diff --git a/nmap.cc b/nmap.cc
index 9cbfacec0..6e01b28ca 100644
--- a/nmap.cc
+++ b/nmap.cc
@@ -762,7 +762,7 @@ int nmap_main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
       } else
 #endif
       if (optcmp(long_options[option_index].name, "max-os-tries") == 0) {
-        l = tval2msecs(optarg);
+        l = atoi(optarg);
         if (l < 1 || l > 50)
           fatal("Bogus --max-os-tries argument specified, must be between 1 and 50 (inclusive)");
         o.setMaxOSTries(l);