for some unknown reason, I have become fascinated lately with vintage spotting scopes.

I have a couple B&L Balscope Sr's. One is early and requires a saddle mount tripod, and the other is a bit newer and has the camera mount. bot are crystal clear, and I can easily see 22 caliber holes in black targets at 100yds. Both have 20X eyepieces.

Recently, I picked up another spotting scope. It was branded as "Cornell Japan" and came with a tripod and 5 eyepieces. I bought it because of the 5 eyepieces, as I thought that was kinda unique.

What I found in researching this particular scope is that it was made around the same time as the Balscopes, but was made by a company called Selsi. They also sold spotters under the name Swift. The Cornell brand was marketed through the Cornell University Ornithology dept. I had it at the range this weekend, and was surprised that I could see 22 caliber holes in black backgrounds using the 15X eyepiece. Pretty impressive for a 50 year old scope. Certainly better than the low end crap being hawked by the mass merchandisers.. The one marketed with the Winchester name comes to mind, and what a POS that is!

Anyway, I'm having a good time messing with these scopes and learning as I go. They ain't Kowa's but certainly meet the needs for most of us and at a fraction of the price of the even mid-range stuff being offered today.

Oh, and did I forget to mention, I picked up this Cornell scope with tripod and 5 eyepieces, in the original box, for the princely sum of..... are you ready... $40.

I need another bench height tripod for the other Balscope with the camera mount.. The pirates on ebay think they struck platinum when they post an old Freeland tripod and they want several hundred bucks for them... what I can't believe is that there is somebody stupid enough to pay it! But I'll find one eventually.

Right now I'm watching another Balscope, the 20-60 zoom model with tripod.. I never particularly cared for this model as its too big and heavy, but if the price is right... I gotta satisfy my addiction... you know how it goes..

My older brother was in the Navy in the '70's and he brought home a Kowa 10X scope. It went to my Dad and then to me and had seen a lot of use. The last time I took it to the range a few years back I couldnt even see my shots @ 100 yds due to failed seals and dust inside, so I started looking. Lo and behold, I find one that is identical in every way except it was branded Bushnell. Mint condition and still in the original box and plastic along with the original tripod, which is made of cast steel and is very high quality. I dont recall what I paid for it but it was less than one would pay for a Made in China piece of junk and it is crystal clear, and spotting targets @ 100 yds is no problem. Now my brother has his old Kowa back and he uses it for leisure glassing. Ive gone through several vintage rifle scopes, and they are easily outdone by modern glass and coating technology. But if you happen to come across old glass that is still clear they can still serve their purpose just fine.

I dream every now and then, that one of the old military Team Spotting scopes Unertl made many years ago will turn up at a price I can afford.

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I dream every now and then, that one of the old military Team Spotting scopes Unertl made many years ago will turn up at a price I can afford.

you and me both - i remember looking through one and a few matches - old john unertl knew his business

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Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I dream every now and then, that one of the old military Team Spotting scopes Unertl made many years ago will turn up at a price I can afford.

I had one of those once-upon-a-time too.. It was my first spotter. I had picked it up at a gunshow for $65 around 1970... Somewhere along the way, it "grew feet," and left.. I really liked that scope..

Don't talk up collecting old spotting scopes too much, Frank, at least until I've bought a few

I'm not surprised Wstrnhuntr found his Bushnell identical with Kowas. Though Nick Stroebel fails to mention the brand connection, I grew up understanding that Bushnell got his riflescopes from Kowa. I just wish Dave had not jumped on the bandwagon and abandoned the respected Prominar reticle-movement system (and, even worse, dumped B&L's Custom line).

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Originally posted by sambarman338:

I'm not surprised Wstrnhuntr found his Bushnell identical with Kowas.

They were clearly made by the same manufacturer, just different branding. The little red emblem even looks identical and is in the same place, just with a different name. The biggest difference is the Kowa has steel caps as opposed to plastic on the Bushnell and the color scheme.

Yea, lets not talk this idea up too much, Lol. I may want another for longer ranges.

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Originally posted by sambarman338:
Don't talk up collecting old spotting scopes too much, Frank, at least until I've bought a few

I'm not surprised Wstrnhuntr found his Bushnell identical with Kowas. Though Nick Stroebel fails to mention the brand connection, I grew up understanding that Bushnell got his riflescopes from Kowa. I just wish Dave had not jumped on the bandwagon and abandoned the respected Prominar reticle-movement system (and, even worse, dumped B&L's Custom line).

Sorry Sambarman, but I did it again.. Bought another one last night..

This one a Selsi, just like the Cornell I described in my first post, except this one has 4 eyepieces, a tripod, and get this.. a leather carrying case! $69 bucks!
It was on eBay but the seller had a messed up description so I'm pretty certain he didn't hit his intended audience. Good for me.

When this next one comes in, I'll try to post a picture of them all.

You can have some luck on ebay, esp. when the auction matures on a public holiday like Christmas or New Year

Frank. Do you have a favorite among your collection?

Well, up until this point, I have always favored the Bausch & Lomb Balscope Sr. I can always see my bullet holes at 100 yards, even 22's without a problem. this is at 20X.
But my first tests with the Cornell (Selsi, or Swift)was on a bright day, and looking at other peoples targets, I could see the same bullet holes at 15X.

The Cornell/Selsi/Swift is a bit shorter and lighter, and the point where it mounts to the tripod is better balanced, but I'll have to use it for a while and see how it performs under various light conditions to make a final judgement.

I'll keep you guys posted..

B&L optics made in Rochester NY are hard to beat. Binos, spotting scopes, you name it. I have the 15-60 spotter--yes it's heavy, wouldn't be very good for back packer.

Well you guys are probably going to think that I am bonkers but I am beginning to wonder if maybe Kowa made a LOT of vintage scopes, INCLUDING the old B&L Balscopes! I know, that is blasphemy. But I am convinced that they did in fact make a lot of scopes for a lot of different companys. Bushnell for sure. Their old "Spacemaster II's" are very highly regarded and as I alluded to earlier in this thread are identical to other Kowas. Some others are Vixen , and Tasco just to name a few. And speaking of blasphemy, check out this Denver, Colo Redfield "made in Japan".. Which bears a striking resemblance to the well regarded B&L Discoverer scope..

This I also found interesting. Another optics thread. Especially the part where the gentleman says this, " Otto told me his information was the Japanese made eyepieces for EVERYBODY." That little nugget was supposedly from a Kowa dealer.. The man also points out the interchangeability of virtually every vintage eyepiece.

And then there is this one.. For whatever reason labeled "monoscope". Look familiar? The only appreciable difference between it and a Balscope SR is the focus mechanism. Notice the "KOC Japan" logo on the lens cover. That is the old Kowa logo. Incidentally, I just bought one exactly like that one in pristine condition, still in the original box that was made for a company called Atlas. Cost me a buck and a quarter. I believe it also has the KOC logo in the same place.. I will be anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Anyway, just thought I'd pass on what I have found to you guys as food for thought.

Wstrnhuntr,

It would seem that there was a lot of name changing and re-branding going on back then! I bought one of those monoscopes as a gift for a friend of mine that was struggling with a new POS at the range a while back. The one I bought looks identical to the one in your link, and is branded Swift, made in Japan... so go figure.. I paid like 40 bucks for it on eBay. (and its a pretty good scope)Not quite as sharp as the B&L or Selsi/Cornell/Swift, but it was a variable, and they never are quite as sharp as the fixed power scopes..

I would love to know definitively which scopes Kowa made for other companies, and a little more detail on the quality between their 1st line stuff and those they sold re-branded.. I could find nothing in Strobel's book about it, is there any other source?

PAFrank,
the best source I know of is the internet. There are astronomy and birdwatching forums that can sometimes be very informative. But I am afraid that who manufactured what has always been and still is one of the biggest mystery's in the business. I just read about some Leupold products that are currently made by Light Optic Works of Japan.. Go figure! I have a pair of Bushnell Legacy binos that I learned about before hand from cloudynights.com and they are by far the best binoculars Ive ever owned and a great value. The optical quality is stunning for $100.00 glass.

I have also heard that the fixed power eypieces give the best results, and yet nearly every scope made today is variable, so perhaps there are a few vintage variable eyepieces floating around that were well made. It will be interesting to compare the Atlas with my vintage, fixed power Bushnell scope. I wonder if the praise for fixed vs variable scopes has more to do with the focus mechanism than the eyepiece itself?? My own personal experience with vintage optics is that the condition of the piece has as much to do with sharpness and performance as the original build quality, some of them get pretty hazy and dusty inside after all those years. And that is one reason why I wont buy vintage optics without lens caps, it is kind of a pet peave of mine.


I have been drooling over these this morning. They sure look a lot like the old B&L Zephyrs.

Wstrnhuntr---Don't know if those are B&L or not, but watch EBAY and you should be able to get some good for sure B&L's for that price. In my books, you can't beat em---oh be sure they are Rochester,NY made---those made in other countries don't seem as good. How good are they? Well there are gobs of 7x50's that survived world war 2 and are still good as ever.

Thanks Carpetman, (My Dad was an installer. That's hard friggin work..) I have seen your posts about the Zephyrs before and I am sure they are sweet bino's! But most folks seem to know what they want for them. There are some pretty good buys on the bigger ones sometimes, but I am pretty well set there. Wouldnt mind a nice featherweight set for hiking though.

I went over to my storage today to grab some hunting gear and got my Spacemaster II. I dont know what I was thinking but it has a 32X eyepiece, not a ten. Bloody CRS. I'd like to try some other eyepieces on it someday to see how they do.

quote:

Originally posted by Wstrnhuntr:
Well you guys are probably going to think that I am bonkers but I am beginning to wonder if maybe Kowa made a LOT of vintage scopes, INCLUDING the old B&L Balscopes! I know, that is blasphemy. But I am convinced that they did in fact make a lot of scopes for a lot of different companys. Bushnell for sure.

Nick Stroebel's book on sights and scopes said the B&L/Bushnell merger happened in 1973 but it may be that this reverse take-over began before that or that use of Japanese optics earlier by B&L may have stoked interest in moving in that direction. It may also be that Nick is wrong in some details - I think he got the chronology of the plunger and daisy-wheel ('Custom') scope mounts back to front, for one thing.

wstrnhunter--What is an installer? Some of the Zephyrs are overpriced, but I've seen many go very cheap. I bought my Zephyrs new in 1970--still good as ever with lots of miles on them. The heavy 7x50 I carry in my pickup. BTW I do know where your town is and how to pronounce it.

I have a Balscope 20-60 which is quite clear, but I'm concerned about getting rain in it via the power and focus dials that are on top of the scope. Does anyone have any thought on keeping water out of the opening?

cut the end off a sock & slide the scope in it - the controls will turn thru the wock

Ray B---Move to San Angelo Texas. You'll want rain so bad you'll leave your scope outside in hopes it will entice the rain gods.

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Originally posted by carpetman1:
wstrnhunter--What is an installer?

"Carpet" installer Carpetman1. Apparently you're not. Tooele, You wouldnt be related to the guy from Texas who bought my old Chevelle would you?

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Originally posted by Ray B:
I have a Balscope 20-60 which is quite clear, but I'm concerned about getting rain in it via the power and focus dials that are on top of the scope. Does anyone have any thought on keeping water out of the opening?

For light occasional rain a simple shield might suffice. But for the kind of rain you folks get I would think about something along the lines of an o-ring seal. Even a simple piece of lightly oiled or greased felt in the right place might help. If you can get to such a place and provided it is a good fit. If I were you I might even try a little dob of "Rain-X" on the lenses. It sure works nice on windshields.

Wstrnhunter--None of my relatives have bought a Chevelle--I do have a couple of daughters and their families in the Salt Lake area and have gone by your town several times on my way to Wendover.

Here is a funny story for you...

I was at the range yesterday and I was using the Selsi. A guy a couple benches down, had a mid range name brand (big popular $350 name brand) scope 20-60x and he was having trouble seeing his 7mm holes in his target at 100 yards. He saw my vintage scope and asked about it, we got into a discussion, and he looked through the Selsi at his target. ( I had the 15X eyepiece in) and he was amazed that he could clearly see his bullet holes where with his scope he was struggling to get a clear picture at 60x.

He asked me where he could get one... I told him I just happen to have another... He just may be buying the Cornell next weekend! I figure $100 with 5 eyepieces and the tripod is pretty reasonable.

I hope the sale went well! On the other hand, maybe he just needed to turn the zoom back down to 20 instead of 60 power. Works a little better at 'short' distances.

The sale did go well..... and there is a couple of Balscope Sr spotters on Shopgoodwill.com, and I am tempted..

Don't ask me what my fascination with these is, I haven't figured it out yet myself!!