A friend has a Variable 2x7 with twin turrets on top, stamped MADE IN GERMANY. From "OLD RIFLESCOPES" I determined it was made between 1958 & 1974 but they don't list a manufacturer, any ideas?

Buehler?

Maynard Buehler just made mounts and bases and he was from CA.

That's right

For some reason I'm thinking it was Hensholt, but I could be wrong.

I'm thinking that also.

Only other one I can think of that made the Imperial scopes was Hertel & Reuss.

Beuhler made decent mounts. Had a long time contract w/ Roy Weatherby......

I have a 2-10x collecting dust. It says "made in Germany" on the bottom.....

My buddy who owns the scope just sent me the following....

"FYI, the manufacturer of the Weatherby "Imperial" and "Imperial Variable" scopes was Hertel & Reuss.

What I could find out about it is that Hertel & Reuss was a German company based in Kassel, which produced different optical instruments (microscopes, telescopic sights, binoculars). Hertel & Reuss existed from 1927 to 1995, when it finally became insolvent and was incorporated into another company. It's still known under the same name and they make opera glasses:
http://www.hertelreuss.com
Looks like they still make good stuff.

From what I found in the Weatherby book, Roy Weatherby went to 4 different optics companies in 1953: "Of these four, [Roy] was most impressed with Hertel & Reuss, which had an excellent reputation as one of the finest optical companies in Germany."

Good info.......