Simmons 44 Mag Rifle Scope ?

[300magman]

I'm putting a scope on a "long range" .22lr It is a very accurate and heavy Savage TR that will be used for target competition out to 200 yards.

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the above mentioned scope...it comes in 6-24x44 with "target/tactical" turrets, a side focus (adjustable objective) and is pretty light for a 44mm scope. It also sells for under $150 on SWFA

These are basically all the features I want and at the right price, I just have to hope it has good motion (repeatable clicks) and that is half decently bright. But I've never used a Simmons before.

Any Oppinions or alternate suggestions?

[red caddy]

I've got a 3 X 9, 2- 4 X 10's and a 6 X 24. All are on workin' guns, I'm pleased with the performance.

No, they don't look/ see as good as my Swarovski's and Unertel's, but they save me the heart attack when I drop them getting on/off the buggy or bounce one off the dash in the pickup, when I find a stump in the tall grass.

If/when I destroy one, I'll probably replace it with the same one. Good performance and value for the money. (all were bought on sale, under a hundred bucks)

The 4 X 10's live on my mini 14 and 30, that's a pretty rough life... They were bought about 8 years apart, the obj. on the newer one is ~ 3mm bigger than the other, although both are marked 44 MAG. The newer one is touted as "Wide view" but the field of view at 100 yds seemes to be the same. YMMV, Paul.

[Norrick]

i've got a 22 mag from simmons, and while the build quality does reflect the price, the glass and features are good for the money.

[bedlamite]

I have a few Simmons scopes, including a 3.5-10 44mag and a 2-7x32 Pro Hunter. The crosshairs are a little thick and not as clear as more expensive scopes, but after several years they still pass the box test. Mine are made in the Philippines, avoid the Simmons scopes made in China, they are junk.

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l342/1k_wayne/guns/10-22.jpg

[Chief Engineer]

I have one sitting on a 22 mag, that I have had for at least 10 years.
Since I have had it, its been on several rifles from the 22, to a #1 416 Rigby. Never an issue.

[Palmetto-Pride]

Mine are made in the Philippines, avoid the Simmons scopes made in China, they are junk.

1+ On the above.

Simmons scopes at one time weren't bad for the money, but they have been thru a few transitions in the past few years, Meade optics had owned them for awhile, but I believe they sold them a while back. I have never had a good experience with the few Simmons I have bought they seem to have really small eye boxes (the area behind the scope that you can get clear sight picture) If it were me I would be leaning toward a Nikon

[troy_mclure]

I've got a Simmons 44mag 6-21 on my encore in .204.

I've only shot it a few times so far, but the glass is pretty clear at 300yd.

I've also got a Simmons master series shot gun scope that is super clear, and great eye relief.

and a Simmons 8 point that i have had on my knight wolverine for 9 years now.

[Palmetto-Pride]

Actually Bushnell recently bought Simmons and Millett Sights so hopefully that will be an improvement.

[smith357]

I have an older Phillipine made Simmons 44mag 6.5x20x44AO that was on my .22 when I got it. For the first few years I swore I was going to replace it with somthing better but the scope has performed very well and I have not had any need to replace it. I'm not so sure I would trust it on a lager centerfire, but on the rimfire it works just fine. My biggest gripe is that the scope has thick crosshairs and gigantic mil-dots I would much prefer a standard duplex retical.


http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y266/smith357/armory/Kimber/IMG_4195.jpg

I also have a 4x12x44AO Pillipino Simmons in a box waiting for a rifle to put it on.

[300magman]

I wonder if hell would have time to freeze over And thaw again before I actually got someone at SWFA to look at the scope and tell me if it is made in China or the Phillipines :confused:

But I could try....or just tempt fate and order one, no one has said anything too terrible yet.

But for those of you who do have one, has anyone really put it through its paces in terms of dialing the turrets around a lot and seeing how it tracks? There are a lot of clicks between a 25 yard Zero and a 200 yard Zero when your shooting a .22lr (and don't forget the wind!)

[troy_mclure]

my .204 requires no ajustment! :D

[slowr1der]

I have not used a Simmons 44 Mag scope but I have used two Simmons scopes and they have functioned well for me. Both of the ones I've used were made in China. They seem to get a horrible rep online but talking to friends I personally know most of whom either don't look online at them or don't care the majority of them seem to really like their Simmons scopes and say they have held up well for them. I know one guy that had an issue with one but I know a whole lot more that use them and haven't had issues.

Are they as clear as a nice Burris or Nikon Monarch? No. Are they as good in low light? Once again the answer is no. However, how can you expect them to be at the price. They are clear enough that I've never been bothered by the clarity. Comparing it to a Leupold VX-I I couldn't tell a difference in the day light and in low light the Simmons appeared better but only slightly better. Comparing to other scopes like the Burris Fullfield II and it blew the Simmons away. However, how many people actually need to to be good in low light? I mean sure it's a plus but it's plenty bright enough to hunt in legal hunting hours. Do you really need it to be bright enough to see at night when you can't legally hunt anyway? I sure don't.

Both I've had have held zero very well. One of them is 5 or 6 years old, been dropped, banged around, just sat on the floorboard of a truck and bounced all around not in a case or anything, etc and it's never lost zero. Actually I take that back. I did bump it hard one time carrying it in the house. I then changed ammo and it shot several inches high. I wasn't sure if it was because I had bumped it or because I had changed ammo. I'm thinking it probably had to do with changing brands and types of ammo but can't be 100% sure. It's just held up great. I can't say that about the 2 VX-I's I've owned when both have failed and quit holding zero.

The other one hasn't had as hard of a life but it's never lost zero either and works great for what it is.

Out of the guys I hunt with the majority of them use Simmons scopes and most have a couple of them. I've only heard one of them talk about having an issue. Most of the others will tell you that they love them especially for the $50 or so they paid for them. Several of them have been using them for years and also dropped them, banged them around, etc. Yet year after year they still stay zeroed for them. I've seen how rough some of them are on their hunting guns and it amazes me that any scope can hold zero after what some of them go through.

A couple of my hunting friends like Tasco but the majority of them don't seem to like Tasco at all and say they have had issues with them.

Bushnell or Tasco seem to really be the only others they use at all. They all think my Burris Fullfield II is super high end.

Now one thing I will say is that none of them myself included adjust them for different ranges or on the fly. We all set them and leave them set. I'm not sure that they would track properly. In fact I know one of mine seems to yet the other one doesn't seem to really move 1/4" per click. I moved it two clicks and it moved at least an inch over. Not .5". The other one seems to adjust correctly but I don't usually adjust it back to see if it goes back to the same place. Other than clarity I think this is one thing you give up on cheap scopes. However, once set they seem to stay set which is what the majority of the people want. As said I've also used the cheaper ones though so no experience with the 44 Mag. It may do better in this department.

Overall, my experience with Simmons is that it's no Burris, or anything like the scopes in that price range. The things that you sacrifice are clarity although they have still been very clear and plenty clear enough for me, low light performance(this is mainly the only difference I see in clarity), and in some you may not have them move exactly like they say they will when adjusting. They seem to be clear enough, hold zero, and hold zero when being banged around. This is my experience with them as well as several friends. However, maybe we just got lucky. I see a lot of complaints of them online but I think a lot of people just like the bash them because they are cheap. In real world experiences I've not seem them to be at all like they are made out to be online.

[slowr1der]

This seems to get decent reviews although not a lot of them.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=974439

The one I had that didn't move the 1/4" per click was just a cheapo Simmons 8 point scope that's about their cheapest one. It still moved the cross hairs just not 1/4" per click as it moved around an inch when I moved it 2 clicks. That could have just been a fluke though. My other Simmons I've used seemed to adjust like it said. That one the reviews say it tracks well too. Just thought I'd point out that the one I mentioned didn't track perfectly for me was also their cheapest scope offered and for the average hunter still would have been more than fine.