Please Chose YOUR OPTICS CAREFULLY !.

I've noticed a lot of us Including myself referring to certain optics manufactures as being Good or Great . These days one never really knows .

Several of the MAJOR OPTICS company's have Farmed out Lens grinding as well as assembling to China or worse !.

I even know a Friend who traveled too China as a Tourist and bought several Items while there !.

Thinking he was getting a Great deal , well as it turned out he WASN'T !. So much of the stuff made over there has little if any quality control !. Toys , Pharmaceuticals , watches . Golf Clubs , you name it are being pirated at an alarming rate .

They may look like the real deal but aren't !!.

He purchased a Good Brand name scope and got burnt !. I've been noticing certain Discount houses selling these scopes for cheap !.
That's exactly what they are CHEAP KNOCK OFFS !.
Junk . A good many Scope company's have either been purchased or absorbed by whom ever !.

So remember to DEAL with a Reputable distributor with a NO HASSLE RETURN POLICY if YOUR not satisfied 100% Satisfied !.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

brands?

quote:

Several of the MAJOR OPTICS company's have Farmed out Lens grinding as well as assembling to China or worse !.

Virtually all consumer product optical glass is produced in Asia -- even the glass found in most American and European-built scopes. Where it comes from is not so much an issue as what kind of quality control is used by the purchasing manufacturer.

There are only two "major" (high volume) scope manufacturers left in the U.S.: Leupold and Burris. All of the other traditional Amercian brands like Bushnell, Weaver, and Redfield are now owned by, I think, Meade Optical, and are built in various places in Asia.

Leupold uses Asian glass, but all of its scopes are put together in Oregon using mostly American-made components and American labor. A few of Leupold's top-of-the-line binoculars have been assembled in the U.S., but most of their line of binoculars has come from Japan -- until recently. Current Leupold binoculars will be marked "China", if your eyes are good enough to find the small print.

Burris assembles some of its scopes in its U.S. plants, but quite a few of their medium-priced lines are made in the Phillipines or other Asian locations.

Of the famed European makes of optics, Swarovski claims to "make" its own glass in a little village in Austria. In reality, I believe they import most of their glass and do only the grinding with little Tuetonic elves. Don't misunderstand -- I'm not dissing Swaros or any other brand of optics, but virtually nobody's glass is purly American or European these days.

Now, the question of the sources of components for name brand optics is not so much a quality issue (it IS an economic issue, however, and those chickens are rapidly coming home to roost). The larger problem is with "counterfit" goods from Asian sources (mostly China) that purport to be the "real McCoy", but are in reality cheap knock-offs. There was a flurry of sales of bogus Leupolds on ebay a few months back. Just as with Rolex, Nike, or any other brand that carries some panache, someone will try to counterfit the product and rip off the consumer. Buyer beware.

Now, the question of the sources of components for name brand optics is not so much a quality issue (it IS an economic issue, however, and those chickens are rapidly coming home to roost). The larger problem is with "counterfit" goods from Asian sources (mostly China) that purport to be the "real McCoy", but are in reality cheap knock-offs. There was a flurry of sales of bogus Leupolds on ebay a few months back. Just as with Rolex, Nike, or any other brand that carries some panache, someone will try to counterfit the product and rip off the consumer. Buyer beware.

That was the " Or Worst " part of my statement

You are correct there is nothing wrong with Asian made glass or the assemblage of components there . Provided the Chinese have NO HAND in it !. It's not that they're not capable just underhanded and over zealous to PROVIDE the Black Market !. With NO QUALITY CONTROL or Sanctions of penalties !!!!!!!!.

The good Doctor in his way is correct. The way it was told to me the specification and inspection of optical parameters is what makes the optics. The second portion of that is the design and precise manufacture of the lense carrying devices. Precision here will make or break a scope regardless of lens quality.

It also turns out that properly engineered lenses that are "made like the print" will do an admirable job regardless of who turns the wheels on the polishing machines.

However the above processes add cost to the optical devices and it's much easier to just take what comes in the interest of reducing cost and therefore price.

It's up to the individual consumer to choose carefully and therefore to educate himself effectively. Yes quality generally follows price, but not always.