Tasco 2.5-10X mil-dot opinion...
- Thread starter ton45
- Start date
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
A good cheap scope, would not be my first choice for field conditions, but perfectly fine for range use.
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
Worth a try, for 80-100 bucks, its not a bad choice. There is not much in the line of Mildot that is much better at that low price. The 10x 3200 bushnell would be a step up @ 2 times the price. Turrets are nice, and even if the sight picture is a bit fuzzy in close thats not a big deal , out past 100 meters it gets better. 
The reason why I want the 2.5x is for the close range work in the bush. I like the 10x in mildot because it's a standard magnification that has already plenty of data and I wanted to master the my mildot reading and application. The other configuration I found was the Nikon and that costs over 800 USD. The Tasco seems low-risk for the price. Worst in the field, I ditch the scope and go back to the iron sights.
A friend of mine has bought quite a few of the Tasco 2.5 X 10 for rimfires and air rifles. Altho they worked fine for that, in his opinion the quality is getting worse.
For a very little more the Bushnell Banner 4-12 is a better scope but doesn't have a mil dot reticle. Another friend uses one on his FNL1A1 without problems
I have a Bushnell 2300 10 X mil dot and am very happy with it. At about $250 in hand its a bargain.
For a very little more the Bushnell Banner 4-12 is a better scope but doesn't have a mil dot reticle. Another friend uses one on his FNL1A1 without problems
I have a Bushnell 2300 10 X mil dot and am very happy with it. At about $250 in hand its a bargain.
I owned a few of the Tasco Varmint Mildot scopes. Great for the first few years, then it seemed that their internals started giving me grief (not so repeatable) so I gave them to friend with .22's needing glass. Great for horsing around the range, not so great at Mons Range where they served my son well for a couple of seasons shooting Precision and Service Rifle back in 2001.
If you really want inexpensive quality, the Bushnell 3200 Elite 10X Mildot is the best value IMHO. I quite liked the ONE set screw on the top that secures the tactical knob. Larger allen key needed... I liked that feature 3/32" I believe. The Tasco knobs could be reset after rezeroing, but the cheesy knobs would easily get stripped by the 1.5mm allen screws. This drove me crazy.
For a hundred bucks, give the Tasco Mildot varmint a try... You can always retire it to a .22 for kicks and giggles.
If you really want inexpensive quality, the Bushnell 3200 Elite 10X Mildot is the best value IMHO. I quite liked the ONE set screw on the top that secures the tactical knob. Larger allen key needed... I liked that feature 3/32" I believe. The Tasco knobs could be reset after rezeroing, but the cheesy knobs would easily get stripped by the 1.5mm allen screws. This drove me crazy.
For a hundred bucks, give the Tasco Mildot varmint a try... You can always retire it to a .22 for kicks and giggles.
The tasco's OK for plinking as noted, but very inferior optics. Dim and blurry, with lots of chromatic distortion (purple/orange fringing) around the edges and near the limits of your elevation/windage adjustment. This is a common symptom of cheap spherical optics. You need to go with *much* more expensive aspherical and multicoated lenses to get a sharper and brighter picture. You can mitigate the problem somewhat by mounting the scope such the the elevation and windage knobs are exactly in the middle of their travel range - ensuring that the light is travelling through the exact centre of the lenses. Actually, this is true of all optics to a lesser or greater degree - the best picture is one that comes through the dead centre of the lenses.
Repeatability sucks, but it's not really a problem if you're ranging with the dots and not actually dialling in drop/windage. If you DO have to make adjustments with the knobs, the reticle will take a few shots to 'settle in' to the correct spot.
All in all - it's a turd. But sometimes a turd is all you really need.
Repeatability sucks, but it's not really a problem if you're ranging with the dots and not actually dialling in drop/windage. If you DO have to make adjustments with the knobs, the reticle will take a few shots to 'settle in' to the correct spot.
All in all - it's a turd. But sometimes a turd is all you really need.
Owned 2 of the 2.5-10x Tascos myself, both mounted on .223's. Neither was at all abused. The first one failed after a few sessions when the objective lens fell out of the scope. The second one worked as long as I owned it, but POI shifted so badly through the magnification range that I had to zero it at a specific power setting and never change it after that.
Honestly, I think those two were just about the worst scopes I ever owned.
Honestly, I think those two were just about the worst scopes I ever owned.
I've got one. I haven't had any problems with it yet. The optics on mine are surprising clear for such a cheap scope contrary to prosper's experience. I don't expect too much of it but on a smaller caliber rifle, it should work fine. For some more reviews, go here http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=253051
