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Redfield Bear Cub Scope age?

TWalkerTWalker Member Posts: 2,372 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited February 2010 in Ask the Experts
I bought a Redfield 2 3/4 power Bear Cub scope today and am wondering about its age and quality. It has a tapered post reticle with a horizontal crosshair. The adjustments are internal but the Williams mount/rings are adjustable. I was thinking of putting it on an older Marlin lever action in .35 Remington. Thanks for any information.
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    v35v35 Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I believe this was origonally a Stith Kolmorgen scope made by Kolmorgan optical in Brooklyn NY. Optics were from Govt contract sniper scopes.
    Kollmorgen made USMC MC-1 scopes so they are high quality. Kolmorgen folded and Redfield bought Stith out.
    Anyway, the low magnification with tapered post and horizontal crosshair
    makes for a bright scope with fast target acquisition against darker background.
    Bad news is that it needs 26mm rings.
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    HerschelHerschel Member Posts: 2,035 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The Redfield Company called some of their scopes "Bear Cub" and they had 1" tubes. Since TWalker referred to his scope as a Redfield Bear Cub I would expect it to have the 1" tube. The Redfield Bear Cub is listed and described in the 1963 Gun Digest.
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    v35v35 Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I hope you're right but measure the tube diameter.
    If it's about 1 1/32" (1.024"act.) diameter, it's 26mm.

    Revision: Just checked a 1964 Stoeger catalog and as you say, the tube is shown as having a 1" diameter. There must be an error here because the objective lens in the table is shown as 26mm diameter. As this scope has a straight body it's impossible for the objective lens to be bigger than the body.
    I still say measure the tube.
    I believe this is the same scope as its' predecessors: the Kollmorgen, the Stith-Kollmorgen and the Stith Bearcub.
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    HerschelHerschel Member Posts: 2,035 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    In the book Old Rifle Scopes by Nick Stroeble, the Redfield 2.75X Bear Cub is shown to have been produced with 1.023" tube from 1959 to 1962 and with a 1" tube from 1962 to 1964. In view of this info I agree with v35 that you should measure the tube. If you lack a caliper you can try a set of 1" rings to see if they fit.
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    v35v35 Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think it's a good idea if you can mount that scope on the Marlin 35.
    It's a lot faster to line up than standard crosshairs and gives you a horizontal reference against canting the rifle.
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    jhog1jhog1 Member Posts: 29 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Kollmorgen never folded it is still in business totay. they sold there rifle scope division to Redfield in the 50's
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