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Who makes the SS? How good is the Bushnel |
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ba_50
Optics Apprentice Joined: December/02/2004 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 150 |
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Posted: August/19/2005 at 16:32 |
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Hi,
Just wondering who makes the Tasco SS and how good Bushnell's repair service is. Warranties aren't what they use to be. Thanks. |
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Chris Farris
TEAM SWFA - Admin swfa.com Joined: October/01/2003 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 8024 |
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SWFA makes the SS, tasco is no longer affiliated with the project. We took over after tasco went under. Bushnell bought the intellectual rights of tasco later and we worked a deal with them to handle the importation and warranty service on our behalf.
Bushnell's warranty repair department is above average and we seldom hear of complaints or problems with them. |
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ots03
Optics Apprentice Joined: May/18/2004 Location: Aruba Status: Offline Points: 104 |
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The original manufacturer of super sniper scope is HAKKO japan (they make the ss under tasco specifications to meet the usmc contract..Now hakko makes the ss for SWFA (they said the scopes specifications are the same than military contract).
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Chris Farris
TEAM SWFA - Admin swfa.com Joined: October/01/2003 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 8024 |
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Hakko has never had anything to do with the Super Sniper rifle scopes. In fact Hakko no longer exist. They filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and have completely shut down.
They've also never had a USMC contract. They had a U.S. Navy contract and we currently sell them to the U.S. Army.
The specifications are no longer the same as the original contract called for either. Due to technological advances over the years we've upgraded several aspects of the scopes to make them even stronger. |
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ots03
Optics Apprentice Joined: May/18/2004 Location: Aruba Status: Offline Points: 104 |
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Well Chris..........you told that Hakko has never had anything to do with the Super Sniper rifle scopes...........Please let me know who is the manufacturer of super sniper scope (which factory and country )
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Mithran
Optics Journeyman Joined: April/04/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 310 |
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SWFA makes the SS, the second post in this thread has your answer.
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Fight Smarter
Not Harder |
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Mike McDonald
Optics Journeyman Joined: September/01/2004 Status: Offline Points: 739 |
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ba_50
Optics Apprentice Joined: December/02/2004 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 150 |
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Chris,
What were the two reasons that the Navy didn't accept the contract and have you corrected these problems? Thanks. |
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Chris Farris
TEAM SWFA - Admin swfa.com Joined: October/01/2003 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 8024 |
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Originally the scopes were marketed by tasco sports optics to the U.S. Navy. Tasco never offered these for sale to the public and has since been bought out by Bushnell Performance Optics, Inc. SWFA, Inc. now has the exclusive world wide rights to the Super Sniper scopes and the Super Sniper name. The success of these scopes has spawned copies and a lot of misinformation. If you have any questions as to the authenticity of a Super Sniper scope call or e-mail us. If you see anyone selling scopes claiming to be Super Sniper scopes that don't look like the ones at SuperSniper.com e-mail us with the companies name and as much information as you can provide.
There is only one original true Super Sniper scope. Don't be fooled by fraudulent dealers passing Hakko MP scopes as Super Snipers. Hakko would respond to customer e-mails confirming that they have nothing to do with the SS scopes.
The SS scopes have always been made by the same factory in Japan. The only difference is we now have world wide exclusive rights and control of the production and distribution. A few years back when tasco was sinking they still had control and a bad batch did reach market. The problems were all related to improper assembly and easily rectified once they were identified. It had to do with an internal lens tolerance being to large. The focus lens would bind if the user over torqued Badger or Mark 4 style rings. When we took over we sent examples of every complaint we had seen to the factory with detailed instructions about the problems. They identified every single issue and we were able to rectify them all by simply having the factory assemblers properly trained on how to assemble these scopes. Being mil spec the tolerances are much tighter than a normal scope and certain parts have to be assembled in a specific order.
The "mushy knob" syndrome....man, that doesn't sound too good, does it. Anyway, the not so tactile and audible windage and elevation adjustments were corrected three years ago. The SS scopes use a special grease that is salt water friendly and the assemblers were using too much of it and sometimes in the wrong place. This would cause the mushy feel. Replacing or removing the O rings and wiping as much grease off as you could access would often improve the feel. Proper training and improved quality control has eliminated the issue altogether since we have taken over.
More recently we have upgraded the Super Snipers at the request of the U.S. Army and only after approval by the Department of Defense. Basically we brought the scopes up to date by using the latest technologies that did not exist when the SS scopes were originally made. The current SWFA Super Sniper scopes are even stronger than their predecessors with most of the internals being completely new and redesigned. Some of the highlights include steel ball bearing, increased spring tension and a state of the art universal joint added to the end of the erector tube.
The real SS scopes are built to the same NATO specs required by a U.S. Navy contract. I am not aware of any problems the Navy had. Before tasco went under they had the contract information along with paid invoices for hundreds of scopes. This contract was later replaced with a new contract.
We take these scopes very seriously and realize that U.S. troops lives depend on these scopes daily. This year we have shipped a record amount of Super Sniper scopes to various bases all over the U.S. for sniper platoons deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Anything and everything we learn from these guys is considered in production. Ask the guys up in New York at Ft. Drum with the 10th Mountain Division what they think about the latest SWFA Super Sniper scopes. |
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Chris(madrid)
Optics Apprentice Joined: July/28/2004 Location: Spain Status: Offline Points: 69 |
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There is something VERY SIMILAR available in the UK to the SS - Can comment on the innards. But Nikko-Stirling Sniper and some scopes retailed by Edgar Bros in the UK look identical and friends there who've been able to see them side by side say there is no visible difference.
And there is NO price comparison. Just a crying bl**dy shame that you cant ship the SS to us over here. I NEED ANOTHER 10*42. |
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ots03
Optics Apprentice Joined: May/18/2004 Location: Aruba Status: Offline Points: 104 |
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I never doubt about super sniper quality....and I know that the super sniper is made exclusive for SWFA....but, of course swfa is a client who order the super sniper to a FACTORY. The best scopes major manufacturer of scopes in japan are Light optical works and hakko ; they made scopes for several brands, and they made the scopes to meet the brand specification (of quality and....price ). Probably the bushnell / bausch lomb /hakko mp are made in the same factory than Super Sniper, but quality specifications are diferent. Hakko can made exelent scopes and .........bad scopes too ( I remember the springfield armory scopes....a bad scope made by hakko ), they just made the scopes under the specifications of the client. |
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Chris(madrid)
Optics Apprentice Joined: July/28/2004 Location: Spain Status: Offline Points: 69 |
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Hakko went bust because they let their quality slip. I know the MD of a company that was commisioning 100's of MP scopes from Hakko. They decided to stop when over 80% of scopes shipped had some defect or another. A shame as early Hakkos were not bad given the price. |
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danieltex
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/27/2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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I own a 10x42 SS rear focus model that I bought on holiday in the US.It came in a white box with a USN contract label, and i was told it was" liberated" from the US navy stores.Since then i have bought several top quality scopes but always I have tried to get another SS!(damn you SWFA for not shipping to the UK!-do something about that immediately!.Edgar brothers here in the UK market an exact duplicate of the SS. And I do mean Exact! I have held it, examined it and shot with it and its the same as my SS. They also sell exact copies of the side focus models too. Nikko Sterling also sell an exact copy of the SS- in fact the finish is slightly better (although i am comparing it to my old navy contract SS, which would obviously be lacking in badges, fine finish etc.). Although SWFA state they make the SS scopes they must be outsourcing it to a japanese scope making firm such as Lightworks, who in turn are making and selling the same scopes here in the UK under these brand names. This is good as it means i could replace my SS if it broke, however i would have to pay almost double the price to do so! |
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If i can see it, i can hit it!
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ba_50
Optics Apprentice Joined: December/02/2004 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 150 |
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The reason I started this tread was to find out who makes them, and how long they have been doing it. Unless a company has a big name, it could be a fly by night deal. It is hard enough to get service even with the ones who have been around awhile. I think that only about 2 out of 10 new busineeses survive today. Even the firearms quality has dropped off over the years.
I thought SWFA was in the US so they can't actually be making the scopes. They might have changed the name To SWFA, I'm still not sure. I don't know anything about Light Force. |
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Mike McDonald
Optics Journeyman Joined: September/01/2004 Status: Offline Points: 739 |
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Well let's see. They were sold to the military in 1986 by Hoffman enterprises, a woman owned set aside business.
Been in the same factory for all that time. If I told you what factory made it, would you be able to assess the quality of product or service having that knowledge? |
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ba_50
Optics Apprentice Joined: December/02/2004 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 150 |
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Mike,
Not if it isn't well known. I don't even know what a set aside business is. It sounds like the same factory anyhow. |
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Northman
Optics GrassHopper Joined: May/23/2005 Location: Norway Status: Offline Points: 9 |
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Yeah.. they have to ship it to europe. Its alot of work getting pepole to send them over
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ots03
Optics Apprentice Joined: May/18/2004 Location: Aruba Status: Offline Points: 104 |
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Well I see nobody knows the name of the factory who manufacture the Super Sniper ..or even where the factory is located (of course is not located in europe or usa ). Of course this factory makes scopes for several brands...(thats why some east asia made scopes, of diferent brands looks so similar ). |
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Mike McDonald
Optics Journeyman Joined: September/01/2004 Status: Offline Points: 739 |
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Didn't say nobody knew.....just said nobody's telling
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WileyCat
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/28/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 45 |
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If you want to avoid all this controversy and drama, just by a Bushnell Elite. End of story.
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WileyCat
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