Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

A few weeks ago I posted here that I have a Simmons Aetec that went south on me, and I am going to replace it. Just for the principal of it I decided to try out their warranty service.
They have had the scope in their hands for 20 days now, with no response from Simmons. I have called several times, only to listen to some GOSH AWFUL music!
As I am writing this I finally spoke to a Human! I am told that they are in the process of moving from Ga. to Califonia and I should have a scope in about a week!
Even if I get 2 brand new replacements, I will not spend another penny on Meade/Simmons products! Speaking to a live person is next to impossible, and the music they play while you are on hold is obviously intended to get you to hang up! So the bottom line is, no matter what I get, it was not worth what I paid for it, and not worth the ten bucks shipping either!

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

Thats too bad...sorry you had such a problem with customer no service. I had an older Aetec that was o.k. but I wouldn't buy one on purpose (this one came with a rifle purchase). Thanks for the feedback.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

thanks for the heads up

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

Well, ya gotta figure that they have been having problems, since for the past few years they have not been able to put out the scopes that they have been advertising since what? 2002 or 2003. I haven't seen anyone witha new masters series Aetec to look at , and at this point I don't think I would ever look at one if they ever do get themproduced and out to dealers.

Oh well, the concept for the scope was a goodone while it lasted.

God bless.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

Yep! Mine was an older model Aetec. It had good qualities as far as clarity and brightness and held a good zero, while it lasted! I am glad it did not cost me a wounded deer or a missed shot, I caught the problem before it cost me!
I was just going to trash it and upgrade but, I decided to see what their warranty was for 10 bucks S/H.
I promised to give everyone here the scoop on their service, and as I said, it pretty much stinks, even if I do end up getting a brand new scope!

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

The run around your getting is too bad. I have one simmons scope, and it is junk, so will never buy another one myself.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I've had good luck with their scopes (pretty good quality) but have never had to test their warranty. If a company won't warranty their product, it is pretty much not worth it.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I had a Whitetail Classic POS a few years ago. In the bright daylight it was OK, but late in the afternoon it was virtually useless. I sold it to a guy for $25, and felt sorry for him.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I had a $50 unit I used for 4 years. Killed four elk, a couple of deer, and a couple of antelope with it. The fifth year it cost me an elk. Couldn't get it to stay true. A decent one or two season scope. Go high end from the start if you can afford it. If you can't, put the cheap one on and save your penneys to replace it ASAP.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I had a 3x9 Simmons one time...I gave it away after it was warranteed! Cross hairs covered too much target to start with and the repair work was due to the cross hairs fell apart...maybe 20 rounds through rifle(8mm/06 imp.) Not a brutal recoil by any means,noting like a 300 mag.!

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I have a Simmons 8pt 3x9 on my .50 cal ml. for some unknown reason it losts its zero cost me one 150+ buck and one around 120s pretty happy bout that. anyway im not even gonna bother with the warranty I might keep it around for some reason but im planning on puting a burris fullfield 2 on it. but overall i was pretty pleased as i got 3 seasons out of it. If it wouldnt have been on my ml i would have expected more but oh well i wont be buying another simmons in a while.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

the one deer was bigger than this and the other maybe a little smaller. dumb scope....

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

Well it comes down to what one expects from a $30.00 Simmons Point.
If 3 seasons go by before a scope fails and you are satisfied with it, more power to you, it's your money and time spent.

I have and always will shy away from these cheap "gun package" scopes. I buy for quality and absolutley expect that when the warranty or guarantee states "lifetime" I am getting something that's expected to last a long time, not just that we'll fix it. When you are 300 miles from nowhere, when that _______ $50 scope fails you how good is the low price/warranty? Of course this can happen with any brand regardless of price but the odds are in favor of the lesser ones doing so.

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RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I don'tknow much about the old Simmons scopes because I never had one. And I don't know anything about their customer service, either, as I've never had to deal with them.

But after reading all the reviews, awards (American Rifleman'sscope of the year) etc,last year I bought the new Simmons Aetec Master Series in 2.8x10. Love it. Zero problems with it and the glass is clear. A buddy of mine bought one after seeing mine and swears he's done spending twice as much on Leupies. Several people that saw his Simmons have purchased them since.

I'll be the first to admit I don't own any $2000 scopes or even any $1000 ones. But I know what the really sh*tty ones look like and I wouldn't consider the new Aetec MS in that category at all.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I've got 2 Simmons Aetecs. 1 is an older model, which I've never had a problem with, and I bought 1 of the new "master series" this past year. Bought it in Jan. '06, didn't sight in the gun until June or July, and first time out the power ring locked up and broke. And after reading on their website how they turn around any issues with the master series scopes in 24 or 48 hoursI was confident I'd get it back in a timely manner. Well after paying the shipping costs, and I believe a $20 charge for service, and waiting for a couple weeks, I called. I started out asking why I would read that they have such excellent customer service on that line of scope yet I'd been waiting for any acknowledgment from them as to length of time to service. I even logged into my internet banking and read off the endorsement on the back of my check that they had cashed, as the woman said they didn't show record of any payment....After clearing that part up I was told that the scopes were on backorder and they weren't sure when they'd be in. Now I had other rifles to use for the upcoming season, but I was still p issed about thebold statement on their website touting how they stand behind the scope, but had no scopes to back it up with. They did send me a brand new Prosport, to keep, because of the inconvenience, but I was still a little p.o'd about having to pay them the $20 to fix/replace a scope that they were standing behind so solidly. Anyway long story short, it was the last Simmons I'll buy....I did get a new one from them eventually, and I've had no new problems with it, but it is in the back of my mind that it'll cost me a big'unsomeday....

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

i know it sucks but 20 days to wait is nothing today for a repair. a 3 to 6 week turn around is normal for most companies i deal with. as far as getting a person to talk to its the same all over too. ive owned 2 simmons scopes and didnt have any issues but these things are probably cranked out on an assembley line and you pay for what you get.did you get it back?

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

Over the last 25 years I have managed at one time or another destroy a scope from several most manufactueres. I will say that I stay away from Simmons and the cheap bushnells except on something like a 22. My first 2 big game scopes were simmons and neither lasted a year.. thenI moved "up to a Bushnell "rangemaster" also a POS. So my experience with simmons and bushnell is 0 for 3

Since then I have stuck with Burris and Leupold with an odd Ziess and Nikon thrown in. The Burrises have been most reliable but I hear horror stories of there customer service, but at$200-400 I can deal with a reliable scope with an iffy warranty. I guess I have owned maybe 20-25 burris scopes. I will say that I have had them change reticials for me and they were quick and polite but as I have never had a seal or erector falure yet so I have never tested their warranty

The leupolds have been good (owned about 10 or so over the years). I had three failures. 2 were on a 45/70 contender, same scope failed twice. FranklyThats hardly a mark on leupold.. as that thing kicked like no other gun I ever fired, my 416 rigby didn't hold a candle to it.Leupold repaired it quickly twiceand I traded it off after the second repair.The other failure was an erector in a Vari X III 2.5-8-36 thatI bought used and I don't know itshistory beforeI got it. Also fixed free and fast by leupold.

two Ziess..both have seen only light use by me and have not had problems.

3 Nikons and no real problems.. thought I had one..but found out it was a loose mount. Mostly light use.. but the last one went on my Muzzleloader so it will get a workout in the future.

My feeling once you get to about $180 for a scope for a deer/big game rifle there are lots of good choices. I am more concerned with reliability than warranty. Frankly If a 250 scope craps out on me I can buy another.. I won't be happy but I can. Now if I was spending $1000 on a scope it better have dam good warranty that the company really supports. Leupold has shown me that kind of support and I have in general heard good things about Swaro and Zeiss too.

What I can't get back is a day or a weekend hunt that was blown by a bad scope, or worse a missed or wounded animal because the scope can't hold a zero or has an erector failure. I realize that every manufactuerer will make a lemon every know and then but you mostly get what you pay for.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

Still waiting for the scope! It was delivered to Simmons in late January! It was a ten dollar gamble, just to see how good their warranty service is, because I had already decided to trash it. Service obviously is non-existant, scope is junk and I lost the gamble! There will never be another Simmons product on any of my guns!

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

Had to bite the bullet and send one back. It was a Aetec and the rubber ring fell off the eye piece. I called but no parts were available for it. Thats what set me off the most, a simple rubber ring that came off. Probally a dime part that now has cost me $20. Its been 3 weeks so far.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

Time to simply switch to a different make and scope.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I have two Simmons scopes. Both were bought for limited use and because they were cheap. After using them, I don't feel they were cheap enough.

One is a 3x9 and the other a 6x24. Neither have clear glass when used in the real world. The 3x9 is not clear beyond 75 yards or so. The 6x24 loses clarity once you hit about 14 power.

Again I bought them because they were cheap but I have had otherscopes in the same price range that put Simmons to shame. Tasco and Bushnellscopesare justas inexpensive as Simmons but have much better glass.

I have had items that I needed to return because of defect/quality before from the various companies of which Simmons is a part. Customer service has always been horrible with either no response or extremely slow response. I should have remembered that before buying any more of their products.

Craig

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

I had a Simmons 44 Mag scope on my .300 wm that lasted about 11 yrs before it just wouldn't focus any more, I shot at least 30 boxes of shells with it and it was punished pretty good. I also have a Aetec Masterpiece 4-14 on a .270 wsm and LOVE it. It is just as clear and precise as any of my Leupold scopes.

RE: Simmons Follow Up, Don't Waste Your Money!
 

After more than two months, I had given up on Simmons. I figured I had just lost another ten dollars on shipping! Well they finally delivered. They did not repair my old model Aetec, they sent me a brand new Master Series Aetec. It sighted in very quickly, and I shot some very good groups with it. I have not tried it in low light yet but it is very clear.
How long will it last is the question! I figured I should have got more than five years out of the original Aetec, and to be honest, I still won't buy another Simmons, but this one seems to be a good scope! Time will tell.