in defense of cheapo tasco 3/4"-tube scopes

Over the years I've bought a range of rifle scopes from different manufacturers and paid a  spectrum of prices. With normal wear and tear, and over time, many end up having issues holding zero, or losing reticle alignment, or suffering loss of clarity regardless of the brand name. Indeed some were quite pricey and usually problems occurred after the expiration of warranties, naturally.

Due to the occurrences of the last two years I've focused much of my range time on my rimfires with ammo being more affordable and available than the rarely-in-stock and vastly-overpriced centerfire cartridges. With a good bolt action rimfire rifle I can spend all afternoon dissipating my worldly stresses by picking off tennis balls scattered across my 1-acre back lawn. A few Dunlop mini orange squash balls thrown-in allow me to dial down and really hit those diminutive targets. Tennis and squash balls are easy to see and react nicely to 22LR rounds by leaping in the air to denote a hit. The lead round leaves a small black dot of residue as it passes through but does not tear the ball apart. Eventually the balls will begin to lose their integrity and none would be much use on the court after a few sessions, but they still offer months of plinking practice. And all this with a $10 rimfire scope. My local Walmart sells 4 x 15 Tasco's for $9.99 and these have served me very well. I've had a couple that didn't hold up but I've got three that have, beautifully, holding zero shot after shot. Their narrow 3/4" tubes (unique to Tasco) look sleek on a rifle and if the rifle has a picatinny rail I simply bend off the attached 11mm scope rings with a pair of pliers and put on a pair of 22mm mounts. If you only have scope rings for 1" diameter tubes you can adapt the smaller diameter Tasco by buying a foot of 3/4"ID fuel tubing at the hardware store: cut off two short sections, split it lengthways and wrap it around the scope tube before setting the scope into the 1" rings.

Born with acute colorblindness I've always found bright light troublesome, and have always worn sunglasses. Some were very expensive. But after sitting on several pairs of high end shades and discovering they break just as easily as the Foster Grants you find at your pharmacy, I used working man's logic and have happily settled on the cheaper ones. I'm thankful we live in an era where we have those options. And so I've learned the same of rimfire scopes: with a total of five $10 scopes purchased, I'm still further ahead in the game than if I'd bought a single $300 rimfire scope which I'd be overly precious about. I really don't waste any time worrying about my Tasco's. If I break one, I'm not too bothered whereas if I break an expensive scope, I'm cussing mad and out a chunk of change. And if I break 25 more Tasco scopes over the next decade then I've only just spent the same amount of money as a $300 fancy brand optic.

I also have a theory about rimfire scopes: I feel manufacturers (regardless of name) do not build-in ruggedness and durability the same way as they do for their centerfire scopes. This makes no sense to me because any rifle, regardless of caliber, can be dropped, bumped and jostled in the back of your truck causing damage to your optic, but makers only make allowances for the recoil the scope must endure. I've seen spring pellet guns disassemble a rimfire scope in short order so maybe logic would dictate that scopes intended for air rifles would be more robust? Furthermore, when a buyer finds a scope they love they'll often transfer it to another centerfire rifle, or buy another for their other weapons, but rimfire scopes always seem to come with a manufacturer's warning that it's not intended for larger caliber counterparts. Why? Because the companies know they won't hold up. And disappointed-user reviews always confirm that to be case as they mourn the scope they just killed.  

So, in summary, logic and experience has educated my purchases of rimfire scopes over these past 24 months and I've concluded, for me at least, cheapo Tasco's do the job, are slimmer, less worry and preferable all round! Tasco no longer lists these $10 4x15 scopes on their website but currently they still seem available online. You can also find similar 3/4"-tubed, low-powered, fixed-magnification scopes HERE from their original country of manufacture, with free shipping.