hope to win? However, for more casual usage, we don't need to worry about that.

There are reasonable odds that on a rifle with the mild recoil of a .308, the Tasco will give adequate service for some years. Other Tascos have. What we need to do is cross our fingers that CITADELGRAD 87 gets a pay raise and can upgrade his equipment. :)

Come to think of it, most of us could stand a pay raise...

G'night, Art
 
I understood that Tasco doesn't even manufacture the SS10X42. I believe they are made in Japan. IIRC Springfield armory scopes are made in Japan as well. Same goes for the Shepherd scope too as is most Nikons, Pentax and Minoltas. The optics on 10X42 are acceptable. Plus the scope has a lifetime no fault guarantee. Its a good scope. it works well and the price is right. Hey Gunmart, if you are ever in Texas, I challenge you to a match. Your scope against my tasco, what do you say?
 
i havent seen them fade in a long time . they are using conventional hakko lens built in japan .these are mass produced by hakko and yes they are put in the sringfield armory scopes also.its the tubes and the way they are constucted in the tube that makes them so unreliable.

i dont think that 80% of the shooters out there can really tell optically one scope from the next as far as light gathering and clarity goes.but everyone IS affected by performance in the field.




no way general.i never take sucker bets.

i hope he gets a raise too:):):)
 
I have nearly 20 different scopes some on rifles, some on handguns . generally I have no problem with any except for 3 guns. these 3 guns destroyed every scope I installed until I found the 2 that would work and not self- destruct. The guns are my T/C contender in 45/70, a custom built 416 rigby (mauser action) and a rem 700 in 264 win mag. I tried every scope from nikon to bushnell, none would hold up beyond 150 rounds down range. all were factory warrentied and were replaced by the manufacturer with no problem, even the Tasco. but the 2 scopes that DO work are tasco's 3x12x40 air rifle scope on the contender and simmons 6x24x40 airgun scope on the rifles. they have held up for over 400 rounds each so far. granted the clarity isn't as good as my $450 leupold but the darn things HOLD UP !!!!
 
I Don't NEED a Pay Raise

FWIW, it's going on a HK SR9T, in a $350 HK mount. Yes, it's a real one.

I paid about $300 for this scope. It's not a matter of "can't afford." I have come to a point in my life where, sometimes, careful analysis shows that I don't NEED to overkill on everything I buy. I literally have a safe full of top drawer firearms, and have never bought what I feel to be an inferior product.

I don't know how this turned into a discussion of my income, but I don't flinch at spending money, and while I'm not rich, I clear plenty.

However, for the amount and type of use I intend, I cannot justify spending over $1,000 for a Leup. I have only fired this rig at over 200 yards twice, and I ran out of elevation in my LEOUPOLD Vari X III 3.5x10x50 1" at about 500+ yards.

The rig is probably capable of 1000 yards, and I want to find out. There is one 600 yard range 1 hour from my house, and, if it's still open, a 1000 yard range 2 hours from my house. I shoot at these ranges every 6 months or so, tops.

I researched this for about 1 year, and decided on a Leup Mk4, but don't want to spend $1000 more on this lark than I already have.

FWIW, the TASCO SS series is not made by the same company that makes the cheaper Tasco scopes, and NEITHER is made by TASCO.

You don't need to accept this, gunmart, but saying SSs suck because of your experience with $60 bottom of the line TASCOs is like saying Porches suck because a buddy had a 914 that was a piece of crap.

I have personally conversed with several people who have SSs, including 1 who has both a Mk4 and an SS. In fact, it was his suggestion that I try the SS in this situation. THe only negative I have heard concerns the side focus model, the "M," which I did not buy.

Bottom line, do I think it's the same as a Mk4? No.
Do I think it's capable of doing what I need? Yes.

Will I build a true long range bolt rig and use a Leup some day? I don't know, but maybe...
 
Citadelgrad87,

I see now why you can't use a canted base.

I also hope to try my hand at 1000 yards but was setting up a .308 bolt gun. I forgot the LR part of the scope designation. With the 30mm tube, I should have enough internal elevation to get to 1000, but just in case, I used the Badger 15 MOA base and rings.

I went through a very similar thought process re: this purchase, and since we've had a good year earnings wise, and I got a good deal on the rifle itself, figured I could splurge a bit.

Frankly, the BDC on the Leupold is what did it for me more than any periecived quality issue with the SS 10X42. I had some correnspondence with the guys from Storm Mountain re: the 1 MOA vs. 1/4 MOA knobs and decided that for my desires the 1 MOA w/ BDC was superior.

If Tasco had an offering in the SS series that offered what I wanted, I'd have taken the chance and pocketed several hundred dollars for ammo/training. The SS has an NSN number and is used by military units. I don't really question whether it's up to the tasks I'd ever put it to.

Again, Please let us know how your rig works out.
 
Bingo Highpower!

Stuck with a flat base, I need tons of elevation.

I looked at US Optics, Leups, and Springfields.

I was going to opt for the 1moa with the BDC cams, too. The thought of spinning that elevation turret several times is only slightly alleviated by the knowledge that I can exactly tailor my comeups to my rifle and its favorite load.

For reasons above, I made my decision. IF it doesn't work, it'll be returned.

If it does work, I'll be very happy, but I won't be surprised.

Either way, I will post my results here, even scan in my targets, once I try it out.(If I can figure out the process of scanning.)

It may be a few weeks, though, as I don't even have it yet, and I need to sneak away for a few hours with somebody who I trust to watch my rifle while I huff to the targets!

Have you stretched your rig's legs yet Highpower?
 
This thread has come to parallel some others about scopes, the amount of internal adjustment and the issue of angled mounts.

For years I'd had a Vari-X II on my '06. For no particular reason, I put a Simmons 44 Mag on it, some three-four years back. Sighted it in, happy, happy, everything works just fine.

Fast forward to my building my 500-yard range. I usually sight in for 2" high at 100 yards, so I go to the Sierra book and calculate I need another 8" or so, which is 32 clicks. Turned out I needed around 38+/-; disremember.

But they were there, which now has me wondering: Just what is the total amount of adjustment in that scope? Was I already near the bottom, for my normal sight-in? Maybe the data is at the Simmons website? (I assume they have a site; doesn't everybody?)

And now you guys got me mumbling about putting up more targets, another 500 yards out! I can see it now. I get on top of my backhoe (to see over the brush) with my laser rangefinder and a radio, telling my buddy, "Farther back...Farther back...Oops, forgot about the cliff."

Mercy!

:), Art
 
No, I haven't yet had a chance to shoot it beyond 100 yards yet. I plan to shoot some this weekend at 100 but probably will not have a chance to work on a load for the rifle.

Off the bipod with my Service Rifle load, I got about 1 inch groups. I'm sure with some fine tuning I can tighten that up a bit. After that, I'll try to sneak it on the High Power range to give it a check out to 600, and if that looks good, I'll go for the 1000 yard line.
 
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