Affordably priced scopes that are made in America

[eocoolj]

I've been browsing through Seekher's list of scope manufacturers, which he splits up by nationality. An issue though, I'm pretty sure that makers such as as Bushnell, Simmons, etc, with inexpensive scopes have most of their manufacturing done abroad.

I'd like to find a decent rimfire scope for under $100 that's made in America. Is that unreasonable? I'd love a Leupold or something like that, but spending more on a scope than I did on the rifle isn't something I'm ready to start doing.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[HTRN]

I'd like to find a decent rimfire scope for under $100 that's made in America. Is that unreasonable?

Short Answer: Yup.

Hakko

[Darrell]

Like so much in life, You Get What You Pay For. It's very true of scopes, especially American made ones, moreso good ones.

You might check out Mueller Optics though, I'm not sure but they may be made in the USA. Rimfire? Try this:

http://www.muelleroptics.com/products/MU2732IGR.html

2-7x32, $159.95

[eocoolj]

Well then, failing that, is there any manufacturer considered the best among the lower end scopes, and at the very least isn't made in China. I find Taiwan a bit easier to swallow.

[Darrell]

I've heard that a lot of optics are made in the Phillipines nowadays.

[HTRN]

The big name in scopes you never hear of is Hakko. They're a contract manufacturer of optics, and all the low end scope brands have been rebranded Hakkos at one point or another. I know Trashco, Bushnell, and Nikon have both used them for manufacturing.

You might want to look at the Simmons "22 mag" scopes if you want something cheap. Made in China though.


HTRN

[mekender]

or, you could get ya a 3-9x BSA at walmart for under $20 and just say to hell with it.

[D5CAV]

Leupold is an affordably priced scope that is made in America. You can find Leupold scopes on sale for $180 or so. I believe they use Japanese glass, which is good glass. I stopped using Leupold scopes after I lost a deer at twilight in one (could still see it in my Zeiss binos), and another one gave up the ghost on a .375H&H, but you should be fine using it on a .22LR.

The Zeiss Conquest line of scopes is a bit more expensive -- in the $350 to $700 range. These are made in the US, which is why they are cheaper than the Zeiss VM line scopes (made in Germany). This is the scope I use on most of my rifles now. My heavier recoiling rifles (.376 Steyr & up) get the Zeiss VM scopes or Swarovski scopes (made in Austria), but I prefer the longer eye relief of the Zeiss scopes. Zeiss uses German Schott glass and Swarovski uses their own glass, both excellent glass quality.

US Optics is the only other US manufacturer of scopes that I know of. I've considered one of their scopes. On the spec sheet they have good eye relief and at the SHOT show, the scopes looked good (nicely lighted show floor is not a good field test, but that's all I've got right now). They are priced about on par with the Zeiss VM line of scopes, which is not affordably priced in my book, but they look like they are built to pound tent stakes. I believe US Optics uses German Schott glass.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has experience with US Optics scopes.

[Kommander]

The Russians also make decently price optics. I would start at Kalinka Optics.

[Darrell]

When in doubt, buy a Nikon.