Anyone used these before?  They seem to have what i'm looking for and good prices.   Just wondering if anybody has had experience with them.

Chinese junk.  They smell funny, too.  There are plenty of mid-range scopes for about the same price which are much better.

Check Optics Planet.com and SWFA.com for price comparisons.  Check out the Nikons

My used Eghey 4X has held a zero for a few years now at the range.
I have nice optics also....

Well this is a very debatable topic.I have an ncstar scope and I love it.Its built tougher than nails and functions and sights in great.
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i297/Snkelley/IMG_2978.jpg

I just ordered the rubber armored 3x9 with the laser from Midway. I did quite a bit of research on it. For $164 it has a lot of features (mil-dot, bullet compensator, illuminated reticle, quick release, flip-up lens covers). I know it is not a Trij or Eotech, but it didn't cost $700 either and I'm not relying on it for my life. The reviews I read said it was a good scope for the money. I'll let you know.

One thing you read invariably throughout this Forum and also elsewhere is the term, "Chinese Junk" This label is a misnomer. It often is inaccurate and unfair much like the term "Assault Weapon" when it is used to smear the Rifles we know and love.

For the record, I have no interest in China, Chinese Goods, Manufacturers, Importers or any Distributors etc. Nor am I trying to be politically correct here.

FACT:

Some things Made in China are indeed Junk, some are not!
Many things made in the US are Junk, many are not!

Unfortunately, I am old enough to remember when ALL things Made In Japan were considered Junk, and in fact, much actually was and people would not buy Japanese products for other Post-WWII related reasons as well. The first Japanese cars imported to this country were not great, but then we all know the rest of story. Japan today is a world leader in Cars, electronics and home entertainment products, just to mention a few.

The same evolution for Korean Products. At first much was bad and for lots of products very little quality control was implemented. The biggest manufacturer of LCD Panels is Samsung and LG, Korean Products. They make the Panels for just about every one Manufacturing/Selling LCD Televisions etc. Korea makes lots of great Cars and other High-Tech Products as well.

By now, you should be getting the point!

I think many would be surprised at how much of our optics/shooting optics etc. is made in China, Pacific Rim Area (whatever that really means) and that much is of great quality in build and performance and some is not.

NCstar. I have no personal experience with this Brand, but I have considered buying one to check it out. NcStar, from what I read appears to have some decent stuff (for the money) and some not. It seems, that they may have quality control issues as some reviews seem to indicate consumer satisfaction and some products/models have major problems.

Ncstar has some new models hitting the market, so it will be interesting to see how/ and if they have progressed in achieving a quality product with a high degree of quality control to help ensure reliable consistency in the manufacturing process.

If they can achieve this, then they will become a solid player in the market, (especially this economy) as many folks who punch paper targets in non-mission critical uses  do not need or want an ACOG, EOTECH type Optic.

I for one, hope Ncstar and others get it right as that will give consumers a viable alternative choice at a much reduced price point.

Chinese Junk, Maybe - Maybe Not! If NCstar is bad, then judge it because it is, not because it is made in China or elsewhere.

I got one too.  I have to say I like it.  It looks like it's well made, sturdy, and the image ect is crystal clear.  I haven't sighted it in yet but will do so this weekend and give a report.

I had one of the 2-7x tactical NC Star. It was ok. It held zero, seemed pretty solid. The only complaint was that the battery would come loose after shooting for a while. I sold it because I wanted to try an Aimpoint. After I decided I didn't like the Aimpoint because my bad eyes need some magnification, I bought a Weaver Classic Xtreme. While I just got it today and haven't shot it yet, it does seem better made, more solid and the major difference seems to be the image is much brighter.

I think the NC Star Compact Tactical line is a decent, lower end optic. I wouldn't take it to combat in the Sandbox, but then again, I'm not going to combat in the Sandbox...

I too hate the broad comment of "Chinese crap/junk" or "Only buy American". I own quite a few very nice and very good quality things that were not built in America.

After reading many of the reviews on different NcStar optics on sites like opticsplanet, I see that much of thir stuff APPEARS to be junk. I have not owned any already, and am a little apprehensive to buy from them after reading so many poor reviews. Still, I will be watching to see if the reviews here are different and maybe the company is improving quality.

Personally I do want to buy American as much as possible, however it seems as though many American companies charge up the a$$ for what you get. Perhaps companies like NcStar putting out decent quality will help drive the overall optics market pricing down.

I had an NCStar spotting scope, it was JUNK! I wouldn't waste my money, or time looking at NCStar optics. Get a cheap Bushnell or something similar.

When it comes to AR15's....you always, ALWAYS get what you pay for.....save a couple manufacturers.

Except when you overpay....

I edited my post to include that very statement

junk












from china

my local FFL bought a massive shipment of those 1-4X green/red mildottish scopes.

I looked through one and played with the dials....

Couldn't wait to put it down.  I'm sure it's more than adequate...but it ain't no ACOG.

The scope matches the rest of the "stuff" on there. Real nice.

Damn - BURN!!!!!!

Wow, you really zinged him on that one.

Makes me glad I pony'd up and bought magpul so they don't make fun of me down at the range :)

Lol, this stuff cracks me up soo bad.

Been thinking though...  Sure an ACOG is the ideal solution when you're out in the shit, or a working professional.  But when you're manning the living room, as most of you are?  WTF?  

Set expectations to simmer, and for $70-120 why not give it a try?  When you consider the high and mighty here puffing up their chests trying hard to make themselves feel
more important, worldy, or just plain ole better, they are hardly a source of useful information.  

Take it for what it is, a cheap optic to slap on top of a rifle that's used to kill pumpkins, or paper.  Once you manage to get the NRA masturbation fantasy/ Mall Ninja BS outta
the way, maybe a cheep optic is the way to go...  At least for a little while.  Leaves a lot more money in your pocket for more ammo, mags, and rifles.  I cannot think of a worse time in recent
history to be spending big money on an ego optic.

I'm looking right now for some kinda inexpensive optic to throw on top of a 22LR Spikes upper.  Would be ludicrous and comical (Unless I'm trying to impress some fucking hillbilly)
to spend $1200 for an ACOG on this upper, or even $500 for beginner Leupold.  

95% of us have ARs cause it's our hobby, our entertainment.  A lot of folks here have forgotten that this is for fun and have gotten themselves caught up in the "Tactical" trap
forgetting that they are NOT Tactical.    Especially not when manning your keyboard...


Now, soon as some chowder head pops up, saying that his NcStar is just as good as a Trijicon then the dog pile would be completely warranted, not to mention
entertaining.  

But FWIW,  if you know you are buying a dirt cheap optic?  It might work just fine for killing popcans, it might not.

lol....

You're either trying to justify a cheap scope you just slapped on that $1000 AR15 you own...or you can't afford a quality optic.  Don't hate on the guys who can.  Quality gear on a quality gun has never been or ever will be a bad thing...whether you're a chest thumpin internet samurai or someone who actually employs such a contraption in between coffee breaks.

If someone feels the need to own a $3,000 accurized AR15 adorned with a $2,000 uber tactical illuminated longrange scope with elevation turrets for knockin' the daylights out of red squirrels at 10 yards in your mama's backyard....then whatever, why would you even care?

For a 22lr backyard avenger...a NcStar scope would be perfect....though I'm not sure what you'd use the tactical crosshairs and red/green reticules for....for what it's worth my 22lr, a 10/22, has a stupid BSA 3-9X40 scope on it  Now THAT...is a cheap optic!  lol....  But the vermin don't know the difference.

Well I'm not hating, and I don't really care,  I know where you're coming from though...  Just observing.   I agree to a point, that it is kinda odd when you see a 20"barreled AR with the $50 optic on it.  But for the most part I think folks loose their heads.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to justify an ACOG, but not right now.  Right now it's all about buying to weapons.  I'll worry about the optics later.

"Tactical" Red/Green "Sniper Reticle" obviosuly is for handling them fast moving beer and soda cans near twilight and lord knows they can be bastards....

For my new .22LR upper though, I'm thinking a Leapers "Bug Buster" will be just the answer, it's "tactical" says so right on their website.  Though the rings are likely going to cost more than optic at this point, so when I upgrade I don't have to buy new rings as well at least...  It'll be look like the $4000 wheels on the $200 car for awhile sure, but what the hell, I bet I can kill some cans with it...

My point really is that while it's easy for us to all stand back and say "no you cannot get X or Y because it's Junk" is kinda silly.  Especially if all the person is doing is putting holes in paper or fruit.

What I never understand in these threads are the people that need to put others down because they bought a cheaper scope. It isn't YOUR rifle. They more than likely aren't going to be called up to "cover your 6" or save your life but as others have said: to slay squirrels and lay waste to paper targets. So my question is why do you care what someone else puts on THEIR rifle?

I just mounted my Weaver Classic Extreme scope. I replaced an Aimpoint with it because I needed magnification for my old/bad eyes. I had the cheap NC Star scope. The Weaver is far better. I like it A LOT more. But the NC Star did its purpose. It let me try out different options before I laid some money on a better quality one.

alright dang it,i been an observer on this arfcom site now for 1 1/2 wks. guess i gotta get in hyar.yeah, i got child support and no i aint got 12 hunnert bucks to throw on an optic. i just got a colt pre-ban 6530 unfired for $1100....so now i wanna put an optic on it so i can extend its effective range. so,......any of you guys hear of a konus scope? the 7253 is going for $89 on gb and for $85 on eb. i like the features....any comments on past experiences,glass,reticle....etc?

my apologies to the op . didnt intend to steal his thread.....

I guess some of you would put a plastic $5 Timex band on a Rolex watch.

Face it, you spend good money for an AR, why junk it up?

If you had the money or saved up for the AR you can save up for quality optics and accessories.

The problem some of you have is that you are too impatient...you think you just have to have something NOW.

Learn to use your iron sights, practice shooting, learn to work on your rifle while you save up for quality parts.

You may hate what I have to say...but you know I'm correct even if you won't admit it here. In the end you will have a quality weapon to be proud of.

I have the NcStar 3X-9 mil dot scope with the quick release mount.  Here's the scoop.

First of all it looks better on the gun than any other scope because of its size and shape.

The optics are fair.  If you look through a higher quality scope and then move back to the NcStar you can see the difference but the Nc is bright and clear enough to do the job for the most part.  It does not have parallax adjustments but it does have an illuminated reticule in red and green with two brightness settings for both.

When it stopped holding zero, I found that the hex screws on the bottom of the mount that hold the scope on came loose so I cleaned the threads and applied Lock-Tite and that solved that problem.

I have heard that many of the problems associated with this scope stem from not holding zero and I bet the loose  screws are a major cause of that..

I can't say if changing the optical power throws zero off because I pretty much left it on 9 power all the time.

I also have a Bushnell Elite 3200 5X-15 and that scope is somewhat sharper but it costs almost 3 times as much.  You do get what you pay for but you don't have to pay big for what you need.  If you need a lower priced scope that will do a good job then the NcStar may work well for you but if you are intent on having better quality then pay the extra price for a better scope.

I think it's cool that you find the NcStar useful.  I think for some of us AR-15s aren't our only hobby or money sink and we just don't feel like dropping another guns worth of money on an optic.  I may get out every 3 or 4 months to fire off 60 rounds and I'd feel like an idiot if I had a trijicon on a rifle that spent 99% of it's time in the closet.  If shooting 3 gun was my only hobby or something sure I'd spring for it.

Usually after work I hop onto the net to wind down.  So here I am reading through all the post and this one just made me laugh.  Not because of OlCrow's opinion but of what it makes me think of.  Comparing an AR to a Rolex...ROLFLMAO.  Maybe an HK416 Maybe a PSG-1, Maybe a M40A1, Maybe an honest to God Sharps Rifle, Maybe a Dragunov SVD back during the Cold War when those rifles were mythical beasts but an AR?  The idea of a $600-$1800 AR and then putting a $800-$1500 Optic on top of it for play?  Now that is funny.

Seriously like many people have already said most of the people who buy ARs are doing it as a hobby ie for fun.  They don't depend on the AR for combat, they don't earn a living using it.  Heck not that many people even use the rifles they bought for competition and loot.  They just want to escape into a realm where they have a rilfe that looks like what our guys have and they are into it for the looks.  

I came to the AR late because 1) don't trust the cartridge 2) don't like the operating system 3) not a big fan of aluminum.  Finally got one just to see why everyone seemed to want one.  For me if my life depended on it I would grab my M1A or my PTR.  Having said that I do like to hang all kinds of stuff on my AR because it does have that space age kinda look on it.

As for NC Star scopes.  The older models are junk with poor glass and bad zeroing capabilities.  The new Mark IIIs????  I don't know but for about $100 what the heck.  It looks kinda cool and if it holds zero and if it don't have a distortion in the glass and the cross hairs are complete (Yeah I have a couple of NcStar scopes from about 10 yrs ago that have distorted glass and broken or incomplete crosshairs) and can be adjusted for POI then why not.  

I'm debating on getting one now because I can't get the mags I want or more ammo.

But...you do agree the chinese scopes and accessories do compare to a plastic $5 Timex watch band.

Nobody said anyone had to spend $800 - $1500 for quality.

I don't care how you justify it...it's still a junk scope made for airsoft.

So OlCrow, you see no value at all in having a "for now" scope?  

I like my NcStar scope, it did what I needed it to... extended the range of my rifle out to 200+ yards and it even held zero!   And I was able to use the extra cash I saved to buy a few lowers.   I never intended the NcStar to be a permanent addition to my rifle.   Eventually it will either be relegated to one of my Ruger 10/22(s) or put on an air rifle.   I grew up on iron sights.   We weren't allowed to use rifles for deer hinting in Upstate NY.   Optics became necessary to me when I moved to Texas.   A coyote at dusk sitting in a sendero 236 yards away is a pretty difficult target with open sights, but OH MY GOD!!!! The NcStar made the shot.

Since then I have caught up with my credit cards and have upgraded "slightly" in scopes.   But the bottom line is that the scope did what I needed it to... fill the gap.

I'm so happy for you.

You guys that buy this stuff and come on here hoping that everyone agrees with you are silly. Why is that? Why does it bother you when everyone doesn't?

An opinion was asked for, I gave mine. I don't care one bit if you don't agree. If you are happy with the scope then good for you. Why do I have to pat you on the back and say what a great choice you made?

You guys don't want to hear from anyone except those that agree.

It's your money, spend it how you feel fit. Don't ask for opinions if you really don't want them.

Good post, OlCrow.  I'll also add that not every post touts expensive glass as the only option.  There are many good quality mid-range scopes that cost the same or nearly the same as the NcStar stuff.

Hate to disagree with you Ranxerox911, but that was a ridiculous post OlCrow... why is it that you jump on people that buy NcStar as being ignorant and speak down at them as being superior and then throw more attitude when you get called on it?  

I never asked for a pat on the back from you.   I don't need your approval for scope purchases, timepiece purchases or any other life decision.   You bought decent optics first instead of stocking up on ammo and more hardware with your disposable income, congrats here's YOUR pat on the back for being "smarter" than everyone else.   Why is it that everyone that doesn't agree with YOU is wrong and why does it bother YOU?  And don't say it didn't because your elitist, snobby, nose-in-the-air response says otherwise.

I didn't give my opinion... I gave my 1st hand experience.   I'm sorry that you can't accept that.  

I hate to burst your bubble; but, I don't have a plastic band on either one of my Rolex(s) nor does the one I bought for my wife.   Maybe a pic of my varmint rifle with its Nightforce NXS 5.5x50 will make it so I am allowed to sit at the "cool kids" table with you?

Take a step back and look at your posts... all negative and most rude, for example:


I'm not sure if your real name is Richard or not... but you sure seem like a Dick to me.

Fuck NcStar.


/thread

I love my ncstar scope its a 3-9x40 one.  

Your intellect is dizzying.   Your language is nauseating.   Your mother would be proud.

I hope you feel better now.



Now go tell your mommy how you beat up a bully on the internet because he hurt your feelings.

Personally, I may have paid more money in the long run to try out lower end scopes, but I think that money was well spent as I tried several different types of scopes (red dot, high power variable, low power variable, fixed, etc...) to find what type I liked.  I had the NC Star 2-9x Mark 3 Tactical Compact and liked the variable, but didn't like that it was a minimum of 2x. I decided a few months ago to buy an Aimpoint because I had tried a cheaper red dot, thought it was ok and had owned an EoTech before. Well I found out no matter how high quality the red dot is, it isn't a good fit as a primary optic for me. So I settled with a low power variable with Weaver Classic Extreme 1.5-4.5x with an RDP II mini red dot mounted on top. This lets me take the long shots with the Weaver and helps my bad eyes see better, but I have the red dot on top for quicker and closer shots. I'm very happy I spent the money on the cheaper stuff to find out what I like.

I bought the ncstar mark 3 3-9x rubber coated with the laser and I'm very happy.  I put it on my rifle and took it the range this weekend and fired about 300 rounds.  It held zero, was easy to set up, seems pretty rugged, was crystal clear, and the illunated mil dot was pretty nice in the evening.  Sure some scopes cost more but for what I need it for, it's perfect thus far.

This from a guy selling this stuff.

RED = How about that! Plastic lenses.

BLUE = Just plain BS.



Click here for the page

Do you guys believe this stuff?

I do believe the plastic lens part.

I will agree with you here... that guy is smoking crack.   While I do believe that NcStar makes viable low cost options for certain recreational activities; I would NEVER recommend NcStar for operators and professionals that depend on their optics to safegaurd their lives.  

I do believe the plastic lens (polycarbonate) as they have been used for years for glasses.  I don't have a problem with that.   You aren't buying a high-end optic and you obviously give up things to lower the price.   Mine worked for what I needed it to do.