Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Has a cheap scope ever cost you an animal?

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.

bought a 600 remington in my youth that had a 4x weaver on it; was pretty sure i had it sighted in though i played with it quite a bit..come hunting season, had a nice buck come running across from me maybe 100 yds, pulled up and was fogged..gave a quick wipe down and proceeded to empty my gun (was able to reload and empty again all within probably 300 yards ?)... would like to think it was the scope or the gun and not me, but never verified as i dumped the outfit when i got back from my hunt !

Had a friend miss a Kodiak brown bear because his cheap scope failed at the critical moment... He will never buy another Burris...

I can tell you how far a Bushnell spottin scope can be drop kicked 20 days into a 40 day hunt and the closest town is 100 air miles away and wouldn't have a decent spotter anyway.


so far I've never had one of those POS Leupy's fail me.

even if Eremicus says they suck!

I don't put that much weight in low light performance from my scopes, since I rarely find myself pushing the limits, but I did once have poor light gathering cost me an animal.

It was the first year I had moved to Montana, and I was hunting bears, even though I had never seen one here. Well, low and behold I found one, and made a good stalk on it, closing to 50 yards or so. Light was fading, and I could see it with my eyes and some mid-grade binoculars, but not clearly enough with my Nikon Buckmaster scope for the shot. He eventually winded me and despite spending a few days in the area, I never saw him again. Gave that scope away and replaced it with a 6x42 Leupold.

no

Yes.

I had a Tasco 4-16X varmint scope I carefully sighted in and, about 10 days later took what should have been a chip shot at a coyote. I missed the first shot and, that coyote probably being a bit stupid stayed around for another shot which also missed at which point the coyote decided to leave.

When I check the scope on the range, it was shooting about 10 inches high. I then decided to divest myself of all of my cheap scopes except two. My fancy now runs to things like Nightforce, Leupold, Zeiss and Swarovski.

The first centerfire rifle I ever owned was a sporterized mauser in 8mm. It had a $19.99 (maybe)bushnell 3-9x32 scope on it. Went to the range with dad at least a couple of times to ensure everything was sighted in. During our Javalina hunt, I took a small spill, fell on my rear end, the butt of the rifle bumped the ground as well... didn't think much of it.
Long story short, when we did get into a herd of pigs, I missed a total of nine times at ranges 80-150 yards. Upon checking it later that day, we found that it was shooting about a foot low and a foot and a half to the right.
The next season I found a deal on a ten year old (at that time) 2.5-8 vari-X III. Bumped it several times over the years and it has yet to lose zero. Still have that scope, although its riding on my muzzleloader now.

Cheap scopes may be fine on a light recoiling rifle,but a hard kicker will usually destroy one fairly quick.There is a reason they are cheap,they have cheap internal parts.Decent scopes that will usually hold up to just about anything you stick them on,will have a starting price tag of around $200.00 and up.When you figure in all the cost considered,ammo,gas for your trips,frustration, time and other expenses,it's well worth spending a little more for better quality glass.

Yes, a Pentax gameseeker on a 45/70 that died. It cost me a 60-70 lb yearling doe. The scope had a "floating zero." It wasn't a big deal.

I think I paid $70 for it and it lasted 2 years on a 45/70 with those Hornady lever-revolution rounds. I'm not complaining.

Terry

What's a "cheap" scope? I mean cost wise?

I don't consider fixed Leupolds, for example, to be "expensive",but IME they are hard to break....some even lasting through more than one barrel on a rifle and beyond.

I have little experience with cheap scopes of current manufacture.

Most of my scope issues have involved variables in the $400-$700 range; and a $700 variable is the only scope that has actually "cost" me an animal.

Getting the stars to align so that scope failure conicides with the chance at an animal is pretty tough to do....among other things I suspect we get unlucky.

I agree with what baldhunter says above...I suspect cheap scopes that last a long time have not been shot much.

Not what you probably mean by cheap, but I had a Leupold Vari-X II cause me to miss a mulie on an out-of-state hunt. The repair order mentioned broken parts, and the scope hadn't been abused.

Paul

Paul: Ouch!

Shouldn't do that...Have seen that sort of thing a time or two......there are fewer mid price variables on my rifles these days.Most are fixed power anymore....screw it!

In 1962 my 3-9X Leupold didn't hold zero on an out of state hunt. The only Leupold I have now is on my .454 Freedom Arms. It is the second one because the first one crapped out.

I've used Tascos on big kickers for years without one failure.

When I put together my varmint rig I put on a Burris Signature 8-32X. It broke. I put another one on and it broke. I replaced it with a 6-24X Weaver; no more problems.

Some one above mentioned his scope was fogged, but he wiped it off. I had a Burris 4-12X fog on the inside. Try wiping that off.

When did Leupold start making a 3-9x scope? If you had a problem 49 years ago, in 1962, I'm thinking that it must have been 1 of the first to come off the production line.

JEff

I had a Leica when they first came out in the cute wooden box. I figured if it was Leica, it was a top end scope. I was wrong. Early one morning I had a deer walking in a hayfield below me and I put the Leica on him to get a gooder look. Boy, was I disappointed.

I had a pair of Swarovski binoculars that allowed me to see the deer plainly. I looked back through the Leica and when I got home I sold it to someone else that thought a Leica in a wooden box was neat. Not a cheap scope, but a disappointment none-the-less.

The Leupold Vari-X came out in 1961 in 3-9X. It was replaced by the Vari-X 2 in 1965.

Any scope can fail. I have had a few do so of many different brands. Mostly variables though I did have a reticle break on a fixed once. Never had a failure on an animal though I have missed once or twice.

I guess I should have defined what I think of as cheap scopes. To me a cheap scope is a Tasco, Simmons, Bushnell Banner or cheaper, BSA, etc. However it seems everyones opinions on what's cheap vary.

slowr1dr; Now I understand......

Missed a jackrabbit because of a cheap scope. I can't remember the brand but the store owner threw it in for free when I bought my first Rem 700 in 1969. Point of impact moved 6" between 3 power and 9 power. I replaced it with a Weaver K4 before taking it deer hunting.

I think it might have been a Universal made somewhere in Florida.