I know Mossberg is not an optics manufacturer.

But for a time, they offered scopes for hi-power rifles.

I recently came by one as part of a trade, and it looks potentially very useful on everyday knock-about rifles.

It is 3x9-x, very clear sight picture, easily adjustable eyepiece, actual clicks in the adjustments, all that kind of good stuff.

Does anyone know who actually made those scopes?

I'm wondering whether to just leave it on the rifle, or whether to start off this short chapter of life by replacing it right up front.

if it ain't broke - don't fix it

Good point Butch. But I still wonder who made their highpower scopes for them?

When I was a young guy I had a lot of their .22 scopes, which sold for $9.99 even in the years right after the Second World War. But I have never actually had one of their hipower scopes in hand before.

Hakko, the Japanese optics company, produced the great preponderance of proprietary branded scopes. Hakko was (and I suppose still is) capable of making some excellent optics, but when proprietary sellers started going to cheaper sources like Taiwan and the Phillipines the quality of their lower-end optics deteriorated.

If the scope is old enough to have been a Japanese Hakko, then it might be a keeper. Usually a scope will have its country of origin marked on it, sometimes in excruciatingly small letters and in some difficult to find place. If you can find "Made in Japan" on your Mossberg, it might just be a pretty serviceable scoope.

Weaver produced some proprietary brand scopes, but those are pretty easy to identify due to their steel bodies and striking resemblance to the regular Weaver K-line. I've seen both Sears and Montgomery Ward scopes that were obviously Weavers.

Bushnell made the Browning scopes for a while I think. As Stonecreek suggested see if you can match its appearance to another.

LWD

It definitely doesn't have a country of origin marked anywhere on it unless it is in invisible ink . It IS old enough that I doubt very seriously if there WAS an optics industry in Korea, the Phillipines, Taiwan, or the PRC at the time. So, if it was foreign made it would almost have to be Japanese, German, British, Austrian, or French...our major optically-endowed trading partners of the period. But, it could very well be American made, too.

It doesn't look very similar to any of the scopes I am personally experienced with, which is one of the reasons I asked if anyone knew for a fact who made them for Mossberg.

quote:

Originally posted by LWD:
Bushnell made the Browning scopes for a while I think. As Stonecreek suggested see if you can match its appearance to another.

LWD

The early Browning scopes were made by Redfield in Denver, but I think you're correct that more recent scopes bearing the Browning label have been made by the same Asian contractors that make Bushnell.

The most recent Brownings were bushnells with just different badging. They were Elite 3200 construction with elite 4200 glass minus the rainguard. Was told this by bushnell.Excellent scopes wish I had stocked up on more of them when they closed them out.

I have a freind who bought one of the recent Mossberg packages with rings and scope and a plastic stocked stainless 30-06. I naturally suggested he remove and dispose of or use on a 22 what looks to be a cheap Bushnell that came with the rifle.

So far he has killed 2 elk and 2 deer with it in 4 shots over 2 years and it has held zero perfectly to this point. In that time he had to return a Leupold that wouldn't hold zero on a 7mm Rem. So while I would stand by conventional optics wisdom a lot of folks use these cheap Phillipine or Chinese made scopes with success.

As I posted before, this is NOT a new scope. I believe it was made before the optics industries even existed in any of the Asian countries other than Japan.

It is also not a "cheaply made" looking scope and has a crystal clear sight picture.

You know, I am beginning to feel a bit sorry for the folks at Mossberg. They have been in business a really long time and have made some really useful guns over those many years. But like Rodney Dangerfield, they "don't git no respect".

Many, many new U.S. Army recruits and draftees in WWII learned to shoot accurately with Mossberg Model 42M .22 rimfire training rifles, as did I.

Mossberg also did a lot of "contract" work in the arms industry...for instance making the first batch of .280 Ross Rifles for Sir Charles Ross, before he got his factory up and running in Quebec 100 years ago. Many other well known arms makers have had their guns made at least partly by Mossberg factories over the years.

While it is true that some Mossberg products have been oriented toward the financially stressed members of shooting society, they DO know how to make good products and do so when the market calls for them.

Even now I am still using a .30-30 lever action carbine which was made years ago by Mossberg. It is amazing how much it looks like a Marlin...except the Mossberg has a safety lever in the middle of the left side of the action. It is an excellent deer rifle.