so ive been to the range twice since getting my scope ncstar tactical mark 3 sniper.

i dont get it. i am on sandbags and i zero in my rifle/scope. then, change mag and im off. zero it again. try different ammo. it is off again.

this happen to anyone else?

i have used Federal American Eagle 38gr HP AE22, Federal Champion bulk 36gr, and CCI Blazer 40gr ammo.

i have found the ae22 and blazer to give the best and most consistent results. i am a little dissapointed right now about my scope purchase....why wont it hold zero?

no ammo is the same, so that can change each time.

ncstar isn't in your favor, possible bad scope.

but im willing to bet, your cheek-weld is different each time.

I have a ncstar spotting scope you can have......it's **** too. Sorry to hear about your scope woes, but buy once cry once (twice in this case) and upgrade.

You may ask yourself, "but it's called the Tactical Mark 3 Sniper, how can it not be an awesome scope?". Well unfortunately buzzwords don't make for a good optic. You get what you pay for.

Contact NCStar and see if they can help you. They gave me instructions on taking apart one of their cheapo red dots that had issues, I had that thing down to every last screw and part. I tightened it up though and it's still going strong on my 15-22, ended up being a great bargain. Just not out of the box.

cheek weld, never thought of that.

heres my 3 step process to fix your issue permenantly:


step 1) re-zero with iron sights

step 2) use NCStar *** optic as target

step 3) buy an optic not designed for a 'toy' airsoft gun

Buy Cheap, Pay Twice...words to live by...consider it a lesson learned and move along

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Overkill is Underrated

Well, I guess I'm one of the lucky ones! My NcStar 3-9x42mm compact tactical, P-4 sniper works perfectly for me. In fact, I mounted it on top of my carry handle and I've had it on and off countless times (cleaning my rifle). To date, it still holds zero! Yesterday I put 5 rounds at 50 yards in the black, and covered them with a quarter! That's good shooting for me....

Your problem sounds like the scope to me, and I'm sure that NcStar will make it good.....

My scope is by far not the "cream of the crop", but by golly it is what I could afford and it is serving me well!

Jammer

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good to hear Jammer...but you are the exception to that rule

every thread about optics i have read has somebody complaining about their NCstar...or Leapers...or [ insert cheap knockoff here]...

good to see they get it right sometimes...but then again a broken clock is still right twice a day

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Overkill is Underrated

I have repeatedly read of hardware problems and crooked reticles, but seldom do I read about not being able to hold zero on these .22s. You haven't supplied much information of what you have checked or not, so it's difficult to say it's the scope for sure. Though, most problems seem to be 'out of the box' with dime store optics.

Maybe your scope, maybe not. Did you check all the mounting hardware and make sure you mounted the scope properly? Did the barrel nut on your rifle begin to loosen around the same time you put on your new scope? Are the first few bullets being scored by the bolt each time you slam in a new mag? (pic below)

Here's what I would do. Use just one ammo type on your next range visit. Take along a second optic or the factory iron sights to the range. If you are still having issues with the NcStar mounted, while at the range I would swap out the NcStar with another scope or the iron sights to see if accuracy improves. If it does, then your scope or your mounting of it is the problem. If it doesn't then there are other things to look at as mentioned above.



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If you look at the pic thread you'll see tons of NcStar optics on these rifles. I think the overwhelming majority are like you and get good service from them.


I have a Leapers fixed 4x, two BSA RD30, SightMark holosight, two BSA 2x pistol scopes, two cheap Bushnell 3-9x, three Tasco PDP2 (Well.. the Tasco are Japan and Taiwan so they aren't exactly dime store), two Primary Arms MicroDots and a Primary Arms compact 4x. I have had great service from all of these dime store optics, some of which I have had for over decade. I probably shoot more than most here (go to the range 4-5 times a week and sometimes more than once a day). I guess I must live a charmed life like you and Matmat417 below.

a little off topic guys so dont blast me for it but my barska ( or some of yall call it a barfska) has actually held up through 3500 rounds with out having to rezero it ever. just to show that SOME dimestore optics work. i guess its if you just get that golden ticket willie wonka has.

I have some pretty bad eyes (near sighted) and as the result, regardless of the quality of the optics, my eyeglass lenses can distort the reticles.

I can spent $2000 on a scope/red dot and if I am not careful, the image and my shot will be off.

I have to be make sure I'm not looking thru a very oblique angle.

As one person mentioned, check your cheek/head position...make sure it is the same every time.

Some of you guys are darn lucky with your China optics. Will any of you go buy me some lottery tickets, please?

If I could pick winning lottery tickets I wouldn't be buying dime store optics.

For me, I just hate to spend hard earned cash for something that wont work, stops working or has no trade value if I dont want it anymore. I would rather save more $ over a longer period of time and buy a quality item.

I can honestly say that out of the more than a dozen China optics that I have bought over the years that I have a whole whopping two of them left that work now. I have a Simmons that is holding on still and a Bushnell red dot that I haven't really used much for fear of breaking it. I don't include the last NcStar long range scope that I bought since I didn't even mount it. It was the final straw when I looked through it and at the highest setting the glass is so cheap you can't even see anything. Now I bought a Nikon that was made in Japan and a new Redfield that is US made. I might buy another Redfield should I need another decent scope. I saved up and bought the Eo 512 AA model and am so happy with it. I just prefer to save up and not "gotta have it now" with my optics.

i bought a total of 2 knockoffs and i am already fed-up with them...
the Tasco Red Dot was admittedly an experiment and bought solely to be short-term....

The Barfska i bought off Ebay didnt even get mounted--it was an incredibly bad purchase that broke it for me forever...I started reading reviews on forums like this one and everytime i see somebody at the range with an optic i have never seen or had experience with i ask some questions and test fire whenever possible ( this has lead to several sales of 15-22s when trading mag-for-mag test fires )

I am glad to see some fellas who are happy with their optics choices--far too often we only see the complaints! After all the individualism and the customization is part of this forum we all love...and for me i am gonna stick with quality proven stuff from this point on...

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Overkill is Underrated

I have problems with my NcStar Mark III compact tactical 4X32 ever since I got it. For starters when trying to get shots on target which are hitting right of center if I turn the R-L left knob left the scope can never be adjusted far enough left to bring the shot placement dead center of target and if I turn the R-L knob farther left the shot placemant starts to move right again instead of more left. Also it never seem so stay zeroed after a trip to range if I carry it on my back with the sling or in the truck gun rack. I have checked the mount tightness a dozen times and it is always tight. I could send it into factory but not sure if I want the hassle and who knows if I would get a scope that is worse than the one I have now. I really love the size ( I don't like the look of a 12 inch scope on a AR-15 carbine ), look, power and reticule of this scope BUT. Don't like any red dot scope as they often cover too much of the targets ( gophers ) I hunt for consistant hits. I knew that I wasn't paying much and that is pretty much what I got so I am not blaming anyone but myself.

I must be super lucky, I run a MarkIII QD Mount with the Sniper Ret and it's seen 5000+ rounds from my 15-22, it's removed after every outing and it holds zero. It works so well that I regularly shoot small clay pigeons stood on end at 202 yards using the bullet drop compensator. I can go out to 200 yards and right back to 100 yards with no issue at all.

*shrugs*

I don't believe in spending more on an optic, for a .22 than the rifle cost..

I'll say one thing-the XP1000 sniper hide with the sunshade, target turrets, automatic range finder anti terrorism infared seeking capacity 3x40 with the 1.5 " tube sounds and looks wayyyyyyyyyyy more cool than that piece of garbage plain jane Leopold Vari-x III 1.75 x 6 I have on my 30-06. Do you know that you actually have to unscrew the caps on the turrets in order to adkust the damned thing???And you have to use a screwdriver or the edge of a coin to turn the adjustment knob???

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Forum consigliere

forgot to add that with crystal clear glass clarity the image is just so sharp its hard to focus....

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Overkill is Underrated

I have 2 NcStar MarkIII's. Both on .22lr dedicated uppers and both work flawlessly. I have about 2k rounds on both and zero's are solid. I am actually going to put it on my 5.56 M&P Upper and run it for a while to see how it does. Honestly I do not foresee any issues. Biggest issue with optics is consistency. I have a friend who gave me the idea for my son to practice with. He suggested using a piece of foam pipe insulation on the stock of an old .22 I had, to provide a point of reference for cheek weld.

If its the one with the qd mount tighten the mount,,,,,,, I went threw 7 since ncstar would not refund my money but just exchange,,,,, I had the rubber armored one with the built in red laser,,,, problem was badly canted cross hairs,,, pissed me off so I sold the last one at a loss,,,, but it did hold zero

It's true that some folks have had good luck with $30 scopes. After all, this is only a .22 we're talking about, but believe it or not, the quality of the glass you buy still matters. I have personally had extremely bad luck with NC-Star stuff, and wouldn't buy it again on a bet. If you want quality optics at a reasonable price, think brands such as Mueller and Nikon. You shouldn't have to spend more than $175 on a nice scope. If you want a decent mount/rings that won't break the bank, think Millet or Burris.

Do the research instead of buying what's the absolute cheapest. Go with brands that have a good reputation.

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*Aim small, miss small...

did you see if the scope was tight? maybe go back over it and retighten all mounts and screws this is a common problem--check the paralax setting,if paralax is set for 100yds from the factory the crosshairs will appear to move with changes in your cheek weld at 50yds--this can be reset for 50yds if you send it back to the factory with a note

not sure if my konus atomic red/green dot is considered dimestore or rice patty store or whatever, but i have about 30000 rounds in a year and 2 months through my sig 522 with it and have never had to rezero, i wouldnt replace it for anything.