Does anyone know if such an item exists? Is there another way to increase the magnification of a scope?

Yes, they used to be fairly common before the advent of variables.

I have one of the original Bushnell Scopechiefs in 3X which has a 2.5x "doubler" with it. You simply screw the "doubler" into the threads inside the objective and it turns the 3X into approximately a 7.5X.

Leupold also made one of these. I picked one up a couple of years ago off of an auction site just out of curiosity. I've never found which scope it fits (probably one of their older externally adjustable models), but it boosts the scope power to 8x according to the information on its box. I'm assuming that the original power of the scope it was made for was about 2.5X.

Although not necessarily very practical for field applications, the "doublers" would have been useful at the bench in working up loads and sighting in. It's much easier to precisely aim at a 100 yard target at 8x than at 2.5X.

For many years there was a company that specialized in boosting the power of scopes like 10X or 12X up to the 24-30X range for target shooting. I can't remember their exact name or how it was spelled (something like "Liesertch"?), but their conversions were internal and not an add-on optical piece, I believe. Thirty years ago almost every long-range match was won with one of these conversions.

I'm not sure how useful it would be these days, but since nearly all scopes have internal threads in the objective bell, it would certainly be possible to construct an add-on objective piece which boost the scope's power.

There have been a number of companies which supplied means of increasing scope power on fixed power scopes. R.A. Litschert, the one to which Stoney refers above, was a top quality scope maker, and provided such attachments.

In the days before Nitrogen-filled scopes, and when variable scopes were very rare (and even more expensive than rare) many scope companies such as Lyman, Unertl, etc., provided different power ocular lenses, each in its own housing (bell). To change powers with them, one simply screwed off the ocular lens housing on the scope and screwed on another of the power he wanted.

BTW, in many ways "nitrogen-filled" was a bit of a marketing fraud. VERY FEW scopes with internal adjustments were gas tight in those days...so the nitrogen would be long gone within a few months.

That's probably the reason Bausch and Lomb's famous Balvar 8 of the late 1950s, early 1960s didn't have internal adjustments. It was much easier to keep it well sealed and "fog-proof" than it would have been with internal adjustments....and mounts adjustable for windage and elevation were quite common then.

Later, many scopes which shooters thought were nitrogen filled, never were. They were Nitrogen-PURGED instead....the purpose reportedly being to use nitrogen to remove any residual dampness inside the scope tube immediately before and during assembly. No water vapor inside, no fogging via condensation when moving from one temperature area to another.

Also, as Stoney said, there were several companies which would "boost" or "convert" scopes to a higher power. One of the more common conversions was about a 60% increase. I had one of my Lyman 25X LWBR scopes conveted to 40X by such a company and it worked well enough to compete successfully with. I can't remember who did mine (it was probably Bill Ackerman) but I believe (IIRC) many conversions for benchresters were done by Premier Reticule of Washington state.

Scope sight history is an interesting area, though there are few good books on the subject.

I thought you might enjoy seeing a photo of the "doublers" I spoke of.

The Bushnell (lower portion of photo) is shown screwed into the 3X Scopechief. Without the cylindrical doubler the scope has a straight tube with no objective bell.

The Leupold (middle) is shown along with its box. I tried threading the Leupold into the front of a Leupold 20mm objective (2.5 Compact) to compare its size, but its threads are slightly smaller than the little straight-bodied 2.5 Compact. If anyone knows what Leupold scope this was made for, please enlighten me.

Thanks guys!That's the info I was looking for.

Leupold Alaskan with 8X Litschert's "Varmint" adapter on it.



I buy every one I can find as they are great.

Thanks for that photo, 45-70; a real classic.

The Lyman Alaskan had a 7/8" tube, and if I'm not mistaken, some of the early Leupolds also used a 7/8" tube (as did their reproduction of the Alaskan). Judging from the apparent size of the threads, the Leupold adapter I have may have been for one of their 7/8" scopes.

Yes the Loopies also were 7/8" tube scopes in the early days. With the magnification adapter it made a nice varmint rig. Just finished up a redo on a 23D Savage (22 Hornet) with an Alaskan equipped with a Davis 6X adapter. Looks and works just fine as the Litschert's.It is every bit as bright and sharp as an M8 Leupold 6X, albeit just a tad longer !