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Joined: Mar 2005
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JB:

Do you know the real story behind Docter optics? I heard they went under, then I heard they switched distributors, then they were releasing a new line, then they were going under again...

I own one Docter riflescope, and I really like it. Wouldn't mind owning another, but they are still pretty spendy considering they may be out of business.

Any input on these optics, or the company?

Thanks in advance.

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jpb Offline
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I think it was only the US importer that went under. I still see them for sale here in Europe.

On the assumption that you cannot read Swedish, Here is a site in the UK that sells them.

John

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Thanks for the info. What is the opinion of them over in Europe? Are they considered to be a quality optic -or- junk?

thanks.

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jpb Offline
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At least in Sweden, their reputation seems to be right up there with all the German/Austrian top flight optics. They are very much perceived to be a quality optic.

I do now one guy who (last year or so) sent an old (ca 20 years? 35 years?) Doktor scope back to the factory. He got it back in about a month, totally rebuilt, inspected and certified by a real person (who signed a detailed report on the scope's performance). Yeah, I know -- the Germans love this sort of thing, but I admit that I kind of appreciate it too. smile

Personally, I am not sure that I could pick a Doktor out from a blind array of Schmidt & Bender, Zeiss (not Conquest), Swarovski, Pecar, Kahles... Probably not in daylight, although think that I could pick out the best (Schmidt & Bender, Zeiss, possibly Swarovski) in the dark. I might be wrong about which are the best in the real dark too! I would love to have all these optics, mount them on a board with just their objectives and oculars sticking out of a carboard box, and test them on a dozen hunters! smile

Like most of those mentioned above, eye relief of the Doktor's is moderate not long (I think that I recall reading "over 3 inches eye relief" on one of Doktor's web pages), and they tend to have fairly large objectives (and often 30mm tubes). A bit on the heavy side too, and not as tough or waterproof as a Leupold to be honest.

Having said all that, if you can mount one at the proper distance to your eye, I sure would not complain about any of the above brands! They do perform well after dark from the 2 examples I have had access to. Not my choice for my .375 H&H (that wears a Conquest with 4 inches of eye relief), but ideal for a varmint rifle I think -- I am looking for such a scope for my .222 Rem in fact!

I should also note that my comments are from a European perspective: none of that "Leupold is good enough for legal shooting hours". I used to live in Canada and the USA, but here in many European countries we do not have to pay any attention to some arbitrary "dusk + 30 minutes" like most of North America -- if you can see well enough to shoot a wild boar at 0300 hr by moonlight, we can do so legally. It is up to the hunter to decide if he/she can take a safe shot in the dark or not.

Lastly, you might be interested in this: I did find them for sale in the US HERE.

John (satisfied owner of many Leupold scopes, but night scopes they ain't!) In fact, I just missed buying a 20-year old Schmidt and Bender 8 x 56 scope for peanuts a while ago too! frown

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In about 1991, a German by the name of Bernard Docter bought at least some of the assets of the former Zeiss Jena operation in the former East Germany. His big products were rifle scopes and binoculars. Under his management, Docter Optics were introduced into the US marketplace.

Alas, Herr Docter died in 1995, and the company went bankrupt shortly after that. As I now recall, there was some mysteriousness about his death. Anyway, a part of the company producing scopes and binoculars was taken over by another group and has apparently been pretty successful with the operation.

You can find a lot of information by simply googling Docter Optics.

Tom

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jpb, thanks for all the info. That is one thing I noticed about my currect Docter, the scope does not have long eye relief, but it is on a 223 so it has not been a problem. Thought about getting another one for my 6.5x55.

Tom, I did google it, but never could find confirmation that they were still in building riflescopes, other than red-dots.

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Docter makes fine optics. However and a big however, their customer service and repair is very poor.
My buddy sent a pair of 15x60's in for repair. Took over a year to get them back. Another buddy sent back a pair of 10x42 or something of the sort, took him 18 months to get his bins back. Guess they had to be shipped to Germany for repair by a distributor here in the states. In any event that is way too long to be waiting for optics to be repaired.
Great optics but if they go south, it takes a long time to get them back. At least that was the case 5 years ago. I would hope they would have improved their service.

What is the cost of a Docter rifle scope? Does anyone have info if the service issue has been resolved?

Kique


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"..faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.." Hebrews 11:1
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Thanks for the info. I discovered this:

"Docter USA

DocterUsa will no longer be bringing in the rifle scopes or handling any of the warranty/ Repair for the rifle scopes.

For Warranty services please contact Germany Direct at:


Gerate Service & Montage

Coburger Strasse 71

98673 Eisfeld

Germany

Harald Ros

email: Harald_Ros5TB8MN5ZL3EW.webpage.t-com.de

TEL: 011-49-36 86 615928

FAX: 011-49-36 86 615929

Please contact Mr. Ros for all REPAIR and SERVICE issues"

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I own a 3x9-40, The optical clarity is as good as any. To bad they could not get a foot hold in the US. market







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