Redfield is Back, and Made in the USA

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

December 1st, 2009

 

 

 

Several generations of hunters and shooters relied upon Redfield riflescopes from the time that scopes become popular until the Redfield factory shut down back in 1998. To me personally, it was sad to see such a grand old brand close up shop. I do not know all the particulars of the plant closing, but with the US market flooded with cheap Asian imports, and stiff competition from other quality scope makers, it was getting harder for a quality US scope to compete in that market. After the closing, the Redfield brand was bought, sold, and cheapened. It was owned by huge conglomerates, and the brand suffered. No longer was the Redfield name held in high esteem as it was in years past, and the scope line finally died out.

Last year, Leupold & Stevens bought the Redfield name, and are now producing Redfield scopes in their Beaverton, Oregon plant. I learned of this about three months ago, but have been sworn to secrecy until now. Leupold is a highly respected and trusted brand; probably the best-known and highly regarded scope brand in the United States among most hunters and shooters. Leupold knows how to make quality riflescopes, and with the Redfield scopes now being built at their factory, they have absolute control over the quality of materials and workmanship that goes in to building the Redfield Revolution riflescopes. Leupold could have had the Redfield label slapped onto some forty-dollar Asian scope and sold them in the US, but thankfully, they chose to build the scopes in their own factory, ensuring a quality product that is built by Americans.

The first Redfield Revolution scopes offered will be in the most popular magnifications and styles. All are variable power scopes, offered in a choice of 2 to 7, 3 to 9, and 4 to 12 powers. Objective bell sizes vary from 33mm to 50mm, and two reticles will be offered; a standard 4-Plex style, or the Accu-Range, which is a range finding and multiple aiming point reticle.

The Accu-Range reticle would be my choice, and is the reticle that I have in my 3-9x50mm Redfield shown here. In use, most modern high velocity rifle cartridges fall into two groups. Group one is for cartridges such as the .30-06 and .308 based rifles; the .25-06, .270, .243, and such, along with the .223 Remington and several other cartridges. The centerfire magnums fall into group two, and include the fast-stepping Weatherby magnums, the WSMs, and such. A chart is provided with the scope. Group one sights in at 200 yards, and group two sights in at 300 yards. The reticle subtentions are listed for various yardages, and points on the reticle help to estimate distance. Personally, I like to keep things simple, and use a Leupold RX-1000 laser rangefinder to determine the distance to target, and use the reticle for shooting only. The Accu-Range reticle is very easy to use, and to understand. Some ranging reticles on the market are very complicated, and too “busy”, for lack of a better word. The Accu-Range is simple, and makes hitting at a distance easier, without the shooter having to guess at the amount of holdover. However, many shooters buy a scope with a ranging reticle, and take the chart as Gospel. You still need to shoot your rifle on target at any distance that might be used in the field. If you think that you might try a 300 yard shot on a whitetail, you need to shoot your rifle at 300 yards on paper, before the hunt, to determine exactly the aiming point for your rifle. Many hunters use a ranging reticle as an excuse to not put in the bench time necessary. While the Accu-Range reticle is one of the best designs that I have seen, and will help greatly in the field, it is no substitute for properly sighting-in your rifle. Anyway, the Accu-Range is only ten bucks more money than the 4-Plex reticle, and is well worth the premium.

The 3-9x50mm Revolution scope shown here has a very good-looking and business-like matte black finish. The scope weighs in at about three-quarters of a pound, and is built on a one-inch tube. The lenses are multi-coated, and the scope has quarter-minute click adjustments, which can be adjusted with the fingertips. No coin or screwdriver is needed. The click adjustments are positive, and repeatable. The Revolution scopes are nitrogen filled to prevent fogging, and are waterproof. The scope has from 3.7 to 4.2 inches of eye relief. The power adjustment ring is solid, knurled, and easy to turn with or without gloves. In use, the image is very clear and bright through the scope, and the reticle easy to see and understand. There are 56 minutes of adjustment for both elevation and windage. I mounted the Redfield scope atop my Smith & Wesson .25-06 i-Bolt using steel Weaver Grand Slam rings onto the S&W modified Picatinny rail. Using my favorite .25-06 handload, which has a 117 grain Hornady Spire point bullet powered by Hodgdon Hybrid 100 powder leaving the muzzle at about 3200 feet-per-second, puts the aiming points pretty close at extended ranges, certainly close enough for game hunting, and much closer than I can get by guessing at the holdover.  Cranking the scope adjustments around and playing with the magnification ring proved that the Revolution scope was tracking truly. It seems to be a well-built riflescope, and one that I can recommend without hesitation.

The Redfield revolution scopes have an excellent warranty. If it ever breaks or needs repair, Redfield will cover it, forever, even if you buy the scope used at a yard sale. Doesn’t matter, they will fix it. You don’t have to pay a service fee, or talk to someone in Cambodia to get the scope repaired. One of the best things about the Redfield scopes is their price. They are American made by American workers, but are priced lower than many imports.  I usually do not list prices in my reviews, as prices change over the years, but as of this writing, prices on the Redfield Revolution scopes start at just under $130 US. The model shown here with the 50mm objective lens and the Accu-Range reticle is just barely over 200 bucks. That is a lot of quality American-made scope for the money.

Check out the complete line of Redfield optics at www.redfield.com.

Jeff Quinn

 

Jeff is very happy to see the Redfield name once again on a quality line of USA-made optics.

 

 

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Redfield's Accu-Range reticle.