Hi i picked up a nice little AG 2;7x32 tasco scope made in korea?? whats the story i never knew they were made in korea.Also is it worth anything.TIA
Hi i picked up a nice little AG 2;7x32 tasco scope made in korea?? whats the story i never knew they were made in korea.Also is it worth anything.TIA
As with a lot of manufacturers, the Japanese stuff got too expensive so to remain competitive a lot of it moved to Korea, Taiwan and Phillippines, before taking the leap into China.
I've no idea how the quality of Japanese vs other in the AG range differs though so can't help you on that front. I've got a few Korean scopes from Nikko Silver Crowns, Gold Crowns, Bushnell and Apollo and they are all nice and bright. The few Japanese scopes I've had, have been just that bit brighter and clearer. Not much but you can see the difference.
Tasco is a brand that buys other manufacturers items and has them badged as their own.
Thwy have done this from the start.
I have a vintage Tasco scope 4x40 i acquired recently, missing its adjustment caps but has no thread for a screw cap to screw to, where they rubber or plastic push fit caps, can you still get them?
The original Japanese Tasco 2-7x32AG are excellent scopes and much sought after. A good example can bring around the £150 mark.
The Korean/China copy that followed it? Well. My local retailer returned the full consignment when he received them as the quality was that poor.
HTH
Ian
Founder & ex secretary of Rivington Riflemen.
www.rivington-riflemen.uk
I've had some Korean and Phillipino glass on Simmons scopes which is very decent quality - pretty much on par with anything Japanese I've had to my eyes.
Older Chinese stuff is generally nasty I've found.
But there is some very good modern Chinese stuff nowadays.
Founder & ex secretary of Rivington Riflemen.
www.rivington-riflemen.uk
Founder & ex secretary of Rivington Riflemen.
www.rivington-riflemen.uk
Tasco was a brand and bought in whatever to fit their target market.
At some point some Jap tooling went to Taiwan and continued to produce the same scope. I have identical Jap/Taiwan 3-9x40 Prohorns. The change was circa 1992?? Later, Tasco bought from other factories including Korea. To me the quality was lost when Deben took the agency, circa 1995??
A whole lot of budget scopes were bought from China from 1995 onwards, because they were astonishingly cheap. Loads of new brands all selling inexpensive scopes from China, all before China knew how to make a half decent scope. Most were truly rubbish. It took a while for China to be educated how. Much thanks goes to the bigger brands doing their own designing, and investing in new foreign machines for China. Design and new machinery, plus better educated quality control, means there are good Chinese scopes to be had now. However, innovation doesn't come from China, nor the best glass and coatings. Lasers in manufacturing is the reason cheap and precision is possible; thats real progress. Especially true to lens manufacture.