Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Scopes On Factory Rifles

Who makes the scopes on factory Remingtons?

Highest and best use for a take off?

What I've seen appeared to be either Bushnell or Vortex. Maybe Simmons. Hi swas based on the appearance as whomever made them were too ashamed to put their name on the scope.

My main use for these scopes is to put them on a gun I'm selling if the buyer is wanting a scope. If so, then I know the buyer isn't much of a gun nut and will probably be hearing from him again claiming there is something wrong with the gun. Usually it is the new owner's lack of ability and knowledge.

The other use is to put it on a plain Jane 22 rimfire. These scopes seem to hold up well enough in that situation though impact may wander a bit as the magnification is changed.

Some years ago I was hunting on a Texas ranch for deer and pigs. One of the guides had a scope on his Remington package rifle that he said resulted in "weird" eye relief when set a different magnifications--and had bumped his eye hard when shooting his 7mm Remington Magnum.

So I showed him (and several of the other hunters on the trip) how to test eye-relief with a small flashlight. Have described this before in various places, including my two books on hunting optics, but ER is easily measured by gently placing the front end of a small flashlight against the objective lens, then turning it on. You can then hold anything from your palm to a piece of paper behind the rear of the scope, then adjust the distance until the image of the exit pupil is clear. Measure the distance from the rear of the eyepiece to the focused exit pupil, and that's the the eye relief.

When I tested the Remington package scope, the eye relief varied from a little under 2.5 inches to 3 inches, depending on the magnification. No wonder he was getting whacked

Have no idea which company made the scope, but no doubt it was some cut-rate manufacturer.

Bushnell and Simmons have never "made" any scopes. Instead they've always contracted to have them built, and the quality varies depending on which company made them, to which price-point.

Those scopes were made for the trash can!

My Simmons 3-9x 40mm, 8 Point model is a take off from the Savage model 10, 300 WSM, package rifle I purchased in 2004. Left it on there for about the first 50 rounds before getting a 3-10x Leupold. Since then, it has been on a sporterized Lee-Enfield in 303 British, a T/C Encore rifle in 7mm-08, and a Henry Single Shot .308. Was never on any of those more than a year and a half or so but I've been surprised at how well it has worked and the glass is even decent for an el-cheapo. Keeping it now as a backup in case I ever need anything like that on a temporary basis or for semi-permanent use on another rifle. Can't bring myself to trust it on anything permanently because, well; it's a Simmons and I've seen and heard too much negativity about them concerning their durability and longevity. Maybe I just got lucky with this one.

Not a factory installed "package gun" scope, but the old Simmons Whitetail Classics that were made in the Philippines have treated me right. I wouldn't put one on a top tier rifle, but they have worked fine for me on 2nd and 3rd tier casual hunting rifles. That said, Kevin Petrzilka killed his 203" B&C whitetail with a bullet that was steered via a Tasco.

When lower tier scopes arrive here, usually on used rifles that I've purchased, I take them off and ship the scopes and rings to a friend in VT whose son sells them for pocket $$.

Just a guess, but I suspect that if the maker puts money into the mechanics at the expense of fancy glass and coatings they can make something pretty reliable pretty cheaply. I’ve had nothing but good luck with Bushnell Trophy XLTs and even a Banner.

True, banner and trophy Bushnells have been very good for me. They don't get a lot of abuse but then, I don't abuse my more expensive scopes either.

I bought a Ruger 77 .30-06 in 1983 that came as a package deal with a 4x Bushnell Banner that worked perfectly for many years, until I upgraded to another brand and gave the scope to my cousin Eric, who put it on his left-handed Remington 700 BDL .30-06--and has worked perfectly ever since.

But that's not exactly what started this thread. And neither is the 3-9x40 Vortex Crossfire that came on the package deal Savage Legend 110 in .350 Legend I purchased last year for an article or two.

Instead the scope on the Texas guide's Remington 7mm Magnum one of the almost unidentifiable scopes put on package deals in the past several years. Some are pretty good--but some suck, like the one on his rifle.

I read somewhere that Bushnell supplied the Remington package deal scopes. I wouldn't use one, but I've seen a lot of them in use, and for the hunter who only deer hunts a few times a year, it would probably get him by for a time.

Yeah, they will get by on a lot of rifles.

But as I pointed out earlier, Bushnell has never manufactured any scopes. Instead they have always had them made by various factories in Asia, and have even since Dave Bushnell started the company around 75 years ago. So exactly what scopes Bushnell "supplied" to Remington could vary considerably.

I am not saying that Bushnell scopes suck, as have been using them for decades--and in fact the scope on my 6mm PPC benchrest rifle is a 4.5-30x50 Bushnell Elite, which has performed perfectly for over a decade, and not just in shooting sub .2" five-shot groups at 100 yards but dialing up and down to shoot prairie dogs out to around 550 yards.

But Bushnell is and always has been a scope-importing company, and has imported them from various manufacturers. Sometimes the manufacturer is Light Optical, the Japanese company that makes high-grade scope for many other "companies," including Nightforce--and which probably made my 4.5-30x50 Elite. But sometimes the company may be in another country, and is contracted to crank out scopes for the lowest price possible.

This isn't unusual in today's optics world, the reason even "European" companies such as Kahles, Swarovski and Zeiss have had optics (including rifle scopes) made in other countries.

But it's also why basing an opinion on a specific company's name, or even the supposedly same "model," isn't necessarily valid. "Models" can and have changed considerably over the years.

I'll second that "models change" assertion. In the early 1980s I picked up a 2.8x10x44 Simmons Aetech
that was made in Japan or Korea. I put it on a Browning A-Bolt in 300 Win mag and used it successfully for a decade. That scope then made it to a Remington 700 in 375 H&H mag and survived a couple hundred rounds before ending up on a Savage 220. The scope impressed me enough that I bought a second one to go with a Savage 10 in 260 Rem. This was in the days Meade owned Simmons and the scope was made in China.

The second shot I heard something go "tink" inside and I lost the crosshairs. I sent it back and got another sent to me. That one lasted maybe 10 rounds before the crosshairs began to drift. Sent it back and got two returned to me. Both gave up the ghost after a couple rounds. I have just over a box of shells through the gun so far.

Simmons sent me another scope as well as a nastygram about my shooting. I put the scope on the rifle and proceeded to number each round as I sprayed 15 rounds all over the paper. I then tossed in a Burris and put 5 rounds into an inch and a quarter which is good enough for me. The scope went back with the target and I got a new one without any comments.

This went on for about 10 scopes before I built up enough empty brass to start reloading. I moved the scope to a 22 mag where it did OK for a couple years. Groups have opened up with an odd flier or two so it might be time to trash the scope. It was fun sending the scope back (on their dime after the second one broke) but it was getting to the point it would become an issue.

The original Aetech is still around though it is is not on a rifle. It sat atop my coyote rifle for years until replaced recently with a Zeiss V4. The Zeiss is so much better at night that it was a no brainer.

Could tell a number of stories like that--but right now will just comment that Ziess V4s are made by Light Optical in Japan....

Might tell more stories tomorrow.

I don't think Bushnell is unique in just being an importer/possibly designer.


Pretty sure a number of the really high dollar scopes are built by an
anonymous company, then a name is stuck on them.

Seems the news tactical brands usually operate on this model.


Kinda funny someone name dropping their scope,
when you are pretty sure that the company involved creates
nothing but ads and money.

Doesn't mean anything about quality,
Just seems disingenuous.

But heck, when was the last time Browning actually built a gun?
John was probably still alive.

The mentioning of the Light brand reminded me that I have a little compact 2X7X32 Light scope that I bought back in the 90's. Very good glass and I still have it on my 35 Rem. Haven't seen that brand for sale anywhere for years. Are they still being made?

Thanks all. This scope has no manufacturer ID on it. I guess I’ll set it aside ‘just in case’.

Well back in the bad old days of the late 70's and early 80's lots of 788 remingtons got sold with cheap rings and bases holding a 4x tasco. More than a few of them still going afield ever fall. They are what they are if you don"t like them just get your money out, no one forced you to buy'em...mb

The unidentifiable 3x9 scope that came on the Rem 770 Walmart package gun does not have my trust, for no particular reason other than it is ugly, and resides in a drawer. Maybe I'll put it on a .22. Or the .243. I replaced it with a 6X40 Tasco World Class plus that has proven reliable over a couple decades. I'm keeping my eye out for another one, at a decent price - no longer made apparently. Or a 6X40 Leupy.

The 770 and Tasco took my big bull caribou last fall, pushing 400 yards, later my son used it to pop a medium sized bull slightly over 200 yards, preferring it to the 700 SA .260 , with 2x7 VXII. I'll probably give it to him.

That cheap, unmodified POS 770 30-06 shoots inch groups at 100, factory ammo, so cheap POS sometimes isn't all bad... Kinda heavy tho, but that's not all bad either.

The 3.5-10 Tasco WC+ I've had for decades is still doing fine also, even after a 30' drop out of a tree stand. It did need to be re- sighted in. It was on y .338 WM at the time.

I heard, and there is no verification on this……They were originally manufactured in Mexico by a low budget company (El Cheapo Optics) that subsidized the work out to a Chicom company ……Gotcha manufacturing! 😉 memtb

Got 50 bucks for the last 700 rifle scope that was a factory add on.