Where are the good Tasco's made?

[diggdug]

I have a question for the experts. I have three Tasco scopes, A Titan that is made in Japan, and a few others made in The Philipeens, Tiawan, and China. I assume the Japan models are the best, but where do the others fall in at?

[Graybeard]

Back in the days before Tasco went belly up and were bought out by Bushnell those made in Japan were really quite good scopes and an excellent buy for the money. The World Class and World Class Plus scopes were excellent buys.

The Titan I believe was a last ditch effort by Tasco to stay afloat before they failed. I honestly have never even held one so do not know of the quality that went into them. But in those last days before they folded I suspect things were not as good as they had been.

GB

[Stoneybroke]

I have several of the Tasco scopes.  I have 2 World Class Plus 6x42, Japanese made.  They are good value.  I also have thee of the older Titans, made in Japan.  Two are 1&1/2 x6x42 and the third is 3x9x42.  All three are superb.  They have one piece aircraft aluminum tube, all lenses are multi-coated.  Disadvantages:  the Titans are heavy (16-19oz.)with 30mm tubes and the reticle is on on the first optical plane.  Advantages are superb optics-certainly better than my Leupold Vari x IIs, fast focus, accurate click adjustments and rock solid reliability.  These titans were suposed to compete with the high dollar Euro brands.  In this, they failed miserably.  Think about a $60,000 Subaru.  
Having said the above, the Tasco scopes that were produced in Asia
(Non-Japanese) are absolute crap.  I speak from expeiriece.  The later WC, WCP, and the later TITAN are absolute junk.  Stoney

[Mueller Optics]

To go even deeper, I personally know one of the owners that produced over 50% of Tasco's Binoculars. I met him at a trade show in Florida and we email each other ocassionally.  Below is part of a message I received from him a few years ago. Keep in mind his english isnt perfect.
Here's the quote:

"After Tasco was bankrupted, two problems occured:
1. Tasco had over $30 million old inventory goods and most of these goods were in bad condition. Tasco ever dumped them in the market;
2.a lot of traders have been purchasing old Tasco inventory goods in China (most of them were defective goods that were returned by Tasco, but such traders has no ability to inspect them and just buy based on Tasco's name on the products) at very low price and dump them in USA market. That broke Tasco's brand image heavily."

This explain's why your seeing so many defective scopes.
MO