Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Surprisingly good glass in old Tasco scope

All modern Tasco scopes I looked through were plain disappointment. But just got sporter M98 with Tasco probably from 70's. The glass is amazingly bright and has very good resolution, even at fringes. I noticed it was made in Japan. In 70' and 80's Japanese quality was phenomenal (not like modern Toyota). It also looks solidly built. Wonder if this a particular scope, or those old "low grade" were of higher quality in general than new one.

Jap Tascos, made by Hakko, IIRC, don't completely suck.

You may be able to see through it. That doesn't mean it will hold zero for 5 minutes.

i have had several differant older tasco's made in Japan that tracked well and held their zeros just fine. if they still made them like that today they would put a lot of optic brands under a lot of pressure.

I don't trust even the older Tasco's. Had a buddy raving about his Japanese Tascos so we put a 4X Japanese model on my .338. It only took five or six shots to jar the reticle so loose it looked like an X.

My experience was with late 70's era Tascos. They were junk.

Ward said,


I had the same experience with Burris full field on a .375-.416 Rem Mag. But it was slightly different. The lenses litterally rattle loose in ten shots.

I put a Tasco on it which lasted for years. Who would guess such things? I took it off to replace it with a 2 1/2-16X450 Bushnell.

A 450mm objective? Damn..... no wonder you have such a fixation on super high rings......

VAnimrod,

I couldn't remember if it was a 40 or 50 so I combined the two. It should have come out 90. Sorry for the mistake.

We have several older Tascos at our place. I looked up the "Licensed-under" patent on one of them a while back and it turned out to be a Redfield design from the mid-60s.

I figured that's what you did.

No way I could let that one go, though....

I have a Tasco World Class marked made in Japan. Except for short eye relief it is an excellant scope. I've had it for 15 years and never let me down.

blairvt,



That's the very reason I replaced the Tasco on the .375. A guy at the range nailed himself with that short eye relief.

Some of those Tascos are certainly not Leupolds.. but neither is the price.. yet they were tough scopes and get the job done for millions of hunters every year...

I don't knock Tascos at all... that is all some guys can afford.. and I am not going to be a scope snob toward them...

Remember, the average game is taken at less than a hundred yards.. so exactly how high buck does your optics have to be to accomplish that????

Both my son's rifle and my girlfriend's rifle had better known scopes cause problems. My spare scopes at the time were both old Haako made Tascos. Neither one of them will let me replace them, as they both work perfectly.

The old Haakos were good scopes. Not a Leupold, but a good, clear, reliable glass.

My dad has had an older Japan made Tasco World Class on his 30.06 for 25 years. Yes, the eye relief leaves something to be desired but it is bright and very clear right to the edges.

I bought a Tasco World Class Plus and put it on my 7mm Mag a few years later thinking I'd get the same performance, NOPE!

Tasco did make a few decent scopes but then they changed.

I don't regret buying the Tasco, they taught me to save up and buy quality equipment.

I now own Leupold, Kahles, Nikon, and Swarovski scopes and so far have had no problems with any of them.

Leftybolt