Wobble wrote:Being assured of getting a Japanese one seems to be the trick.
Over the last 15 years or so they've been made in Taiwai, Korea, America and the Phillipines that I've seen. Probably more places too.
I believe at one point they were just badging scopes from differences sources too so that two of "the same" scope varied greatly in quality.
No bad Japanese made ones you fellas reckon though?
Yeah try and stick with the Jap ones in the lower mag range and you should find a decent scope for the $$$
The model No. and place of manufacture seems to be like a printed thing and is usually in black on the underside of the Ocular and is hard to see unless you know to look for it. (all my Jap tascos are like that anyway)
From my understanding Tasco don't actually manufacture scopes or anything as such, its was a trading company and sourced products from diff manufacturers (not unlike a lot of diff scope brands you see out there today - basically they go to a manufacturer and ask for XYZ get their label banged on it and wallah - we are now a scope co.
As with anything you can get a cheap version made, right through to an expensive version made, I think the top of the Line Tasco was their TITAN range (Jap made not the version that is put out today) it was designed to complete with the Euro scopes of the day but I think people struggled to get past the Cheap tag that was place on Tascos so they never sold as well as they perhaps should have.
I've got a Philippines made Tasco which compares very well to other scopes in the clarity department, what lets it down is the spongy turrets, not unlike the Redfields in that department either, other than that is a perfectly usable scope for hunting type situations.
Chinese Tascos are ****** (newer ones may be ok but the older stuff was pretty ordinary from my own experience with them and I honestly wouldn't waste my money on one again.