Are Old Redfield scopes "better" than today's?

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Fatelvis

Fatelvis

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I just bought a rifle with a 3-9X older Redfield on it and I'm not familiar with them at all. Im usually a diehard Leupold fan, however, the Guy who sold it to me, said he bought the rifle and waited to find one of the "older, sought after types" to put on it. How does the older Redfields measure up to Leupolds? I NEED to know this scope is reliable. Thanks-
 
the old Redfields were a pretty good scope and certainly the equal of Leupold scope of the same era. new Leupolds are probably better now than the old Redfields. Redfield went out of business when they were caught dumping things in the Platte river by the EPA
 
I have two older Redfield "wide-view" 2.75X scopes on my lever Marlins and both are good, solid scopes. I never pass up a used USA-made Redfield at a good price (under $150, usually). Redfield had a solid reputation back in the 1970's when I started shooting.
 
The Denver made Redfield's of days past were very well made scopes. The new ones are made in China and simply trading off the Redfield name to sell a cheap scope.

Don
 
To be honest, none of the older scopes measure up to todays scopes. There are better lens grinding systems today than 20 years ago, better glass manufacturing techniques and the lens coating systems used today are so superior as to not even be comparable.

Some of the older scopes are built hell for stout, so they'll hold up well, but the optics will not be as good in resolution, edge sharpness or light transmission.

Just my opinion, others are welcome to believe the 20 year old Zeiss, Leupold, Redfield or whatever are superior to todays scopes.
 
Redfield today is being built by Meade the same company that builds amature astrometry telescopes. They also now own Simmons and Weaver. They have a new line of Redfields comeing out that should compare very well against the best of todays scopes, domestic and Euro. or so I`ve read. I believe they are being priced to match the competition also.............:eek:
 
call me what you will, but I am convinced that the older El Paso Weavers, and the Denver Redfields were better scopes than what is offered today by the 'cheapo' manufactures.
Sure a modern Burris, Leupold, Nikon or Dockter probably has better lenses, but the old quality scopes still perform well today.
I have some darn good modern glass on my bolt hunting rifles, but the older 20mm tubes from Weaver and Redfield that sit on my Marlin lever guns still do their thing year in and year out. The deer I took on Thanksgiving day was with a Marlin 336Y and a Redfield 5 Star 20mm 1 X 4 variable.
 
Well, I found an answer to my own question today. As I was cleaning the Redfield's lenses of years of accumulated "gunk" from the previous owner, (with Q-tips and alcohol), I noticed the INSIDE of the objective lens is still dirty. It looks to me like it lost its seal, or never had a good one to begin with! So much for the Redfield standing shoulder to shoulder with Leupold! :rolleyes: Now I can honestly say I will never buy anything but a Leupold!!
 
I have a 30+ year old Redfield wide field 4x on a .308 that belonged to my dad, he used it as his whitetail rifle for years, and gave it to me as my first deer rifle. The lenses are nice and clear, perhaps not as nice as a Leupold, but good enough to get the job done....
 
My 60's vintage redfield was dirty on the inside too. So I sent it off to be refurbished at a cost of $65. The only scopes made today that would take it's place cost $250. And they aren't quite right for my rifle. Since I want it to look right.
 
There is a company down in Florida that does the old Redfield Company's repair work for about $35. They are well made, but any product will fail over time. Well worth spending $35 on.

Don
 
Grandfather's got an old 4x weaver on a BSA .303. That's a clear scope, especially since it was installed in 1952!
 
be careful about doing business w/ abo (co. ussr is referring to)... i'm not sure they are the stand-up-citizens of the gun world...

elvis - google 'tasco repair' or 'abo usa' - should find them... be careful w/ 'em, though.
 
I've got an older Redfield on my Remington 700 Custom Deluxe.

It's bright, clear, dependable, and doesn't overwhelm the rifle. The more I looked at that 700 with the early "Denver" Redfield, the more I felt some of my other rifles could go retro with the earlier scopes, too.

So, much like Mannlicher, I've become a big believer in those durable and classic "Denver" Redfields, and "El Paso" Weavers, as well as Lyman and Stith scopes. My New Years' goal is to get away from those big honkin' 44-50mm scopes on my hunting rifles, and get back to the basics, not quite iron sights, but something that's useful and doesn't dwarf the gun.

I found a restored (by Osborn Optical Systems) El Paso Weaver V8 2-8 variable and mounted it on my 1917 Amberg 98 Mauser sporter, done in the style of the 1960's. It looks fabulous, and the vintage optics work just fine, I zeroed it in for 200 yards just today, once I figured out the external adjustments (yes, the rifle is parkerized, something I did for damp weather usage):

ambergbenchweaverleft.gif

ambergbenchweaverright.gif

Likewise, I decided my 1969-vintage Browning BAR didn't need the huge scope I had mounted on it, so it was replaced with an El Paso Weaver VX9 Auto-Comp rangefinder, with a beautiful blued steel tube that matched the Browning's receiver polishing perfectly. Calibrating the stadia was fun, but again, I was zeroed dead-on at 200 yards, and can quickly range and auto-comp to 600 yards and beyond with the old girl. For a .30-06, that's pretty nice, even if it is ancient technology. Zooming between 3-9x, the stadia adjusts automatically, so I can range accurately regardless of what the magnification is set at.

barbenchweaverleft.gif

barbenchweaverright2.gif

I'm certain the newer aluminum and plastic scopes can probably deliver better optical quality. The Simmons Whitetail Classic and ProHunter scopes I took off these rifles (now on e-Bay) were actually quite clear, but felt cheap and really dwarfed the rifles they sat on. Maybe I'm becoming a minimalist now that I'm retired, but ever since I got up close and personal with the Lyman Alaskan scope on my 1903A4 sniper, I've come to really appreciate those older scopes like the Denver Redfields and El Paso Weavers. ;)
 
I sent mine to Iron Sight in tulsa oklahoma. Call redfield and they'll get you in touch with them since i've forgotten the phone number.
 
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