1970's Tasco scope

[Sooner Shooter]

My 243 and Tasco scope are from the mid 70's. I read that they are now made in China and not very good. I know mine was made in Japan and for the last 30 years this has been a great scope. I know it's used with a gun with little recoil but from what I can tell it gathers light as well as any Leupold, Burris, or any other high dollar scope that I've sampled, and crystal clear. When I sight it in each year it always seems to be right on and my rifle groups down to one half moa. It probably cost about $40 thirty years ago. Inexpensive, even then for a good scope. Are you thinking that I'm just visually impaired or is this scope from the 70's actually a quality scope? This scope will fog up when going from warm to cold or cold to warm. Any experiences with the Japanese models?

Waterproof #628V Japan-A-57 3x9-40

[ArkansasHunter]

Sooner Shooters I've got 2 mid 1980's Tasco World Class scopes that haven't gave me any trouble and these also gather light well.
I wished I had another one like these to put on my Marlin 22 magnum.
A.H

P.S. Ones a 4 power and the other is a 3X9

[billy]

ive got a good tasco from the 70's also

[nodlenor]

I have several old Tasco scopes. All of mine were made in Japan and are fine quality scopes. I also have some Leupold, Nikon, Simmons, and Bushnell scopes and don't see that they are any better especially for the difference in price, I'm not sure where they got their reputation for being such low quality scopes because I know several people who use them and have had good luck with them. I don't have any China made scopes but judging from the poor quality of everything else they dump on us I doubt they are worth thinking about. The way things are going now it looks like everything is going to made in China so I guess we might as well get used to it.

[samuel]

When Tasco went Chinese the quality left the scopes. sam.

[soonerborn]

If you can adjust the windage and elevation turrets with the bullet tracking well after each adjustment and then you reset the turrets to the zero and you find that your bullets are hitting dead center, then its a good scope

If the eye relief and exit pupil are adequate for you then its a good scope

If its clear and you dont see distortions on the edges or flaring then its a good scope

If it does all three of those then its a great scope no matter what it costs, who makes it or where its made.

[Sooner Shooter]

Originally Posted by soonerborn

If you can adjust the windage and elevation turrets with the bullet tracking well after each adjustment and then you reset the turrets to the zero and you find that your bullets are hitting dead center, then its a good scope

If the eye relief and exit pupil are adequate for you then its a good scope

If its clear and you dont see distortions on the edges or flaring then its a good scope

If it does all three of those then its a great scope no matter what it costs, who makes it or where its made.

Thanks Soonerborn,

This scope does pass all of those requirements. Another question might be: Do the expensive scopes fog up when taken from a warm to cold environment? I try to avoid this by keeping this scoped gun in the back of the pickup or down low in the back seat to avoid getting warm before a trip to the woods. Also, the fact that this gun passes all of the above requirements would it be safe to say that this scope would remain sighted in using a gun such as a 300 WM or would that be when you spend the big bucks for a proven high dollar scope?

[irish murphy]

The older Nikko arent bad either.I got a couple of tasco and nikko that are old.

[soonerborn]

Originally Posted by Sooner Shooter

Thanks Soonerborn,

This scope does pass all of those requirements. Another question might be: Do the expensive scopes fog up when taken from a warm to cold environment? I try to avoid this by keeping this scoped gun in the back of the pickup or down low in the back seat to avoid getting warm before a trip to the woods. Also, the fact that this gun passes all of the above requirements would it be safe to say that this scope would remain sighted in using a gun such as a 300 WM or would that be when you spend the big bucks for a proven high dollar scope?

All scopes will fog. Some have coating and such that can reduce it but they will all fog. As long as the fogging is external you can buy some kind of anti-fogging solution to wipe on it. If the fogging is internal then you need to leave scope outside (in the car) the night before you go hunting.

If it was up to me I would not mount that scope on anything with heavy recoil. I wouldnt even mount it on a 30 cal just to be safe. It sounds like a great scope so no way would I take a chance on breaking it when it could last a lifetime on your 243. I am looking for a 300 wm to purchase and I can assure you it will be a Burris Signature Select, Bushnell Elite 4200 or Sightron SII Big Sky on top of it. I may shell out the extra for a Burris Euro/Black Diamond or Sightron SIII, but I dunno. I havent owned either yet and really want to give them both a shot but I do know those first 3 to be excellent so I dont really see what the point would be in spending the extra money.

There is a huge difference between scopes under $200 and scopes over $300 and it is well worth the investment imo. When you get to scopes over 700 there just isnt a big enough jump in quality to justify the price increase so I cannot see myself ever owning a 1200 dollar scope. The Burris Diamond and SIII scopes are right at 700.

This of course is all subjective, if you plan on shooting that 300WM alot then absolutely spend the money to buy a good scope, if you just plan on breaking it out a few times a year on a hunt or two then you should just save the money and get a Bushnell legend / Sightron SI.

[samuel]

I wouldnt get carried away on power if this is for hunting.I like 2.5x7.They are much easier to get on target and have better light gathering capabilities.All scopes do not fog up.With any good scope,I have never had that problem. sam.

[Sooner Shooter]

Thanks for all the good replies men. I appreciate the time you've spent answering my questions. SS

[billy]

i got a 3x9x tasco that ive shown here before for $3 at a flea market and it is better built than most .
vintage 70's

[Sooner Shooter]

Originally Posted by billy

i got a 3x9x tasco that ive shown here before for $3 at a flea market and it is better built than most .
vintage 70's

I remember the days when we would always bad mouth the Japanese about the quality of their goods. Billy you may be a decade too young to remember those derogatory remarks but in my opinion we can thank them for making Americans build a better car today than they used to make. I used to be a woodworker and the tools built by the Japanese were always first rate. I think the days of getting quality at a low price are gone forever. The Chinese are keeping the price down but the quality just isn't there.

[billy]

im 45 on the 21'st of this month

[rebel727]

I had a Tasco once but I think it was in the 80's. It was a POS. My scope of preference now is a Simmons 44 mag. I've got one that's been on my hot loaded 30-06 for about 20 years. I don't care for some of Simmons other scopes but the 44 mag is top notch.

[soonerborn]

Originally Posted by samuel

I wouldnt get carried away on power if this is for hunting.I like 2.5x7.They are much easier to get on target and have better light gathering capabilities.All scopes do not fog up.With any good scope,I have never had that problem. sam.

Good point on the power Sam.

I do believe that all scopes will fog up. Like I said though, some scopes have coatings and such to reduce this. While it will not be a problem in a good scope, there is no such thing as a "fog proof" scope. Internally fog proof, yes, but not externally.