Tasco Super Sniper 10 x 42 M

The scope was kindly provided to us by I.M.T.T. We were originally a bit skeptic about the scope since it was "only a Tasco" and probably would not have acquired it if it had not been strongly recommended by some very knowledgeable people in the law enforcement and military community.

The Super Sniper comes in a plain white cardboard box. Included are some bubble wrap, instruction manual, cleaning patch, and scope covers. The scope feels very sturdy and is claimed .50 cal. proof by the manufacturer. The knobs are big, really big, and easily adjustable by gloved hands. The turrets felt a bit tight when the scope was straight out of the box, but that went away after some use. As mentioned the turrets are quite big, witch makes them easy to handle but it may also cause some problems, on one occasion the windage turret got constantly battered by exiting brass and got a little beat up in the process. ( see picture below* ) This also resulted in malfunctions from time to time as the exiting brass bounced back in the gun from the turret. The scope was moved backwards just a tad and the problem was resolved. The clicks witch are nice and audible are 1/4 moa, The adjustments have been repeatable to this day without any problems. The scope has now been in use for 2 years and has undergone a couple of sniper competitions with no trouble. Only minor failure occurred when the scope was used in temperatures under - 20 Celsius, what happened was that the clicks disappeared, the turrets worked ok, but the clicks couldn't be heard or felt. The optical quality of the glass is good period. The parallax adjustment is located where you would normally have a magnification ring on a variable scope. Focus is at the ocular end and it can be adjusted by rotating the eyepiece. All in all One of the best (if not the best) scopes in it's price class.
UPDATE Feb. 2003

The scope has now been on the road for 6 moths now being passed around to several people for testing and it still going strong.

+
- sturdy
- sells for $ 399
- good glass

-
- freezes up in sub zero temperatures
UPDATE Sept. 2003

We were recently contacted by SWFA / Riflescopes.com after they had read our review on the SS. They had learned about the problems that appeared in extreme cold conditions and apparently similar problems had been encountered in other SS Scopes too. According to Mr. Farris from SWFA Inc.the Navy contract for the S.E.A.L.s required a special kind of lube for salt water submersion and if the turret is not properly installed at the time of manufacture one will get a mushy feel to the knobs that is exaggerated in extreme cold. According to Farris they have since identified this problem and corrected in production by retraining the factory on how to properly assemble this highly specialized scope. The mil spec tolerances are so tight that it requires special attention when assembling. SWFA / Riflescopes.com is also trying to detach Tasco and or Bushnell's names from the Super Sniper series as they are the sole source for them and have an exclusive with the factory. In this attempt they have developed a logo for the S.S. scopes so that they can establish their own identity.

Since SWFA Inc. could not provide us with a sample of the latest improved model of the Super Sniper scope so we could verify the improvements we'll just have to take their word for it.
Stars


Super Sniper Scopes are distributed exclusively by SWFA, Inc.