I have seen it countless times on Reddit and various forums that vintage scopes are not worth anything and should be reserved for the safe. I’ll just come out and say plainly that is not the case. There are multiple reasons why one might want to use a vintage scope for a particular rifle or hunting setup, and today we’re going to explore some of those reasons. Sure you can make the blanket statement that even top of the line vintage optics don’t hold a candle to modern persuasions; the lenses and coatings underperform in comparison and the weatherproofing is not of the same quality. However, take into consideration these points before completely writing them off:
Period Correctness
It’s no surprise this is the first reason. Many of us growing up in families that participated in hunting and target sports have likely inherited guns from a relative or close family member. In order to do these guns justice, it’s only right the scope matches the vintage of the rifle. There are currently few to no optic producers at this time that make vintage styled optics. Everything is tactical these days. As you can probably tell from my tone, I tend to lean towards blued steel and walnut, and an anodized riflescope just looks wrong atop these guns.
Serviceability
If you have ever had a riflescope mailed in for repair, the majority of the time the manufacturer is going to throw it away and mail you a new one. There are exceptions, but it is generally easier and more profitable for them to do so. For what a vintage scope might lack in lens coatings or weatherproofing, they were designed for the ability to be serviced. Mechanically they are rather simple and easy to take apart. Though conventional services might no longer exist, there are a handful of shops that can repair them across the U.S. Heck, depending on the model there might be a handful of YouTube videos for you to do it yourself. When thinking of the more common variants such as the weaver K series, Weaver made thousands. It is rather easy to pick up additional scopes for cheap on eBay for parts should something on your K series fail.
Simplicity
Basic fixed power optics dominated the market for a long time in the hunting world. If you’re the person who deer hunts big woods a handful of times a year with a Winchester .30-30, I’m going to wager a Leupold 3-9 is not required for your sport. Something like a Redfield 4X or even some of the 1980’s Japan optics were seriously high quality and durable. Another consideration is the reticule options. Most optics today feature complex mil-dots and various other Christmas tree style reticles. My two favorite hunting crosshairs happen to be the fine wire and the German post style. Neither of which are easy to find nowadays. This point gets more interesting if you consider prices, so let’s move on to the next category.
Affordability
Premium vintage optics have gone up in price, and many of them I would not classify as affordable unless comparing to a Nightforce or high end Leupold. However take the previous example of the casual deer hunter with the .30-30. A Leupold VX-Freedom 3-9x40 will run you about $300 new pre-tax. Given this is a big woods hunter, most of their shots are probably going to be 50 yards or less. I just sold a very nice Japan made Bushnell Sportview in 4X for $65 on eBay. A more than capable optic for this scenario with relatively modern coatings and weatherproofing. It’s no doubt the Leupold is the better optic, but will it work five times better for the big woods deer hunter? Many of the low power Japan optics, Redfields, and even some of the Weaver K-series can be had for $100 or less at the time of this writing.
I’ll step off my soapbox now. The most important take away is choosing the right glass for the right job, and don’t defile your vintage rifles. Contact us if you have anything to add. Shoot straight
- Hayes
A modest collection of old Weavers surrounding a Winchester Model 61