How to tell when a scope is broken

[HOSPassassin]

I have a Winchester 2-7x32 AO scope that is about 7 years old. It has mostly ridden on Daisy 880s and 901s, so it hasn't taken abuse from springers, even though it is supposed to be rated for such.

I noticed recently that its windage adjustment dial no longer has clicks. It is just a smooth turn. The elevation still has definite clicks.

I have also noticed that I can't shoot a decent (> .5") group through it at 20 yards with a rifle/pellet combo that has easily done so in the past. The groups are much larger (1.5-2"), and sometimes there are random pellets that go off by 8-10 inches to the left. These are good pellets too, like FTT or AA.

It is a cheap scope, so I wouldn't be surprised if it just wore out over what I consider a short lifespan. Is the disappearance of click adjustments in the windage dial a sign that it is unstable along the horizontal axis?

[Blowpipe Sam]

I own seven Winchester AO scopes.  Two 4X32 and five 2-7X32.  I run them on everything from magnum springers to a Crosman 2100.  My oldest is about four years.  If you move them around from gun to gun often and re-zero them they will wear out fairly quickly.   This will manifest as a wandering zero or a refusal to adjust.  I just purchased a cheap Simmons 3-9X32 and the elevation knob doesn't click.  The windage knob does though.  The scope works fine and since it will live on my Crosman 2200 pumper I'm hoping it will have a long life