2) Inherited Old Winchester Model 70 .243 bolt action (Labeled Sears Model 53) with cheap 4x Bushnell scope.

3) Have few hunting skills. Hunt behind Los Angeles in the Angeles National Forest. Ranger friend locates fool proof spot for me every year.

4) Normally shoot deer at under 50 yards.

5) Everyone at range tells me I need to get 3X-9X Leupold or other good brand. Will make big difference.

6) For my style hunting, will actually make difference?

The rifle scope is obviously a great invention, and like most inventions it was born out of necessity. Most great inventions evolve from someone finding a need for something and figuring out how to make it work. The evolution of the rifle scope began when people started attaching telescopes to rifles to maximize viewing capabilities. This idea was of course very primative and did not provide the desired effect. The first verifiable use of a telescopic sight on a pistol dates back to 1834,but attempts to create a workable rifle scope were unsuccessful until 1880 when August Fielder managed to build the first telescopic sight that really actually worked. This was the predecessor of all modern day rifle scopes. In 1907 a German immigrant named Fred Leupold set up a small shop in Portland Oregon repairing survey equipment. Several years later when he met inventor John Stevens, the marvelous company named Leupold and Stevens was born and still exists today. It was around 1930 after a failed hunting trip, that Leupold began making his first rifle scopes. The small company survived World War I and the great depression but it was  the Second World War that changed the company forever. Working with the US Army and Navy, the engineers at Leupold learned the secrets of waterproofing and durable construction that would change the world of optics forever.  The engineers learned that by introducing nitrogen gases within the scope that the optics would remain clear, waterproof and fogproof… for a lifetime.

Today Leupold and Stevens is a family owned American company with 100 years of experience. Their modern day state of the art facility  employs over 600 employees in Beaverton Oregon. The Leupold engineers design, machine, assemble and test all of their optics within this facility. Only the finest material known to man are used for production of their optics especially the lenses and they are of the highest grade quality that is demanded by Leupold engineers.  In addition to rifle scopes Leupold also offers a fine line of binoculars and spotting scopes as well.The products produced are made to last more than a lifetime and they are all backed by the famous Leupold Lifetime Warranty. They set all the standards that other optics manufacturers strive to achieve. Leupold optics are world renowned for their ruggedness, absolute waterproof integrity and their superior optical quality. Leupold offers a vast line of rifle scopes with both fixed and variable powers and many types of reticles. They have many different lines to chose from, sure to please any rifleman. The name Leupold is one of the most trusted, respected, and known names in the outdoor and hunting arenas worldwide.

Leupold has recently issued a counterfeit warning to its customers cautioning them to be on the lookout for counterfeit Leupold scopes that are illegally being imported from China. These fake reproductions bear many of the marks of the a genuine Leupold, making them very difficult to distinguish externally from authentic Leupold products. Recently many rifle scopes have begun to arrive at the Leupold headquarters for service. Obviously these products were not manufactured by Leupold and are not covered by the Leupold lifetime warranty. Leupold uses serial numbers on all of their optics so if one finds a suspect they can simply contact Leupold at 1-800-LEUPOLD to verify the authenticity.

To me I feel that a Leupold scope is the best scope for the money and I have many of them. I own 9 hunting rifles and they are ALL equipped with Leupolds. I personally thank Leupold for my grizzly bear  and dall sheep from Alaska, my mountain lion and elk from Arizona, my black bear and mule deer from Colorado, and the 13 trophy whitetail deer from right here in Pennsylvania. Through many conditions, from rain and snow, to blizzards and fog, to tripping down mountains, and banging around on horseback, my Leupolds have NEVER let me down under any circumstances.  Thanks again Leupold for a lifetime of memories!   

Robert Manack writing as “Outdoorcrazy”