Is the Simmons 3-9x40 8-point a complete POS?

manbearpig

manbearpig

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A friend of mine just ordered a Savage in .30-06 from SIR mail order, it comes with a Simmons 3-9x40 8-point and some aluminum rings.

im thinking of ordering one as well, at around $420 it really is a great deal just for the rifle alone.

im wondering just how bad the scope really is... ive never owned anything cheaper than a Bushnell trophy, no Tascos or anything, so im expecting the worst.
is the Simmons really THAT bad? i havent heard anything about Simmons scopes - are they worse than Tasco? you would think if a company like Savage is going to market tens of thousands with these with their rifle package they would pick a scope that can at least survive a few hundred rounds of the rifle its packaged with.

should i scrape together some more money and order a $150ish fixed-power bushnell or something for the rifle, or is this thing going to last at least for a couple hundred rounds? i have mostly Leupolds and Bushnell 3200/4200 Elites on my other rifles.


Simmons_8point.jpg

Cabelas lists it at $49.99
 
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I bought a savage package deal a few years ago, mostly because the it was the caliber I wanted and the price was dirt cheap. The second I got home the scope, rings and bases came off and with one phone call I gave them all away.

Tell your friend to spend a few bucks and get better optics, rings and bases, he will be happy he did.
 
he doesnt have the money, he had $500 for a rifle/scope/rings/sling/swivels/tax/shipping so the savage package was ideal for him. hopefully the scope holds out for a year for him and he can replace it later. i think he is better off with the savage package than he would have been with the remington 770 since the savage is a far better rifle.

as for me, i have a ruger 10/22T with a bushnell 3200 Elite 10x40 on it... i think i will swap the scope with that. good thing is they are both weaver rails so if im lucky i can swap rings too. im not too ecstatic about putting a halfdecent scope on a rifle with a cheap 2-piece aluminum weaver mount though (i hate 2-piece mounts), perhaps ill upgrade the rail when it comes.

will the simmons hold out on a ruger 10/22T? its a very heavy .22 so recoil is nonexistant.

if the simmons is THAT bad, how the hell can these cheap scope companies like simmons and tasco make scopes that will fail or not hold zero after a couple boxes of ammo and still stay in business?
 
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Update...........mine came with a Simmons Blazer model scope.
Still a POS...for now.

The Simmons Blazer™ line of riflescopes obsoletes all entry level scopes. Nothing in this price point comes close to Blazer's impressive performance. Featuring Simmons' patented TrueZero™ adjustment system and QTA™ eyepiece, the Blazer represents the best value on the market today.

INNOVATIONS
High-quality optical glass and fully coated optics deliver bright, sharp images

HydroShield™ lens coating helps maintain a clear sight picture…regardless of weather conditions

Simmons' new SureGrip™ rubber surfaces make the Blazer one of the easiest scopes to adjust under any shooting conditions

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I just got one of these in 30.06.

It is a cheap Simmons scope on it...but not the 8-point. I assume it is comparable...maybe a little better.

I can confirm which one when I get home. I broke in/sighted in the gun and it served the purpose fine.

If your friend is broke..use it for now..it'll work...change it out later (that's what I'm going to do).
 
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That particular scope from Simmons retails for about 39.99 - well, in our store at least (we're clearing them out, so they were probably a little more expensive) - but either way, the gun was a bargain though- besides, you saved money on the gun, use the scope until you find something better to put on it.

they only real problems could be seals (which is subjective) or more importantly - recoil, over a period of time.

if you can, spend 150-170, and get a bushnell legend series to throw on that bad boy.
 
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I have one of these package rifles in 7mm Rem Mag and while the scope is nothing spectacular, it has survived the recoil so far. I do plan on upgrading to a 3200 series bushnell and better rings at some point. You may want to reconsider putting a fixed 10x on it though if your going to use it as a big game rifle.
 
Sorry to have to post this, but I have had six Simmons scopes over the years, all the way from a cheap 6X to their very best 3-9. Every one failed!

The biggest problem with them is that you don't have any idea, of course, when that will happen. They may be fine for two years or two shots.

You couldn't give me another Simmons, not even for a 22.

Just buy a good used Bushnell or Weaver. There are always a few on here for less than a hundred bucks, sometimes much less than that. They may not be the best, but they are far more reliable than Simmons.

Ted (Bunker suit on! :) )
 
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argh, you guys are killing me.

'the simmons sucks the simmons sucks' :)

ok so i broke down and ordered a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40 from Lebaron, $300 and it came with Burris 8x32 Landmark Binoculars (which i needed anyways, so basically i paid $100 for the scope).

im not a huge fan of 2-piece mounts, but this is my first Savage LA. are there any good 1-piece mounts for the Savage long action?

my 10/22T has steel Burris rings, if theyre the right height i think ill swap those with the aluminum rings that come on the Savage, since the 10/22 should be fine with aluminum rings.
 
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dan belisle said:
All the name base makers should have a one piece base for your savage, I would get some signature rings for your new scope. I have a few of those Burris', and they've all stood up well to medium recoil rifles (7 mag through 300 mag) to date. - dan
Click to expand...

ive looked through the lebaron catalogue and there dont seem to be any 1-piece bases for a long action savage (110-111), only 2-piece.
 
thanks.
according to that for the savage 111 and the burris fullfield II 3-9x40mm i need the SU-110 LA bases, code 410257 for matte, and MX rings.

what does Medium Extended mean for the rings? in store catalogues i only see medium, high, etc rings, no 'extended'.
 
sweet. the only other long action i own will never have a scope mounted on it, so this is my first time wrestling with mounting a short-tube scope on a long action.

they just transferred my friends gun so mine should be on its way soon as well. he is definitely keeping the scope that came with his, mine will have the burris, so in light of all of the people buying these savage/simmons combos ill do a quick side-by-side comparison of them :)
im really interested to see how well his simmons holds up, if it can survive one season and work well then ill feel better recommending the gun package to other people looking for a cheap entry level gun.

this will also be my first centrefire savage so im looking forward to comparing it to the remington 700s, browning a-bolts and ruger m77s in my safe. its coming in at well under half the price so i dont have high expectations in the fit and finish department, but im interested in how it stacks up in function and accuracy.
 
Just finished sighting in this rifle in 30.06 and wanted to give an update.

It doesn't quite shoot MOA for me...1.2 or so I'd guess.. 3 rounds easily within/inside a 2" target circle by 1/4 inch at 100 yds. Remington core lokt 180, PSP (nice moose round at that).

Dropped about 4"+ at 200 yds, and opened up a little (maybe 3 inch group), but still consistent.

Less than 30 rounds through it, so I may get better.

It did this consistently for me too. The barrel is very close to touching the stock on the left side...so I'll keep an eye on this. Glass bedding would likely improve on it.

Great moose gun me thinks.... especially for the money, and deserving of a better scope for sure.
 
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