Simmons Aetec - Good? Bad?

There are much better scopes out there. That being said, I have had 2 Aetec scopes for several years now that have been moved from gun to gun (17 hmr, 22 hornet, 221 fb, ar15, 25-06, 30-06, 338wm), and have been beat to death on a 4 wheeler. Both have held zero well with minimal if any movement. Tracking is not great though. The glass is descent but not top quality. They have served me well for what I paid for them. I consider them the one and only low end scope that I would buy. But I would prefer to buy something else if at all possible. I have learned through trial and error to buy the best you can afford andonly cry once. I have bought to many scopes replacing cheaper ones I thought would work.
 
I hear ya. I heard they were pretty clear and held Zero decently. It's likely I'll use it next month for one shot then surplus it. The little NCStar on my .243 right now is pretty painful to look through but it too holds zero pretty good. Don't trust it enough to bring in the field for a stalk or two.

I like the Side Focus aspect of the Aetec.

Will report back. Thanks again for the input.

How was Ely?
 
I have the 2.8-10x44...It is not side focus. The scope has held zero on several rifles. It is a clear scope and pretty light. It has a wide field of view.
 
I had an Aetec that was a 6.5x20. I had only seen one before and mine was the 2nd. I didn,t know they existed. It was an OK scope. Had a 3x10 and it was a good scope for the $$.
 
I actually have the scope in question above. I actually really like it. The glass is really dang good for the money it has and excellent field of view and has held zero pretty good. The only thing I don't like (or don't get) is the side focus. It does not have any yardage on it, which is ok but it seems that once you adjust it past about 50 yards it does not make any difference on where you focus it. The other thing is that turning the side focus wheel is about like loosing my lug nuts (maybe not that bad).
 
Originally Posted By: crapshootThere are much better scopes out there. That being said, I have had 2 Aetec scopes for several years now that have been moved from gun to gun (17 hmr, 22 hornet, 221 fb, ar15, 25-06, 30-06, 338wm), and have been beat to death on a 4 wheeler. Both have held zero well with minimal if any movement. Tracking is not great though. The glass is descent but not top quality. They have served me well for what I paid for them. I consider them the one and only low end scope that I would buy. But I would prefer to buy something else if at all possible. I have learned through trial and error to buy the best you can afford andonly cry once. I have bought to many scopes replacing cheaper ones I thought would work.

+1 on this

I have two of them in the 2.8-10x flavor. one of them is starting to get fuzzy up around 10x but it has been on my "beat around gun" for about 5 years. It still holds zero, and shoots tight groups. The other is about to go on my brothers 243. Between this and a Leupold Rifleman, I would choose the Aetec.

Remeber the old commericial "All you needs is a Simmons Aetec... And a good taxidermis" Commericial still cracks me up!
 
I put a Simmons Aetec 2.8-10+ 44 on a Winchester Coyote .243. It was all I could afford at the time. Pretty good glass. Worked it hard the first three years. It has worked flawiessly
 
Nice glass, but has some issues. One is reticles breaking when atop larger caliber rifles. 7mag, 30-06 or larger and it is a potential problem IMO. The last one I laid my hands on was on a friends muzzleloader. The windage dial quit working after about 20 shots.........
 
i got one that i bought about 7 or so years ago.its a 2.8-10x44 no side focus. its on a savage model 114 30-06(bought same time as the scope) that i sighted in 7 ish years ago and has held zero since. and ive used it to. for the $ you cant beat it.jmo

brett
 
Well I really appreciate your candid comments on this scope. It arrives today and it will be put on my Stevens 200 in .243 for next month's hunt.

I really didn't have much expectations for the Side Focus but I thought it was neat thing to have.

Sighting in Sunday morning so barring any grossly defective components, I should have a good opinion of the scope.

I do however, based on the reviews here, feel I made a good decision. Time will tell.

Thanks again!
 
The scope arrived this afternoon and it's seated comfortably on my .243.

Seems very clear and the build quality appears better than some of the other scopes I've owned.

The SF is marked with just a series of circles decreasing in size from large (close up) to infinity.
 
I have owned two Aetecs, both the older models. One is currently on an AR and has been a great scope. The other would not seem to hold zero. Both of mine were the illuminated 2.8x10 models.

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