Classic air rifle 'scopes

Thanks to Louis VH for this history:

About scopes:

 

Tasco is the shortened acronym of a company originally known as the Tanross Supply Company, which started out in Florida in the 1950's.
They never directly manufactured the products they sold, it was all badge engineered for them.

 

AIrgunbbs member lonewolf writes: I have some Tasco Titan scopes made by Hako in Japan very good optics but they went down hill when they left the Hako factory,
you dont see many of the Titans come up for sale now very collectable.

 

The slimmest 4x20 tubes were known as 3/4" tubes. About 19 mm.
I also have 4x20's with 21.8/22 mm tubes. 7/8"

 

There is a nice article about Kassnar scopes: AGW Feb 81, page 42,3

 

Airgunbbs member Geezer writes:

"In the 80's, there was a fad/con about “wide angle” “TV” scopes that had no wider FOV than ordinary ones.

A small number of factories, making for a large number of brands.
Same later occurred when S Korea, then the Philippines, succeeded Japan from the late 80s as the capitals of medium-quality low-price optics. Same thing in China today.
Hakko made the better Japanese airgun scopes, including for Optima and Beeman.
Tasco hit it big in the 50s during the space age selling good value telescopes to the rapidly growing amateur astronomer market. As said above, Tasco is a brand, and has never actually made a single optical device.
I have a bunch of 70s/80s Japanese scopes of a number of brands (N-S, ASI, Tasco, Original, Hunter, Bushmaster, Optima, Beeman, Bushnell, Hubertus, Vistascope, probably others). Although they have different mags, lens sizes, styling and finishes, I can’t see huge differences in lens quality or build standards."

 

A few Japanese companies that produce for other brands (with thanks to airgunbbs member bighit):

Asia optical. Look at 1986:  https://www.asia-optical.com/milestone.php?serial=278&lang=en
Another contract with TASCO to produce roof prism compact Binocular and Spotting Telescopes.
Another maker is LOW( light optical works )
Japan optics too but their website is not great. Supposedly ex Hakko workers.
https://www.japanoptics.co.jp/company/

 

Airgunbbs member bighit:

Nikko Stirling history here:  http://www.nikkostirling.com/content...%20Australasia .
" Initially utilizing optics factories that were emerging in Japan in the 1950s, he founded the Stirling Scope Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan to manufacture and export Nikko Stirling riflescopes to Europe, Africa and Australasia."

 

Airgunbbs member harvey_s:

They were all at it...

This is Bushnell's early history taken from Wikipedia...
The company was founded in 1948 by David P. Bushnell, when he returned to California from his honeymoon in Japan with two crates of binoculars and sold them by mail order. Bushnell made precision binoculars affordable to middle-class Americans for the first time through a strategy of importing from manufacturers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, who provided optics to his patented specifications. Bushnell eventually expanded his business to include riflescopes and spotting scopes. In 1971, Bushnell sold his company to Bausch & Lomb. The firm renamed itself Bushnell Performance Optics. Three years later, Bushnell retired as vice-president of Bausch & Lomb.

 

Classic air rifle 'scopes 

Tasco 2-7x32 (626-VFM)

Tasco 2-7x32