Natchez has the Weaver on sale now so there's only a 20 dollar price difference between the two.Which do you think would be the better choice?

I have zero experience with the new Redfields. But, the Weaver's have been on the market for years. I have high regard for the Weaver V-16. At one time I had seven of them. So, I would personally go with the proven performer, the Weaver.

The current Weaver is made in Asia by a contractor, just like a lot of other good and not-so-good scopes. I'm not sure if it is the same contractor, or if the Weaver name is even still with the same owner as the scopes that Don praises. That name has bounced around among a number of owners over the span of years since El Paso Weaver closed down.

The Redfield is basically a time-proven Leupold Vari-X, built in Oregon, with cosmetic alterations to make it evoke the image of the old Denver Redfields.

The optical lineage of the Redfield is well-known, so I would gravitate toward it, but only an in-person examination would let you make an informed choice.

Redfield Revived
Given the present state of the economy, an American-made scope for $129 should have no trouble finding its place in the market.
By J. Scott Olmsted, Editor in Chief

In 1998, the original Redfield Rifle Scopes Inc. ceased operations in Denver. Through the 1980s and ’90s, the company had found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the competition. Like others, it began marketing scopes with foreign components, and sought toward the end of its life to re-enter the high end of the market with its Ultimate Illuminator series. But it was too little, too late. Competition had surpassed Redfield. In the fall of 1998, Blount International purchased Redfield’s operating assets, which consisted of inventory, machinery and equipment, trademarks, sales literature and patents. Blount, the parent company at the time of Federal Ammunition, moved Redfield manufacturing and distribution to Onalaska, Wis., and distributed Redfield-branded products through its Simmons and Weaver optics dealers.

Four years later, in the fall of 2002, Meade Instruments Corp. purchased all common stock of Simmons, which included the rights to market Simmons, Redfield and Weaver products. At the time it seemed like a good marriage; after all, Meade is a major player in the astronomical optics market; everyone in the outdoor press assumed the company would leverage its expertise to produce and market sport optics. In fact Meade planned—even advertised—a new-from-the-ground-up Redfield riflescope made in California that used components from a similar Simmons product (made overseas). I saw a prototype, and so did a lot of writers. Mark Keefe IV, Editor in Chief of American Rifleman, had airline tickets in hand to visit Meade’s facility … then the whole project came unraveled. The scope was never produced and everyone in the outdoor press who wrote about it was left holding the bag.

Fast forward to April 2008: Meade divests all interests in the sport optics business. ATK, now the parent of Federal Ammunition and a host of other companies, purchases from Meade the rights to Weaver products, and Leupold & Stevens purchases the intellectual property of Redfield. Finally, after a decade in the wilderness, a venerable name in American field sports has a new lease on life. New Redfield Revolution series riflescopes are being produced by Leupold & Stevens at its Beaverton, Ore., facility.

Now, given recent history, American hunters have a right to be skeptical. But last August I visited Leupold’s factory and saw Redfield scopes coming off the line with my own eyes. I can attest to this project’s viability. And I can attest to the fact that they are, indeed, American-made. There are four scopes in the current Revolution line: a 2X-7X-33mm, 3X-9X-40mm, 3X-9X-50mm and a 4X-14X-50mm. All are available with either a “4-Plex” or an “Accu-Range” reticle (an original Redfield design). Prices run from $129.99-$219.99. In Oregon, I had the opportunity to test them all, and for the money the quality is surprisingly good—quarter-minute click adjustments, bright images, very good resolution. You can expect a complete technical review of them later this year in “Hardware.”

In the meantime, they are on dealer shelves now, awaiting American hunters’ fervent attention. And I’d say, given the present state of the economy, an American-made scope for $129 should have no trouble finding old-timers and newcomers alike who will once again ride for the Redfield brand.