It’s tough to find a more visually pleasing scope than the Weaver B-series. Everything about their design just begs to be mounted onto a vintage rimfire. Despite their shortcomings compared to some modern optics, they’re still more than worthy of an article. I think the qualms I have with the B-series are not faults of their own, so let’s get into it.

First introduced by Weaver in 1953 for $9.75 (mount included), the B4 was “developed especially for .22 rim fire rifles, Hornets, Bees and similar calibers.” The B-series served as a replacement for the previous model G-series of Weaver scopes, and in Weaver’s own words: “The design, mechanically and optically, is a modern development and superior to any formerly used in .22 scopes. The B Models are light, compact with excellent optical qualities.” The B4 was designed for the light recoil shooter in mind with “enough magnification for nearly all shooting but not too much for easy use offhand shooting”. 

Now it’s time for the less than pleasant. The B4 was marketed and sold as a working man’s scope, and with that, the working man used them hard. Most B4’s you’ll see floating around in the secondary market have been rode hard and neglected. Given that the B4 is an all-steel constructed scope, that’s generally not a problem. With a little bit of elbow grease these optics can be cleaned and reblued pretty easily, but the lenses are where we encounter most of the issues. The coatings, antidotally appear rather fragile and the lenses seem to scratch very easily. All of this, combined with a 3/4-inch tube can result in a rather dark image. Now the light at the end of the tunnel - Weaver made a ton of B4’s and they are cheap still today. Should you need replacement parts for your B4 they’re rather easy to find on eBay. The B4 enjoyed a solid 10 years as a part of the Weaver lineup and disappeared from the Weaver catalogs by 1966, if not a pinch earlier. Should you find yourself with a .22LR of the 50’s or 60’s vintage, the B4 will be right at home atop one of these fine rifles. Enjoy the photos!

A cleaned and polished B4. Mechanically simple and a very sleek profile.

Side profile of the B4

Closer look at the elevation turret

Objective lens enclosed in a nice brass housing

Ocular lens, quite a few scratches accumulated over the years!

10 yard clarity board test on an overcast afternoon. Perfectly usable for plinking but would make for tough hunting in dark timber. The glass still fairly sharp, but still has a slight haze even after a good cleaning.

Thanks for reading our first look on the B4. Should you have any questions or want to contribute to our documentation of the Weaver B4 or Weaver B-series, please reach out via the contact page. Cheers and happy Father’s Day! (All excerpts taken from the Weaver 1956 B-series pamphlet)

- Hayes