opinions on ncstar?

[Guest josh123]

never owned any of there products but the prices are nice and they have some "cool" looking stuff ha. im interested in buying one of their combos for my tactical 10/22. it comes with a 4x scope with a mini reflex sight on top of it and has a flash light and laser mounted on the side..

any of yall had and good or bad experiences with them

[Guest josh123]

heres the link to the specific one im looking at... keep in mind this is a 10/22 i dont want to spend 800 bucks on optics for a "cheaper" gun

NcSTAR Tactical Triple Threat 4x30mm Riflescope Combo FREE S&H KARSCRDF. NcSTAR Riflescopes.

[DaveTN]

I made a point out of checking them out at the last gun show I went to because they were so cheap. I thought they were very cheaply made, so I didn’t buy any. I think they were originally made for air soft stuff and they just started selling them for firearms.

I have seen posts of people that are happy with them, but you will always see that if the price is low enough.

I had a cheap ($40??) 4X9 Redhead (Bass Pro) scope on a rifle that was pretty good for a .22.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Hi Josh123

Awhile ago saw and purchased a newish model NCStar 9-27X 50mm monocular that is really good for the money. In monoculars, really fine optical and mechanical performance is really spensive. Get down below $200 and the optical and mechanical quality gets pretty shabby. At least the ones I've examined.

This particular newer NCStar model was in the $50 or $60 price range at the gun show, and the optics and construction is really good for that price. Had been shopping a couple of years for a compact monocular, and anything I've looked at less than $200 did not have as good optics as this NCStar. It is all-plastic except the glass lenses, but appears to be very rugged plastic, with an attached rubber objective cap and a screw-on hard plastic eyepiece cover.

Haven't managed to break it yet, and it appears rugged enough to tolerate mild abuse. Designed in such a way that it seems unlikely to break under ordinary careful use. Some more expensive chinese scopes seem more likely to break, and it isn't uncommon to examine a Bushnell or whatever in a store that is broken just from sitting on the display shelf.

That dealer had a couple of other NCStar spotting scopes and monocular models both more and less expensive, which did not have as good optics and I wouldn't have bought those. I would want to hands-on examine an NCStar product before buying. But some of the stuff looks pretty good.

Dunno if CStar is the same company as NCStar. Have had a tiny 8X 21mm shirt-pocket-size CStar all-metal miniature monocular for many years that works really good for what it is, and still works good as new. I got the impression those CStars were russian rather than chinese, but could be mistaken. Maybe some CStar devices suck though. The miniature monocular is the only product I've played with.

[MacGyver]

Their quality is totally across the board, so long as the board is scaled from "cheap optic that may hold up for a while" to "cheap optic that is a total piece of junk".

You may get lucky and get ahold of one that holds a zero for a while, but I've not seen one on real steel that lasts for long. There are some much better options in the same price range for a .22 - especially in the 4x range.

[Guest josh123]

thanks for the input guys..i have not done much reasearch on these at all and didnt know they were plastic..also i just figured for a rifle i rarely shoot and is more or less just for fun and something i can mess around with and look at that something like this will be sufficient..i think im gonna go ahead and order one just to give her a try...worst case scenario i get a crappy optic that looks cool ha.. i let yall know how it is when it comes in hopefully this wednesday

[Guest spoolie]

They are disposable scopes...went through a couple.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Hi Josh

I looked (quickly) at some NCStar rifle scopes and the ones I examined appeared to be metal, though maybe they have both kinds. Wasn't shopping for a rifle scope that day.

Most inexpensive spotting scopes are mostly plastic, and that isn't necesssarily a bad thinig for a spotting scope, assuming the plastic is of high quality and it is designed with sufficient thickness of material. A cheaply-made metal spotting scope might be more at risk getting tossed about in a range bag, than a plastic scope made of good plastic.

[Backon4]

I've got one that must be the exception. 3-9x42 and after 1500 or so .223/556 it is still holding zero. Taken it on and off several times and it still holds a sub moa. They are lifetime warranty, also from what I understand they do make some airsoft specific ones. For a 22 I wouldn't hesitate.

[dou44]

they have some in the higher price range that look to be made well but i do not have one .the one i looked at was around $89 .optic planet has some god one to chose from.

[nightrunner]

Ncstar is crap in my experience

[Guest BEARMAN]

I got one of their POS red dot scopes. Wouldn't hold zero, to save your life...couldn't give the damn thing away...Chinese made junk.

[StPatrick]

My only experience with them involves their spotting scopes - if you're o.k. with disposable, they'll be fine. If you want to keep whatever you buy beyond 6 months to 2 years, look elsewhere.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Their scopes are pretty unreliable especially if you are making a lot of adjustments. Most people consider them junk even for their cheap prices.

Now their other items seem to be a bit better. I have a rail light that has been used and abused for the last 3 years. It uses a CR123 battery and lasts quite a long time. It has never failed me and as I said before it has been well used. I have also had one of their green lasers. It too worked well and kept its zero. It only crapped out when I tried to turn it up but before that it worked well.

I would say stay away from anything that is considered an optic but most other items work well for the money. I would nto trust NcStar stuff with my life but for a range toy or something non critical I wouldn't hesitate.

Dolomite

[Guest rebeldrummer]

i have seen these and have wondered too?? what would be a more "economical" substitute for a Eo_Tech HWS type scope??

[Guest josh123]

i have seen these and have wondered too?? what would be a more "economical" substitute for a Eo_Tech HWS type scope??

if your looking for a cheaper replacement for the eotech or an "acog" look at bushnell.. theyre about half the price at most and are nice i have both the holo sight and the 4x scope. i love them both and had them on my ar15s before i could muster up the cash for the real stuff. ive shot them side by side with the real thing and theres allmost no difference in the eotech..the acog you can tell but then again the bushnell one is less than a third the price.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

My only experience with them involves their spotting scopes - if you're o.k. with disposable, they'll be fine. If you want to keep whatever you buy beyond 6 months to 2 years, look elsewhere.

Yes that is a good way to look at it at least on some non-essential items. Do you want to wear out and possibly lose or break a $100 pocket lighter for day-to-day use, or would a bic lighter get the job done?

It isn't just the NCStar brand-- It is likely that the same factories who make the NCStar also build the other similar items sold by other companies in the same price niche. The Chinese can build to a price point and at a high enough price point the quality can get very good. Also, if paired with a USA company that enforces stringent quality control the quality for price can be better compared to a company that just imports boxes and ships them out to dealers.

Just sayin, going to some other brand in the same price niche isn't necessarily a magic door to quality, though sometimes it can make a difference.

A spotting scope would ideally have good optics and rugged construction.

One can get pretty good relatively-inexpensive optics with small astro scopes, well-built and attractive instruments. But the powder-coat aluminum would get dinged up or broken easily with rough treatment. I wouldn't want to carry devices like this except in a separate padded case, and wouldn't want to use em in environments where they might get dinged. Items like these will kick the crap out of all but the best spotting scopes, in optical quality. If you don't mind being very gentle or you don't mind dinging them up--

On the other hand, $1200 would buy excellent optics and durability, from what I hear. I might get this Leupold sometime, but ain't gonna drop $1200 unless I get to handle one in person first.

Then there is this $60 NCStar NHRB92750G which has clearer optics and better eye relief than most below-$200 spotting scopes I've examined, and so far looks like it can take a few gentle whacks before it falls into dust. Other NCStar models I've examined did not have as good optics, to my eye--

[StPatrick]

A spotting scope would ideally have good optics and rugged construction.

The NCStar spotters I've seen do have good optics, but the construction / durability of them is why I classify them as "disposable". The zoom / focus rings and the threads they're attached to are not exactly heirloom quality, and will fail. Eventually, the user will be pulling out / pushing in the eyepiece to focus, as the focus mechanism gave up the ghost. If I needed an NCStar optic for short-term use, I'd have no problem buying it. If I was in the market for something I only wished to purchase once and enjoy for years, then I'd move into a better quality tier.