I have some very good scopes, Swarovski Z6, Swaro 4-16x50 Swaro 6-18x50 NF 3.5-56 NF 8-32x50 Zess fixed powers etc, I also have had 4 Tasco Titans, a Tasco 5-20x42 Varmint scope and a little 1.5-5x22 on a .22lr for 14 years and still going strong.
None of my Tascos have ever given me undue problems. Granted they are all from the old era of Tasco which I understand were made in Japan, not China or Korea as they are today.
I do however remember at the time when I got them, they were still disdained as "cheap Japanese crap" but nowdays we wish we could fine the same level of Japanese quality...That leaves me wondering...

Now, I need to buy 3 scopes at once and I don't want to dish out big money.

I want to try a Tasco Varmint scope, maybe the 6-24x44 in this mix and wanted to hear from people who have actuially used them, rather than the usual one off posts about Thrashco junk that don't refer to anything in particular.

The other scopes I am looking at are the Nikon Monarch and Bushnell Elite 4200 which seem to have great reputations with good value for money while not being exactly cheap either.

So any real world experience with todays Tascos, specifically the Varmint range would be much appreciated.

Inexpensive Asian-made scopes are pretty good -- but only in fixed powers. When you add the variable mechanism, its complexity exceeds what can dependably be built within the cost constraints of the market price level such scopes are intended for. When you increase the magnification, you redouble the manufacturing challenges and usually get fuzzy focusing at higher powers and unaccepably critical eye placement. POI will tend wander around, not only with power adjustment but often with adjustment of the parallax ring. High magnification and inexpensive variable mechanisms simply don't go together. In my opinion, purchasing such as scope (regardless of the name it is marketed under) is a waste of money and a sure ticket to frustration.

I have a Tasco 6-24x44 on my 22-250. For bench shooting and stationary varmit hunting, such as ground hogs the scope is great. Even on 24 power I can plainly pick out ground hogs.

The optics are the not greatest, but for under $100 what do you expect.

It is not a bad scope. I would be afraid to put in on anything with moderate to heavy recoil.

Stay away from their 10 x40 power.. optics look like looking thru a fish bowl of water...

Bushnell backs them up well...

of their little cheap 2.5 x 10 varmint scope for $69.00 or so.. that is a great buy on something like a 223, or a 243.. particularly on a walkaround varmint rig.. or a rimfire...

I have one of their old World Class Custom Shops scopes in 8 x 32.. that thing is Leupold Quality.. I ended up with it on a rifle that I traded for.. I have it on a Savage 12 BVSS now.. and what a great scope.. and great optics...

anyone who has ever owned a tasco titan will tell you what the quality of a tasco CAN be.

Express, my father recently had a very good 243 Varmint rig fall into his lap but it had no scope. So, being basically cheap, he went to the local shop and bought a new manufacture Tasco 6x24x44. He then brought the rifle to me and asked me to develop a load for the rifle. Well to be real honest, before I could do any shooting at all I had to change the scope. It was so bad and the lenses so poorly ground that I could not possibly shoot accurately with it. The power ring turned like it was fitted by high school students and the adjustable AO needed a pipe wrench to turn it.

I have a 16x Tasco that was used in the 84 Olympics and the scope is just plane awesome. Its far better than my Unertl 16x Programmer. Take a look at Burris for something that will work without spending all the money. The Signature series are fine scopes and the Black Diamonds, though far more expensive, are among the finest scopes made. The fullfields are about on par with the WalMart varieties of the Bushnell stuff.

Joe

I hunted with a Tasco WC 4x40 on my 270 for about 5 years, and it gave me no issues at all. Granted, I've got much better scopes now, but that one did the job just fine through the normal rigors of whitetail hunting. I can even remember falling into a mud hold and getting the scope totally covered in goo and it cleaned right up and worked just fine. IMO, they have their moments for the $$ you spend to get one. Just don't expect too much...

Come on guys! Despite some certain versions and model working okay, yes, overwhelmingly yes. TASCO most definitely deserved the rep for being bad. No one earned the moniker Trashco like Tasco.

Enough already.

Express---My gunsmith really surprised me with a statement one day. He uses a Sweeny to bore sight and initial set up of scopes. He said besides Leupold,that Tasco's seemed to hold zero through the variable better than most. He was fond of the old World Class Tasco's. I happen to have an old World Class on a 22-250 and it has been a good scope. I did pretty much switch to Leupold and a big part of that was the very poor results I got from several Bushnells. Both poor results from the product and worse from their "customer service".

I've discovered a few things;
%80 of Tascos on the market are cheap Chinese imidations! Which when you start out with a cheap Chinese product to begin with, makes for a real nasty piece of equipment.

So the Tasco factory produced scopes are obviously a bit better than the rip offs.

Something happened in the last few years in the Tasco factory which changed their produciton quality.

For the money of a "real" Tasco you can buy a lot better scopes.

I'm over the whole tasco idea now...better to spend a little bit of money for a real scope.

Express, a friend of mine and I have 5 of the tasco varmint scopes mounted on different varmint calibers. So far they have all proved very realiable and good optics for the money. There are several low end scopes that seem work quite well. BUSHNELL IS NOT ONE OF THEM. I had a new bushnell that had problems and sent it back for repair. They wanted to charge me for their crappy assembly in the first place. One scope I have tried that has proven to be a decent lower priced scope has been Eagle Eye Optics.

the last tasco i bought was a 30mm tube 1.5-6x42 german #4 reticle, finger 1/4" click adjustments, coated lens and the light transmission and color rendetion was as good as a zeiss conquest.
it was 200 bucks.