Battle of the Cheapest air rifle scopes - A comparison and review

[MacWa77ace]

I have a Crosman Powermaster 66 I got at a garage sale for $10 a few years ago. Its a VPP and it wouldn't charge up but I bought it anyhow, and it came with a few antique tins of 177 pellets. A few drops of pellgunoil later and it fixed it. Works perfectly fine.

It's 'iron' sites [plastic really] aren't great of course as the front site is about 2mm wide, so shooting at a 5 inch target with a 2 inch bullseye at 25 yards you're basically covering the entire target with the front site [when holding for drop]

Might be time for one of those air gun or rimfire dovetail mount scopes.

Anyhow, my rule of thumb for glassing any rifle is spend at least what you spent on the rifle for the optic. So getting a $12-15 scope would align with my rifle glass values. Right?

So I ordered a Hatsun branded 4x20 Optima scope. And then ended up ordering two more, a Tasco 4x15 and a Daisy 4x15. As you're probably aware Hatsun, Tasco and Daisy are pretty reliable names in the air rifle world.



I got the Hatsun from Amazon for $9.99, I thought it being a 4x20 might get more light in than the 4x15 scope options.  You see how the objective lens is flared out?



Well this Hatson Optima 4x20mm Scope didn't work out, It's garbage and doesn't really even fit properly on the Powermaster 66 due to the mount heights and the rear iron site height. I have to mount it too far back to get a proper eye relief, or remove the rear site which I don't want to do and keep track of those parts.

Additionally while I can focus the reticle perfectly, the image behind it from close range out to infinity is pretty blurry across the entire field of view. Junk.

That's when I walked into Walmart and bought the Tasco 4x15 for $10.99. See I had just been given a Daisy 856 VPP a week or so before and wanted to put a scope on that too. [I'd had a cheapo 4x15 on a Crosman 760 when I was a kid, don't remember the brand or what I had paid for it, but I do remember that out of the box the wire reticle had a bend in it.] The Tasco's Objective lens is 15mm. This one was much better, I can focus the reticle and the background or main image is mostly focused. From close range out to infinity. I say mostly because its got blurry spots at the edges and possibly in spots in the middle parts of the field of view, and is ever so slightly out of focus [no its not my eyes] but definitely usable. And since the receiver on the Daisy 856 is higher than the barrel, and the rear site is slightly lower than that of the Crosman, I could properly mount the Tasco with the exact eye relief needed and not have to remove the rear site.

I noticed that both the Hatsun and the Tasco scopes had the exact same scope rings, exactly the same, and had exactly the same lens covers front and rear.

Since I had two scopes now, and two air guns with dovetail mounts, and since I am going to trash the Hatsun, I needed another scope for the Powermaster 66. So I ordered a Daisy branded scope to put on the daisy and I will move the Tasco over to the Powermaster 66.

Here's the before and after photos. There seems to be some design issue with the Crosman's rear sight because even the 15mm has to go behind the rear site. Which causes an eye relief issue.

This is the Hatsun 20mm on the Crosman 66 and the Tasco 15mm on the Daisy 856.


And this is the Daisy 15mm on the Daisy 856 and the Tasco 15mm on the Crosman 66


Note the location of the scope mounting on the black gun, behind the rear site. The eye relief is only slightly off but I do have to adjust my cheek each time I ADS.

CONCLUSION
Yeah, these reflect the price of <$12 each. The images aren't very clear in the ones that aren't outright blurry. At least the reticles aren't bent like the wire one I had as a kid, but I'm thinking these might be laminated reticles and not wire anyhow.

Looking at how the scope on the Crosman lines up [centers} with the slot in the rear site I'm thinking there's going to be a lot of horizontal adjustment to get this sited in, because it was pretty close with just iron sites.

[Moab]

This is a great premise for a review. Because sometimes a $10 pellet gun with a $10 scope is the perfect answer. 

Good on you for writing this.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I've got an older version (I think it's from the 70s or 80s, not sure.) of that Tasco scope somewhere. Picked it up at a thrift store for 7 bucks years ago. 

[MacWa77ace]

I've got an older version (I think it's from the 70s or 80s, not sure.) of that Tasco scope somewhere. Picked it up at a thrift store for 7 bucks years ago. 

I think the one I got for my 760 back when I was in middleschool was expensive. Meaning 20-30 bucks. I just can't remember its price or brand but it was a 4x15mm. And the lenses were perfectly clear and in focus. Bet it was made in the USA.

You still have yours? How's the clarity?

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I've got an older version (I think it's from the 70s or 80s, not sure.) of that Tasco scope somewhere. Picked it up at a thrift store for 7 bucks years ago. 

I think the one I got for my 760 back when I was in middleschool was expensive. Meaning 20-30 bucks. I just can't remember its price or brand but it was a 4x15mm. And the lenses were perfectly clear and in focus. Bet it was made in the USA.

You still have yours? How's the clarity?

Clarity is surprisingly good for something that's probably older than me.

My eye sight isn't the best, but even despite that I can see through it pretty clearly.

ETA: I just checked and it's not a Tasco brand scope. It's actually a Crosman branded one.

The Tasco box looks just like the Crosman box it came in, which I may have tossed awhile back.

[Rednex]

I got the same Tasco on my Crossman 1477. Don't shoot it much, like i forget what it shot like. Had to get the scope mounts for the pistol they special.

[echo83]

Very cool topic!

I have a UTG 4x32 that I bought off Amazon a few years ago for $40 bucks or so. Threw it on my Crosman Vantage and was pleasantly surprised. No bells or whistles, just a solid scope with a nice field of view.

Because A.) I'm cheap and B.) it held zero after being rattled around by recoil, I moved it to my Marlin 25, which has improved the accuracy immensely. 

I thought about picking up another UTG 4X32 to put on my Marlin 60 but I was stunned that the price has more than doubled. 

So the Marlin 60 is wearing the same Tasco 4x15 (with a kind of cool zoom function) that it's had for the last few decades. Did I mention I'm cheap?

You wouldn't think that 32mm instead of 15mm makes a big difference, but to me it does. 

[MacWa77ace]

@echo83 I have a UTG Leapers Bugbuster 3-9x32 I think I paid $89 for onsale a few years ago. It resides on my Benji 392.

That's got great clarity for the money. The 32mm gives you a greater field of view, so you should notice a difference between the 2 4x scopes with different objective lenses.

Dang, its $148 now https://a.co/d/8Jt0QfD
So right price ratio to be on the Benji 392. But definitely not a cheap scope.

[EBuff75]

I've only got two air rifle scopes and they're both Crosman CenterPoint models that came with a couple of break-barrel rifles (a Redtail Nitro and a Nitro Venom Dusk).  One of them is a 4x32mm and the other is a 3-9x32.  I don't have any of the cheaper ones like what you're talking about, but I remember them coming with many of the kits (gun, scope, safety glasses, paper targets, a tube of BBs, etc.).

I should probably pick up a couple of simple scopes to go on some of my air rifles, but I almost never shoot them, because they're not legal to shoot in my area* (suburbia).  My Crosman 2100B would probably be a good one to scope, along with at least one of my three Crosman 760s!



* Reason 347 to move somewhere that I have more space...

[MacWa77ace]

 I have a Ruger Airhawk that came with a Ruger branded 4x32mm scope. It is not a great scope but its not blurry, except at the edges. It's fine for that gun 'cause it being a spring piston break barrel,  I can't get much accuracy out of it. 2-3" at 25 yds. Nope. I expected 1/2" groups. Not a great gun or scope IMO. But the scope is cheap I'm sure.



The scope rings are raised aftermarket. I didn't use the ones that came with it.

[DarkAxel]

Based on the pics I see, would it be possible to adjust the elevation slider on the rear iron down to the minimum? Aside from that, you might be able to get taller scope rings.

[MacWa77ace]

Based on the pics I see, would it be possible to adjust the elevation slider on the rear iron down to the minimum? Aside from that, you might be able to get taller scope rings.

I think I tried that and it doesn't go low enough. [I'll check when I get home tonight] I could take the rear site off also but don't want to because I don't want to keep track of the hardware. On the Crosman the rear site is mounted with a couple of bolts. On the Daisy the rear site is 'welded' on.



ETA: I can't find any 15mm raised rings that fit dovetail mount. What I do find are at least $12 and that's to much to fix this issue.

[DarkAxel]

I think I see the issue. The rear sight is straight across the top, not cut for a scope. A few ways to handle it. You can either take a dremel and grind the top of the sight so the scope will fit, while adjusting the sight notch, bend the top blade either backwards or forwards so the scope clears it, or find a rear sight that is cut on top for a scope. Either way you'd have to re-zero. Of course, If you can live with it, that might be the answer.

[MacWa77ace]

I think I see the issue. The rear sight is straight across the top, not cut for a scope. A few ways to handle it. You can either take a dremel and grind the top of the sight so the scope will fit, while adjusting the sight notch, bend the top blade either backwards or forwards so the scope clears it, or find a rear sight that is cut on top for a scope. Either way you'd have to re-zero. Of course, If you can live with it, that might be the answer.

That worked. It was a combination of lowering the site to its lowest increment, and then bending it backwards.

This is where it landed just lowering it. Still to high. And I don't know if you can see this but the slot in the rear site is sort of 'off center' of the scope. Its going to be interesting getting this sited. There's also a scratch on the very front edge of the scope, didn't even notice until I looked at the photo. 

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And this after bending it. I can even fit the front lens cover on now.

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[MacWa77ace]

yeeesh!



To start I was zeroing at 25 yards. Let's say that's probably 2.5 times the accurate range of these guns. [for a mouse eye shot] And pumped each up to the 10 pump max. Used the pointed 177 pellets and both guns are supposed to have rifled barrels. And Wow, these scopes had some loose turret adjustments. And no clicks just friction adjustment. The Tasco's windage adjustment was the only turret that was 'hard' to turn and would probably not move after setting.

The Daisy scope and Rifle combo was all over the place. I got it to hit a 5" group at 25yds prone from a benchrest, but making any fine adjustments to reduce that group didn't seem to do anything. Even 1/4 turns on the turret to move left or up and it wouldn't seem to have any effect.

Oh and here's another thing about the Daisy Powerline 865. If you tighten the scope rings too tight it'll pop the seam apart on the receiver which is located on the right side of the dovetail for the scope mounts.  I was making huge adjustments initially because it was shooting about 2-3 feet left to start. And then I looked closely at the scope and its alignment to the barrel and it looked cockeyed to the right, so I kinda pushed it left with my thumb and it popped [with a pop sound] to the left. By that time I'd probably cranked the windage turret 720 degrees. Maybe I broke/dmgd it? But at least then I was hitting the target I aimed at.

The Crosman 66 w/ the Tasco was much better as far as adjusting and getting some effective moves, but the top turret's adjustment wheel was also 'loose' so don't know how well it'll hold over time. But I think I was having some gas leakage issues with the rifle, so if I took the shot pretty quick after pumping it up, no issues, but if I took a while to shoot after pumping it up, I didn't even hit the board. I was guessing it was hitting low from the sound the pellet made when it made contact. Between pumping the rifle and setting it in the benchrest, and aiming, I was getting frustrated because I couldn't tell for sure what was going on. So out of that, and suspecting some sort of power leak, I sat there, pumped the gun, and immediately aimed from the sitting position [without the bench] at the center of the top of the board which was clear of any hits [about 4" down from the top and centered site to side] and pulled the trigger. That was only a couple seconds and it hit exactly where I aimed. Now I have to figure out the leakage. Remember this is the rifle I got for $10 at a garage sale and it didn't hold a charge, but I 'fixed' it by just oiling the pneumatic piston. Maybe it needs gaskets. 

I might try zeroing at 10 yds next. And moving the Tasco onto the Daisy until I get that leak figured out.

[when I say loose, it turned with probably the same force as a 'real' scope's adj turret, but there were no clicks to hold it in place. When I say 'hard', it was really hard to turn, even with the screwdriver I was using. that turret's not moving anywhere]

I had a 4x15mm Crosman scope back when I was a kid in middle school and that worked just like any other scope with clicks. So that's sort of where I'm coming from on these for quality comparison. But I'm sure I paid way more for that Crosman scope back in the day. More dollar for dollar and then if you factor in the inflation. I might have paid $40 in todays dollars for that. I just don't remember what it cost back then. These two scopes were both less than $13 in 2025 dollars.

Other notes on the two airguns: The trigger on the Daisy is probably 4-5lbs. Its heavy compared to the Crosman. The stock on the Crosman is undersized [youth?] and not comfortable. The foregrip and stock on the Daisy are beefier and wider in comparison to the Crosman. I like that. But the Crosman I could keep the crosshairs aligned on the target after the shot, low to no recoil. The Daisy moved up and to the left, but ever so slightly. There is a ~1" white bullseye on the targets I used, so I'm talking it moved from the center of the bull, to the 11 o'clock right on the line between the bull and the black ring. Which isn't much and being able to see that movement thru the shot means that there was a lot of control on the aim, if not the barrel harmonics. And the Daisy seems to not like tight scope rings, too tight and the receiver's seam will come apart. So I like the way the Daisy feels, I like how its receiver sits slightly higher than the barrel which is a plus for mounting scopes and not hitting the iron sites, and I like Crosman's trigger. And lastly I like the way the Crosman handles the BB's, they load into a hopper that has a switch so you can empty the hopper and not worry about BB's loading into the chamber when your loading pellets. The Daisy you have no control other than you have to point the barrel down to not grab a BB when loading a pellet.