US Optics TS-12 Review

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With all due respect for your expertise and a big thank you for your help avoiding lumps of dung, I haven't had the same experience with the TS-12 you have. Sure it is a decent scope...very good even. But it isn't coming out on top optically compared to my Discovery compact 3-12. I went back and forth at every magnification...in different lighting conditions and I'm convinced no one could tell the difference in a blind test.

Here is my take.

Reticle: Much better on Discovery. Thicker lines on the periphery and hollow diamond markers for the MIL dots makes the Discovery reticle more visible.

Turrets: Larger lettering on USO. USO includes direction arrows for up and left. Discovery curiously skips this for a fancy design with holes with colored rings. USO has better turret knurling, though both aren't hard enough to turn that it matters. Sound and click feel similar. Big advantage on zeroing goes to USO which has designed location serrations equal to clicks. Discovery stupidly didn't match, so you can only zero exactly if you get lucky and adjustment falls on serration. This is an annoying miss but not a show stopper.

Zoom adjustment ring: USO has better knurling and it helps. This ring is stiff on both. Slightly worse on USO but easier to adjust despite this because of the better grip.

Return to center/box test: Both passed

Parallax and zoom shift: Both passed.

Parallax minimum distance: Both focus inside of 10 yards.

So is it worth double the price for the better knurling, better turret graphics and properly designed zero serrations? I guess that is for the individual to decide but for me, the better reticle I use every time I look through the scope weighs in favor of the cheaper scope. 

One other comment. I also have the compact Discovery 4-16x. It is a twin of the 3-12x in size, weight and all the other features. However, the 16x is more handy in an airgun scope, IMHO. Between the two I'd go with the 4-16x. Vector also sells a 4-16x version in the same price range...$230.
 
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So far so good. I like it real well so far. Very pleasantly impressed with the brightness and clarity of the glass as well as the crispness of the reticle. I use primarily between 6 and 12X. I placed an order back when they were announced and was able to snag the promo pricing. I am not in the least disappointed with the scope. The specs on the 3-12 FFP compact scopes had my attention for a while but I never bit. I think I had a perception that they would be difficult to service if required. When I saw the USO offering I guess I thought I could deal with their reputation for service. I am liking the scope. Glad I picked it up.

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Interesting discussion, definitely subscribed. 😊



🔶Curious: The spec card that came with the scope says the objective diameter is 42mm (but the webpage says 44mm).



🔶I have the Discovery VT-3 3-12x44 FFP Compact and the numbers on the turrets are really hard to see (I'm a dialer, you guessed). 

And the Discovery's 68moa elevation adjustment can be a limitation when shooting long range with a low powered gun. The 100moa on the US Optics are great.

US Optics' lifetime warranty I'll take any day over the 3 or 5 years from Discovery or Vector....



Now, is this worth twice the price? That's the call of the one who foots the bill. 😄 







🔶 By the way, Discovery just came out with a similarly priced and compact scope, 3-12x, with illumination and with a gridded reticle (80moa). That's the one I should have reserved $170 for...!

https://airgunarcheryfun.ca/discovery-hd-3-12x44-sfir-ffp-compact-rifle-scope-first-focal-plane




Matthias
 
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Interesting discussion, definitely subscribed.
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Curious: The spec card that came with the scope says the objective diameter is 42mm (but the webpage says 44mm).



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I have the Discovery VT-3 3-12x44 FFP Compact and the numbers on the turrets are really hard to see (I'm a dialer, you guessed). 

And the Discovery's 68moa elevation adjustment can be a limitation when shooting long range with a low powered gun. The 100moa on the US Optics are great.

US Optics' lifetime warranty I'll take any day over the 3 or 5 years from Discovery or Vector....



Now, is this worth twice the price? That's the call of the one who foots the bill.
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By the way, Discovery just come out with a similarly priced and compact scope, 3-12x, with illumination and with a gridded reticle (80moa). That's the one I should have reserved $170 for...!

https://airgunarcheryfun.ca/discovery-hd-3-12x44-sfir-ffp-compact-rifle-scope-first-focal-plane




Matthias
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Good points.

Do you see any difference in optical quality? I'll admit, I'm an optical snob...I suspect worse than JoeWayne. It comes from my photography background. CA and lower contrast are very noticeable to me. That is one reason I'm negative on the honeycomb sunshades. They introduce a huge loss of contrast. To that, I don't see anything that sets the USO scope apart or above the Discovery. I'm suspicious of the Japanese glass suggested improvement. If it is truly Japanese glass it is a statement of how far Chinese glass has come.

As far a being a turret turner is concerned, it makes sense to add markers for distance to the turrets which totally negates the markers on the dial and zeroing.

As far as vertical adjustment, I've not come close to running out of adjustment but then a 12x scope is typically not something a person is going to use on an airgun set up for long range shooting.

The warranty is a good point. My brother has twice had scopes replaced by Leopold. Having said that, a lifetime warranty is only as good as long as the manufacturer is around and USO doesn't have the history of Leopold.

I just bought the illuminated Discovery model. 😁. If you are a hunter who likes FFP, illumination is invaluable in real world conditions with those fine reticles at low power.
 
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respectfully , i just grabbed this USO model and the glass is quite sharp and clear. better than my falcon 3-18. better than my blackhound 6-24. right up there with my riton 6-24 conquer. i never looked through a discovery , but with due respect , i have difficulty believing it can match the USO. now , i know some of the older discovery scopes were pretty good , but i heard recently they have let their quality slide. 
 
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respectfully , i just grabbed this USO model and the glass is quite sharp and clear. better than my falcon 3-18. better than my blackhound 6-24. right up there with my riton 6-24 conquer. i never looked through a discovery , but with due respect , i have difficulty believing it can match the USO. now , i know some of the older discovery scopes were pretty good , but i heard recently they have let their quality slide.
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I have both and can see no difference and like I said, I'm very discerning about optics. 

For example, I recently bought another scope (which will not be named to avoid the distraction) that was highly touted by Joe and many other reviewers on eBay. I immediately noticed a higher degree of chromatic aberration than some other scopes that cost considerably less and found the last 20% of the zoom power to go down in contrast more than them as well. I didn't hear this mentioned in any of the reviews.

When I say I can not see a difference I'm pretty darn sure no one else would either.

P.S. Both the Discover and USO are better than that aforementioned scope with respect to optical quality.
 
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Hi Joe;

Followed your advise regarding the acquisition of US Optics TS 20 and a TS 12 (for a 243 Win,.and a Daystate PCP). Unfortunately I consider the Delta Striker 4.5-30 x 56 as too heavy and powerful. Do you know if the manufacturer is planning the release of a less powerful albeit lighter Delta in the 2.5-20 x50 or a 3-18 x50 ranges in the mid twenty ounces weight?

If not, maybe they would listen to your inquire for a future release. I had to choose the TS 12 because US Optics did not have a 2.5 -15 or 3-18 x 50 scope in the 20 ounces range model and the TS 20 28 0z. with that 34 mm tube was a bit too much for a light PCP.



Looking forward to you input. Thank you,



LFCM
 
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Alright, I like everything about this scope. This is coming from someone knowing little so bear with me. Joe Wayne, cool review. I’d be buying but for one thing. Lighted reticle. Having one on my Hawke, which is mounted on a crossbow, makes all the difference when hunting at low light. Should this be a deal breaker? Are there better suggestions other than the Discovery? Thx for tolerating a newbie to this game. 
 
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To muddy the water a little more the vector veyron 3-12 is every bit the same scope as discovery vt3 and USO, pretty sure they are made by the same Chinese guy. Then on top of that check out discovery HD 3-12 with illuminated reticle, out of the 4 scope the discovery HD is definitely the best. 


the reason I sold mine is that their field of view is a little narrow compared to standard scopes. This can’t be helped as wider FOV will certainly increase CA significantly because the light has to be bent a lot more inside such little scope. 
 
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Had the same problem going after bigger quarry. Out deer hunting and went to turn on the illumination on the Hawke (crossbow). Battery was dead. I literally lost that last 15 minutes. Fortunately nothing showed up, but I was sick at my lack of prep, in just checking before heading out. Good thing is, fingers crossed, it's burned in now and won't happen again. Of course I'll forget to buy batteries...
 
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If you have the cash to blow buy the US Optic version at least it has a LIFETIME WARRANTY vs ONLY 3 or 5 years for the Vector and Discovery versions and best you keep that original sales purchase receipt just ti know when your warranty expires and to show proof of dated ownership and if it's still within the 3 or 5 years. They are all Chinese made so it may be possible to get one with substandard QC that may not last as they should do something to keep in mind in case it breaks after a couple of years after the short limited WARRANTY expires.

I no longer push Barra brand scopes no matter how cheap (like even when sold at 20 cents on the dollar prices or 80% off) and CLEAR (like clearer than SWFA SSs) they are due to questionable lifetime warranty support concerns.
 
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Another concern is the FFP reticle you probably won't be using it at 3x-6x so effectively a 7x-12x scope in real world situations.

That's why I prefer SFP over FFP reticles because U really feel what's the point when the FFP reticle typically dusapoears at their lowest 1/4 to 1/3 power then comes super fat at max power? I get the FFP same POI nothing changes with magnification thing for ease of use but what's the point when you realistically can't real world use lower magnification for quick shots if you can't see the center if the FFP reticle anyway?
 
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So I called a reputable online retailer (who will remain un-named) with the intent of purchasing this USO scope today. When I told the rep that I'd already owned both the Discovery and Vector versions of this scope and was skeptical as to whether the glass on this scope was significantly better so as to justify the 2x-3x price difference. I was shocked and very, very pleasantly surprised when the rep told me, if that was the case, that I should not get my hopes up too high for this scope. He said that the TS line is USO's imported line and has the same glass as the other versions of this scope. 

He basically said that this USO scope does not justify the price difference! How rare is that to see such honesty from a seller? And, no, he wasn't trying to upsell me to any other brand/model - he just flat out told me that I would not see any noticeable difference from my Vector. So for the $200-$300 price difference, it comes down to different turrets, reticle and warranty support.
 
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So I called a reputable online retailer (who will remain un-named) with the intent of purchasing this USO scope today. When I told the rep that I'd already owned both the Discovery and Vector versions of this scope and was skeptical as to whether the glass on this scope was significantly better so as to justify the 2x-3x price difference. I was shocked and very, very pleasantly surprised when the rep told me, if that was the case, that I should not get my hopes up too high for this scope. He said that the TS line is USO's imported line and has the same glass as the other versions of this scope. 

He basically said that this USO scope does not justify the price difference! How rare is that to see such honesty from a seller? And, no, he wasn't trying to upsell me to any other brand/model - he just flat out told me that I would not see any noticeable difference from my Vector. So for the $200-$300 price difference, it comes down to different turrets, reticle and warranty support.
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very nice to hear honest sales people actually exists. However he probably doesn’t want to deal with your return also.😜
 
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