Schmidt & Bender Awarded the PSR Contract

[J E Custom]

There is no doubt that Schmidt & Bender are very good scopes but dont you think If the military
had a set of specs and requirements PLUS A MAX PRICE that a us builder could meet those
requirements "I DO".

If Leupold or Night force was given a 3,000 dollar per scope budget I know they could.

This sounds like another Beretta type deal to me.there were other pistols that passed and it
ended up there were promises to buy planes from us that they would have anyway if they
wanted the best. (I dont think they ever did buy any but it lined someones politicians pocket).

I would love to have a S & B scope but at twice the price and very little difference I will never own
or need one.

I just dont like our government spending tax payers money on things that are not made in America.

You don't see other country's rushing over hear to buy our products.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Joel Russo]

I would love to have a S & B scope but at twice the price and very little difference I will never own
or need one.

J E CUSTOM

Jerry~ They may be twice the price, but there is a big difference in optical quality.
One just has to decide if that difference is worth the extra money. For what I do, it's worth it to me.

 

[Bravo 4]

J E Custom,
I'm not disagreeing with you. I am putting in a request for funding to get some F1 NXS scopes before our next deployment. Plus I bought a FFP Leupold to replace the antique I have issued (in case I have to use my own gear like I just had to do for the last couple months of training).

And the only commodity other countries seem to be beating down our doors for is our soldiers!

 

[Alaska_Seth]

Well Night Force is made in Japan and owned by an Australian company, so they aren't exactly American either.

I am not an operator or a sniper, but I have spent my fair share of time in Afghanistan and Djbouti and I would take a Schmidt Bender over any American made product.

They are good, but so is Hendsolt/Zeiss.

Beretta USA maybe owned by Beretta International based in Italy, but that isn't any different than us giving contracts to Heckler & Koch or Fabrique National.

It sucks when defense contracts go overseas regardless of where they are made, but at the end of the day you want the best for those that put their life at risk.

I have also heard that US Optics warranty department gets a lot of work. I wasn't all that impressed with the US Optics scope I saw, but it was in comparison with a Hendsolt and Schmidt so it was hard to get past it.

I have never been impressed with Nightforce, my understanding is that they are a Hakko like a lot of other remarked scopes in America. Nothing wrong with Hakko, just wish the bastards would mark their own name on everything they made. Instead of recoloring a turd. A turd painted gold is still a turd.

 

[Boss Hoss]

There is no doubt that Schmidt & Bender are very good scopes but dont you think If the military
had a set of specs and requirements PLUS A MAX PRICE that a us builder could meet those
requirements "I DO".

If Leupold or Night force was given a 3,000 dollar per scope budget I know they could.

This sounds like another Beretta type deal to me.there were other pistols that passed and it
ended up there were promises to buy planes from us that they would have anyway if they
wanted the best. (I dont think they ever did buy any but it lined someones politicians pocket).

I would love to have a S & B scope but at twice the price and very little difference I will never own
or need one.

I just dont like our government spending tax payers money on things that are not made in America.

You don't see other country's rushing over hear to buy our products.

J E CUSTOM

Could be and I don't have the regulation in front of me (at home) that Loopy has an excessive amount of content built in China which is a violation. The scopes are not made here only assembled partially here so really USO is the only maker that qualifies. S&B uses content from countries that are allowed to furnish content against USG Prime Contracts so they are in compliance.

 

[J E Custom]

Jerry~ They may be twice the price, but there is a big difference in optical quality.
One just has to decide if that difference is worth the extra money. For what I do, it's worth it to me.

Joel; I don't disagree with any of the comments by you and other posters.

I just don't like the trend to go out of the country to buy products that could be made hear.

We are becoming a consumer nation and we all know what happens when we no longer
have the ability to produce . We are losing our technology and our dollars to country's that
hate us just because someone wants to line there pockets at our expense.

Our industry and enginuity to out produce everyone else has got us through some rough times
and a lot of people have died to keep America what it is, And I just hate to see it taken away by
our own government.

It is the process, not the product that I have a problem with so I will continue to buy American
every time I can, But the list is getting shorter.

Sorry; I'm off my soap box now, Lets get back to shooting.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Joel Russo]

Jerry~ I completely understand what you are saying, and I totally agree.
My frustration comes from the fact that "we" can make the product, we just choose not to.

 

[Forrest Ebert]

Maybe the attitude of just making a product good enough to get by and not the best way to manufacture it with quality and use in mind has come around to bite us in the backside!The charge more for giving less has been the attitude of the industry and now some people are mad about it? If more US companies put the time into their products like the "Smiths" on this site then we wouldn't be having this posting but vending out various parts cause you can save a penny only hurts the intended pruchasers not the manufacturer. The way we manufacture and do business is one of the biggest reasons why we The USA is in the shape it is in as the attitude just good enough to get by is most mfg.s way of doing business.

 

[chadcd]

... or USO chooses to enlighten the Board with the results..

We received a no-go during testing because:
"...it was too long to allow mounting of the in line clip-on night sights as listed..."

 

[lightwind]

Jerry~ I completely understand what you are saying, and I totally agree.
My frustration comes from the fact that "we" can make the product, we just choose not to.

My concern is that we have lost the ability to make the product. Let me give you an example. I don't know of any US company that makes the glass with the quality needed to be in the ballgame with Zeiss or Swarovski. Both of those companies make their own glass for quality control. Zeiss has purchased companies that used to be their glass suppliers just so they can keep the quality. I don't even know of a US glass maker that can make the quality of glass that the alpha scopes use. Our best US scopes use glass from the Phillipines, China, or Japan. So, I believe we have lost the ability to even make the glass. Don't get me wrong. We should have that capability - but we don't.

 

[chadcd]

Our best US scopes use glass from the Phillipines, China, or Japan.

Where does the glass from US Optics come from?

 

[lightwind]

Chad: I am not sure. Can you tell us? I will be glad to add you to the list of one US manufacturer that gets its glass here. Please correct me. I do know where the glass comes from for Leupold, and Vortex but I really don't know where yours comes from and would be glad to hear it comes from here.

 

[Boss Hoss]

Chad: I am not sure. Can you tell us? I will be glad to add you to the list of one US manufacturer that gets its glass here. Please correct me. I do know where the glass comes from for Leupold, and Vortex but I really don't know where yours comes from and would be glad to hear it comes from here.

I believe his point is that you have no idea of what you are talking about.

 

[lightwind]

Boss and Chad:

I may not know what I am talking about.

Where does US Optics get their glass?

Again, I am not aware of any other US vendors that get their glass in the US. Please let me know if I am wrong.

I believe that others on the list might like to know who is using US parts including glass. The thread is about S&B getting a bid and the question of US capabilities came up. I may be ignorant of the situation - but I have been of the opinion that the optics sold by most US vendors come from other countries. Specifically, as I noted, the Philippines, China, and Japan.

I would like to be sure that we have the technology here to compete with the glass from other countries. If you can enlighten us, please do.