Blackhound Optics

I was talking to my FFL about a scope for my new .308 and he recommended Blackhound Optics. Now he is a distributor for them, but encouraged me to do my own research on them. So I have watch and read some reviews on them and most say they are pretty good. I was wondering if any of you have had any experience with their scopes. Thanks

That’s a new one. Two questions I would ask:

1. Where are they made? If China, walk away.

2. How long have the been in business? Lifetime warranty doesn’t mean squat if the company is gone.

Some of these internet optics companies are likely just marketing companies for Chinese optics manufacturers.

there is a guy on youtube, joe rhea: he is cyclops video's. he's a professional scope reviewer on youtube. He actually lives here locally in east texas and I have run into him at the range a few times. Nice guy. I asked him about scope makers he recommended on a budget, and he really liked arken, blackhound, and primary arms for the lower end. arken is based out of dallas, and blackhound georgia. He has talked to all teh owners, has toured blackound, and has positive things to say. All 3 are designing their pwn stuff then having it made and imported from china. But you know who else is? vortex. athlon. heck, I've got nikon monarch binoculars that are stamped made in china on the housing. So is apple, dell, GM, Ford, everybody.

as to "run from china" China builds to a price point. You want cheap, they can build cheap. You want spectacularly fine high end? they can do that too. My brother has toured manufacturing facilities in china, the phillipines, and america. He said the Chinese facilities are just better. They have invested the capital into becoming a manufacturing powerhouse. Their equipment is nicer and newer. Now, they will also steal your IP, work a gray shift and bootleg your products, and all sorts of unethical behavior, but man they can make stuff. And as far as being left out in the cold, nikon has bailed on scopes. Weaver has been passed around like the village bicycle. Redfield now belong to academy, I believe burris and steiner are somehow owned by beretta. And usually when a company changes hands they no longer honor previous warranties. There is no sure thing in scope life. Except maybe an overpriced leupold.

If it's a sure thing, is it really overpriced?

Yes, they are Chinese made.

Never heard of them. Did some checking. Great reviews on Amazon, few, but great. Read the reviews and the actual written reviews are few in number compared to the number of ratings given. That is very dubious to me. One guy rated them 5 stars, in part for customer service, not that he had used it, but because of the warranty.

Another rated them 5 stars on the company, though he had not received his scope yet.

So of the few written reviews, about 1/3 are also of zero validity.

If you are tight on money, I would pass on an unknown brand of optic. If you are flush, it might be interesting to see how good the brand really is or is not.

FYI, on one scope, the complaint was that the crosshairs were too thick and covered too much of the target down range for really precise shooting. That sounds like a really valid complaint and something you might want to keep in mind when making a buying choice.

As Nancy said. Just Say No....

Yes, I keep waiting for a member here to buy and test one of these . I like the looks of the Arken, although they are getting hard to fine.

Probably depends on what you need the scope for.

For you Buzz.

For giggles, I went to the Blackhound website and looked at the scopes. the 4-14x44 FFP MIL scope is identical to the Athlon Talos BTR 4-14x44 FFP MIL scope. Even down to the funny looking parallax adjustment that is slightly forward of the turrets. Looks like a re-branding of Athlon scopes, but for $50 more.

Easy pass on an unknown brand and Chinese make.

Yup.

Life is too short to go through with bad glass and unreliable controls on a rifle scope.

Price order I have, least expensive to most.

Burris
SWFA SS
Bushnell ERS
Night Force ATACR

The Burris, being the least expensive still does what I require of it, same as the rest. Nothing but good tales about Burris, if you break something. I have not yet.

I ran into a guy at the range today that had at Arkansas linked above. You let me look through it and compare it to my 4 to 16 power Grand slam. The arkin was better glass. At 12 x it was spectacularly clear, at 16x it was noticeably clearer with a significantly wider field of view than my Weaver. From 20 to 24x it looked kind of washed out though. Like the white balance was turned up too high if it was a photograph. The guy who owned it said that he has the $400 parking and the $750 arcan, and that both were significantly better than his vortex psts. I was in the market for a first focal plane scope I'd give it a hard look. However, I hate for ffp scopes. Also, I am not a professional scope reviewer, and my eyesight is not great. So take my opinion for what you paid for it.

I sent a 2-7x32 handgun scope back to Burris last month. I dropped it…about 20 feet. Told them it was 100% my fault. They sent me a new one. 10/10 recommend.

I doubt Blackhound would do this. I doubt I'll ever buy a Blackhound. If $ was an issue I'd save. Screw me once shame on you, screw me twice shame on me.

Agree on Burris, They just came out with a new model which got good reviews.

https://www.burrisoptics.com/scopes/signature-hd-riflescopes

Maybe. Who knows, right?

With that said, there are some reputable scope companies that would not do that, either. So it is hardly a strike against the company for not covering something not under warranty, particular when that is often the case with other companies.