Scope won’t track?

[Walkalong]

Good point. I have a Silver Simmons 4X scope I bought to match my SS Ruger 10/22 about 30+ years ago, paid $25 $30 maybe. I dialed it in and have never adjusted it again and it has fired a few thousand rounds of .22 lR. No real stress on the scope, but it still works great. No heavy recoil, no dialing it back and forth (Set it and forget it), so sure, it was cheap, it has lasted 30+ years and should last 30 more, but no, it has not been stressed.

If one wants a scope they can dial back and forth a lot they need to invest a little bit of money and buy a brand that has a good reputation for tracking well. Plain and simple.

For the OP. Yes, it should work to start and you should be able to sight it in with no issues. That said, scopes are worth every penny you pay, or don't pay, for them.

 

[LoonWulf]

How often and for what was that scope used? I often see people on forums talk about the durability of a product and mention the amount of time that they've owned it. No offense, and this may not apply to you, but that's really irrelevant. I've used an individual optic more and harder in a single weekend than some of my friends have used theirs in 10 years.

That's true, type of use makes a major difference. Im a set it and forget it guy, I rarely spin dials, and I dont bash my gear around any more than necessary. I do (or did until I had kids) use gear often, and it generally bounces around in the passenger seat of my truck until I see something then gets drug a round the mountain for a while. Or get to sit against a rock while I wait for something to stick its head out.
Altitude change is 6-9k feet depending on where I'm hunting, and conditions from blazing hot, to freezing rain and hail.
These are the same conditions that killed the pair of Vipers (tho I know of 3 Diamondback's that regularly make the same general hunts I do), well besides being a lower elevation.

When I was hunting nearly every weekend, I still mostly used "cheap" scopes. Nikon prostaffs, Simmons prohunter, whitetail expedition and classics. I had a few leupolds then also but never warmed up to them. I had one borrowed Burris that I really liked, and probably should have bought.
If I was going out in bad weather I almost always took my 7mm 700sps topped with the 100 dollar midway special whitetail classic. Wasn't gonna risk beating up my like 700 dollar abolt rig

 

[Mowgli Terry]

I won't trash scopes. These low end can be used on .22 rifles. I'm doing it right now I have been treated well by both Simmons and BSA on used scopes. My favorite is Leupold. Leupold has gotten a loud chorus of haters of late. Yep, you get what you pay for. Don't trash those low end scopes.

 

[Axis II]

Just to clarify I wasn’t trying to track rounds or twist turrets with this scope I was just trying to bore sight it. I’m a set and forgot guy too. I’m trashing it and putting my bushnell 3-9-40 lighted on it till Santa brings either a mueller apv, bushnell rimfire 3-12 or Nikon efr. I’ve said what I want let’s see what i get.

 

[Skylerbone]

How often and for what was that scope used?

Atop my Marlin 25N, the only rifle I squirrel hunted with for 2 decades and the only .22 rifle I owned for that first decade. It was a constant range companion to practice field positions. It saw Iowa weather to include rain and snow, temps from the triple digits to -15 with crazy humidity swings. Of the 900+ Club members I’m one of a handful the caretaker and his wife know by name and one of the few who shoot year round. I’m almost ashamed to admit it but it was also mounted in Weaver Tip Offs straight to the dovetail.

Now when I replaced it I opted for a Nikon P-22, another inexpensive scope at $150 on sale, a DIP 1913 rail, and TPS TSR steel rings $100. And while I consider the rings overkill I’d still call the scope cheap despite sitting on a rifle that was roughly 1/2 its price new.


This pair of cheap Tasco scopes bagged more than 40 deer since the early ‘90s. I replaced one with a Sightron, the other with a VX-1. Total failures: 1, a stripped screw that adjusts the power ring (now JB Welded back in place).


Yep, taken via $50 Tasco on a custom Knight MK 85.


Sightron S1, $150 cheap scope on a T/C Encore Pro Hunter.


A different lowly Bushnell Banner bagged this brute after determining the drop on concrete only dented the objective bell, so back on the Encore it went. I had already swapped my other Tasco to a 30-06 M700.


Speaking of cheap, I rehabbed this pair of 1220s that were completely locked up. Initial prices: $40 & $60. Total investment: $260 for the pair. Didn’t cry at all when I left them with the ex-girlfriend. When my $250 “daily driver” manages to cruise past guys whose hitch racks cost more, I know that the hammer doesn’t make the carpenter.

 

[godale]

I. Used bushnell banners before I could by elites , they always worked fir me but there is a big difference when you line the elites up with them . But hey I was a single dad and bought what I could afford at the time . I hear the Japan banners were much better

 

[Mowgli Terry]

I was expressing dismay, anger and frustration at package scopes. A shooting partner made a point already shared. These pilgrims buy the entry level package rifles with ready mounted scope. Of late, I have seen these scopes with no brand name. Zero the rifle where it remain until the end of days. These scopes are still worth being fixed by the maker-if you can figure out who it is. These low end scopes do OK on plinking 22 rifles. It would be nuts to take one these scope on the hunt of a life time.

 

[cdb1]

I don’t have a problem with $50.00 scopes breaking or not tracking well enough to sight in because I don’t get that far with them. I just flat out won’t use them because to my eyes the glass in them just doesn’t cut it. In all I’ve looked through I have to strain hard to get a good sight picture. I could describe this better but the words don’t come to mind. On a $200.00 scope my eyes are not strained which means no headache and tired eyes at the end of a shooting session.

 

[doubleh]

Simmons says their limited warranty is good for ONE year on imported products. It appears you are out of luck. I would still give them a call just to see if they will offer any help.

 

[d2wing]

Don't buy cheap scopes period. Better to buy the cheap line of a quality scope company.

 

[cheygriz]

I've bitterly regretted every cheap scope I bought. (cheap=under $500)

My dad always told me that the most expensive item on the shelf is almost always the cheapest in the long run. He was right. Especialy when it comes to optics.

Now having said that, obviously I'm not going to put a Night Force on a Ruger 10-22. On the other hand, I'm not going to put a Simmons/Weaver/Bushnell/Redfield/Tasco/NCStar/etc on a Sako.

 

[Dibbs]

At age 20 I purchased a Bushnell scope, 4x32AO for under $50. I replaced that scope about 3 years ago. That’s roughly $2.10/year and it never missed a beat those 20+ years. When it finally went I replaced it with a nicer scope.

That's great! Hopefully your luck will hold.

Because I can think of one thing worse than an IRS audit. Just one. Your trophy struts into range,
pauses, starts grazing, and you line up the shot thru the scope, gently squeeze the trigger, and the animal snaps to, and casually canters away, out of sight.

 

[cdb1]

I've bitterly regretted every cheap scope I bought. (cheap=under $500)

I don’t consider a $300.00 scope cheap. Maybe if I used one to hammer nails I’d feel different.

 

[Skylerbone]

Your trophy struts into range,
pauses, starts grazing, and you line up the shot thru the scope, gently squeeze the trigger, and the animal snaps to, and casually canters away, out of sight.

See post #30 or the pile of antlers in the basement or the ones tacked up in my garage or in my son’s room. I recognize and appreciate quality but if you really put a scope through its paces you’ll find tracking is often a problem even at the 1k price point.

My last $30 Timex didn’t outlast my Swiss Movado (which is still running) but it ALWAYS kept better time at about 1/15th the cost. Ask a guy with 20k in glass which has the best tracking, best glass, best reticle, and most forgiving eye box and I bet he shows you more than 1 scope.

 

[Dibbs]

They say the difference between a liberal and a conservative is a liberal hasn't been mugged, yet.

By extension, the difference between hunters with good scopes, and hunters with cheap ones, is the
hunter with the cheap scope hasn't lost a trophy to crappy optics, yet. You'll get there.

 

[LoonWulf]

I've bitterly regretted every cheap scope I bought. (cheap=under $500)

My dad always told me that the most expensive item on the shelf is almost always the cheapest in the long run. He was right. Especialy when it comes to optics.

Now having said that, obviously I'm not going to put a Night Force on a Ruger 10-22. On the other hand, I'm not going to put a Simmons/Weaver/Bushnell/Redfield/Tasco/NCStar/etc on a Sako.

They say the difference between a liberal and a conservative is a liberal hasn't been mugged, yet.

By extension, the difference between hunters with good scopes, and hunters with cheap ones, is the
hunter with the cheap scope hasn't lost a trophy to crappy optics, yet. You'll get there.

Trophy class Axis, tho not huge.
Borrowed Sako L579, 1980s Weaver.....243 and a running shot at 50-60yds.

 

[Skylerbone]

the
hunter with the cheap scope hasn't lost a trophy to crappy optics, yet. You'll get there.

I’m rounding home on my 38th year of hunting and I’ll be days shy of 46 years old come season’s end; I’m long past counting tines. I also: have never “named” an animal I hunted, never hunted high fence, never pre-paid for a guaranteed size anything, never baited, never used a trail cam, and never leased a property or planted food plots to draw anything in. Snappy sayings won’t change my history since it's been written and few are those who truly place severe demands on their equipment.

What you say is true of glass ought to be so for mounts, rifles, slings, boots, ammo, and binoculars, but we don’t see daily posts about spring replacement schedules in our turn bolts or how often to double-check the O-ring seals on ammo storage containers. Why is that? Don’t cost nothin? Not as sexy a topic as which multi thousand dollar purchase will put one “in the know”?

The difference between a hunter and a trophy harvester is the hunter appreciates the activity and knows his craft. Do you know what those 3 white tails scored in B&C? Me neither.

 

[Dibbs]

Well, good luck, and hopefully everybody who
follows your advice will be as lucky and fortunate as you.

 

[cdb1]

Look at that, you're 46, and you still know it all. I'm impressed. Well, good luck, and hopefully everybody who
follows your advice will be as lucky and fortunate as you.

Post duly noted as sarcastic and unwarranted.

 

[eastbank]

as before, buy and use what works for you on the types of hunts you take. I,m 75 and have been hunting since age 9, with out scopes for the first 10 years taking game and also missing game. when I started using scopes it was the lesser quality as that was all i could afford. as soon as that changed I bought my first leupold, I think in the late 50,s and have never looked back. now having all over the united states, canada and five hunting trips to Africa in some very harsh conditions. leupolds have never left me down, and I,m sure other brands may have done the same, but leupold has stood behind any problems I had by repairing or replaceing free of charge.

 

[Skylerbone]

Far from being a know it all, in fact I know less and less each year. What I do know is that I live within my means as do many people. Sometimes folks tip their hand in a post or offer straight away that funds are/should be limited.

Back to what I “know”: hiding expensive purchases from mama is a recipe for trouble. Asking forgiveness has never been easier than discussing a plan for saving and receiving permission. A usable scope need not cost hundreds of dollars. Not everyone uses firearms for the same purposes and some have multiple firearms for very specific purposes. And finally, like having children, if I had waited until I had enough money to start hunting with tier 1 equipment I would still be waiting.

We need not argue to a personal level about internet advice, people will take it or leave it. Sometimes a guy with 3 kids wants a Corvette and he’s not interested in the practicality of a minivan. And there are times when someone is perusing used Kias when he’s probably ready to step up to a real car and live a little.

As I mentioned, my personal experience has me spending more than I used to for better scopes because I can now afford to do so. Instead of “buy once, cry once” I bought twice without shedding any tears.

 

[LoonWulf]

Kias when he’s probably ready to step up to a real car and live a little.

Whoa there, you leave my Kias alone!

 

[stillquietvoice]

I'm 53 got my first whitetail doe with an bead sighted rem 11-48 12 ga shot gun. Don't most ofy career shooting rifles with cheap optics. Best one I bought for myself was 3 yrs ago. A bushmaster 2 4-12x 40 got 2 of them until this year. Got my first leup a vari II 3-9 x40 and gave it away to SI, got my second leup a vx3L 3.5-10x 50 have yet to mount it. Also bought an m11 with a monarch 3. Spoiled myself this year.

 

[cdb1]

as before, buy and use what works for you on the types of hunts you take. I,m 75 and have been hunting since age 9, with out scopes for the first 10 years taking game and also missing game. when I started using scopes it was the lesser quality as that was all i could afford. as soon as that changed I bought my first leupold, I think in the late 50,s and have never looked back. now having all over the united states, canada and five hunting trips to Africa in some very harsh conditions. leupolds have never left me down, and I,m sure other brands may have done the same, but leupold has stood behind any problems I had by repairing or replaceing free of charge.

I own more Leupold than anything else and agree with your sentiment. By the way you’ve aged well, you don’t look a day over 74.

 

[eastbank]

no wonder you use scopes, you may need a eye exam.