Does anyone have any experience with NCStar scopes?

[teddy12b]

I have heard of these being around for a while now and I personally have not seen one yet, but I they seem too good to be true.  I've seen the "NcStar Scope 10-40x 50mm " on sale for about $150 + shipping.  I'm thinking about getting a scope for a 223 with the highest zooming in power that I can find.

[30-30man]

I hope you are joking....If you aren't please don't buy that scope, you'll be very disapointed. The NC Star/BSA is about the worst thing anyone could waste their money on. They are bad optics, foggy and wll often not hold zero.  I've owned one of each. The BSA I owned had the illuminated reticle.  It was so bright it lit up the whole scope so I could not see anything.  It didn't matter though, the optics were so cloudy it gave me a headache just trying to look through it.  The NC Star was just as bad, it was an sks model.  $150 could buy you a 4-12x40ao in a Bushnell Banner.  This is 10x the scope of the NC Star.  You could possibly swing a Bushnell Legend, Mueller, and even a Nikon for that price.

[NONYA]

I have 2,a 6-24 0n my CZ 17 hmr and a 4-14 Mark III on one of my 7 mag,both were bought this summer and have worked great so far,i shot a 5/8" group @100 yards with the 7 mag on Wed with the Mark III.I have heard people havin trouble with the smaller Mc reddots and sks type scopes,I havent had any with my larger rifle scopes.Heres a pic of my Mark III.

[Booyah]

I have a fixed power NCStar on my 6" Smith & Wesson 44 mag and it holds zero very well.  I don't know about the rifle scopes. I would think that $150 for a NCStar is way out of line. These scope usually are cheaper.  I have not used a BSA but I have one I am going to try.

[teddy12b]

I saw one over the weekend with my own eyes.  The guy behind the counter said he has one on a AR and took a coyote at 300 yards with it.  When I looked through it I was pretty impressed with the illuminated reticle.  I thought it would be a great set up especially for bear hunting.  I'm thinking of getting a NcStar handgun scope and putting it on my nagant as a scout scope.  We'll see....

[zasxcd]

Last count I had 45+ rifles wearing scopes, and almost all of them have either NcStar scopes, BSA, or Simmons scopes. My experience with the NcStar scopes is that if you buy 10 of them, any model or magnification, you MIGHT get a bad one. Return it for warranty. As for how well they hold up, I have not lost a reticle on any gun .243 up to but not including a .375 H&H that I have in a Ruger #3. Yes you read that right. That one took the reticles out of THREE Weaver 2.5x steel tube scopes before I found one that would hold up. I have had a few less BSA scopes, and similar experiences. No, these brands are not totally without problems, but they are good deals for the money. If the more expensive scopes were totally foolproof, they wouldn't come with warranties, they would come with money back guarantees. All brands of scopes break, it is just a matter of what percentage. If the cheaper scopes weren't reasonably good, the companies making them would go out of business. As for clarity, don't you look through it before you buy it? Or if you order it, do you look through it before you mount it? If it is bad, send it or take it back!

[NONYA]

As of yesterday i have taken 3 antelope 1 muledeer 1 badger 4 yotes and a fox with the Nc on my 7mag,including a 392 yard headshot on a doe antelope,it has held zero regardless of the abuse it has endured over the last few months,I will buy more when i need more scopes,no doubt.

[300winman]

I do not have a NCStar scope, but if they are affiliated w/BSA I would not touch it.  Of the 3 BSAs I have used, 2 failed, and the other one 6-24x40 had poor optics quality compared to the Sightron SII 4-16x42 that replaced it.  Of the ones that failed, one the crosshairs knocked out of whack, sent it back, and the other I shot on my knight bighorn muzzleloader on 20 degree day in Ohio. The internal lens shattered while sighting in.  I would not risk my hunting trip, or trophy buck, on one of these scopes.  I have learned over th years of owning Tasco, Simmons, Bsa, that you get what you pay for and your gun is only as good as your optics.  I just learned that lesson again when I bought an Optronics Buckridge.  I'm willing to try any scope once.  But it turned out to be the same story, mediocre clarity, and it could not hold zero from the recoil of my Contender 445 SM.  And it was a shotgun scope!!!!!  That was a waist of $50, that could have been used toward a nice Leupold,Nikon or Weaver.  Weaver is the cheapest(price wise) scope that has good optical quality. 

If price is the issue, I would buy a used Leupold over a new BSA or NCStar anytime.  Better to have used quality, than new junk.

[NONYA]

Happily for you they arnt.