Gary Reeder
the problem is most of those are not counterfeit
Tuesday, April 24, 2018, 11:04

scopes. Many of the major manufacturers are having their product made in China and normally to get by the import taxes, they are assembled in the U.S. I have seen Zeiss scopes from our distributors marked in very small letters on the box "Made in China". The new Leupold sister company Redfield is showing some of their scopes as Made in the Philippines but to me they are as clear and bright as the optics made in the states. The new Sig scopes and other optics are also made in the Philippines as are the Nikon scopes. Most of the Leupold binocs I have seen were made in China or the Philippines. The China mark is seen on many of our former American products. I get calls and e-mails every couple of days from companies in China telling me they can make our dies, belts, T-shirts and gun parts cheaper than here in the states. Several U.S. companies that make high dollar 1911s are using Chinese made slides and frames. And to be honest I can't tell the difference. Look at the Rock Island 1911s. made in the Philippines but are some of the best 1911s on the market. I would bet my life on a Rock Island before I would a high dollar 1911 from that company that has a full page ad on the back of every gun magazine. I am not saying I like it but just stating an opinion from a gun maker's standpoint.

We had this same situation back in the '70s and '80s with items Made in Japan, but we learned to live with it and in some cases, especially in optics the Jap optics were clearer than the American made stuff. And look at some of our rifles and shotguns. The Jap made guns are, to me at least, superior to most made in the U.S. Look at the Weatherby rifles and shoguns. The new Parker shotguns, high dollar guns, made in Japan. Great quality and Jap made.

Many of Mossberg's shotguns, especially the Mavericks, are made in Mexico and the quality is appropriate for a mass produced inexpensive shotgun.

So it may be that we are being taught to accept the made in China markings along with the other off shore manufacturers. Trump is working to bring the products made overseas back to the states but that is a big if. I personally think it may be years before our U.S. quality is back to being better than some of the overseas made products.