Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Vintage Redfield 6x18 Variable - Field Test

Last summer I had travelled to Spokane, Washington to do a gunshow there.
I got to Spokane several hours early and while waiting to set up our tables I decided to go "slumming" and visited the pawn shops and gunshops on Spokanes east side.
At one gunshop I was surprised to see a minty Redfield 6x18 variable scope in the case and it was priced at $135.00!
I asked to see the scope and eventually took it outside to do some checking.
I sat the scope on a sandbag atop my VarmintMobile and focussed it for my eye and checked the A/O feature.
I was impressed.
I soon bought the scope for $100.00 cash and even beat the proprietor (legally!) out of the heavy sales tax there in Washington state.
The scope has set idle in my gun room until two days ago
when a friend came to me with his ultra-accurate Ruger 77/22 which had suddenly lost M.O.A. capability at 100 yards and was suddenly at 8 M.O.A.!
He had a Bausch & Lomb 3000 5x15 variable on it and had checked everything out but the scope - he asked me to mount another scope on his Rifle and see if the accuracy "comes back".
My friends original scope WAS the problem as I mounted my "new" 1970's (?) Redfield 6x18 scope on his 77/22 and it re-gained its normal accuracy!
It only took a few hours to do this favor for my friend even though I hated to mount this minty Redfield scope on the notorious "scope ring mark making" Ruger 77/22 integral ring Rifle.
The Redfield's A/O system worked quite well even though it focussed down to just 50 yards - luckily that was where I was doing my testing of the Rifles accuracy.
The image was quite clear with no edge distortion and was relatively bright even at 18 power.
No eyestrain was noted throughout my testing.
The "friction" adjustments were reliable with no hesitation.
While I had the scope and Rifle in my heavy "X" type Dog-Gone-Good sandbag I did some exact yardage testing of the A/O and the marked yardages on the scopes A/O ring were quite close and did eliminate parallax at respective ranges (50, 100, 200 yards).
I have a couple other Redfield 6x18 variables on vintage Varmint Rifles and they have served me well for some time now.
I just had not "tested" them in decades like I did this one, this week.
And on top of it all performance wise this danged old Redfield 6x18 just looked REALLY good!
My recommendation is if anyone comes across a Redfield 6x18 variable scope for a "good" price then jump on it!
I often wonder what happened (caused the demise) of the original Redfield scope and sight company - bad management, heavy competition???
Don't know for sure but I do know I was sad to see them disappear.
Now I have to find a "vintage" appropriate (1970's) Varmint Rifle to go with this nifty old scope - I would prefer a Remington 700 Varmint Special in caliber 222 Remington.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

{I often wonder what happened (caused the demise) of the original Redfield scope and sight company - bad management, heavy competition???
Don't know for sure but I do know I was sad to see them disappear.}
If I remember correctly, the company was disolved after environmental contamination was found migrating from the site and they were determined to be liable for it's cleanup.

It wasn't based upon product issues. They were one of the better scopes back then....and the quality those older models still around are evidence of that.

Redfield started out as Kollmorgen Optical that built most of the periscopes and telescopes for the USN in WWII. After the war Kollmorgen started making rifle scopes including the famous and VERY rare USMC 4X sniper scope for the M-1 used in Korea. Redfield was already an established mount company and absorbed Kollmorgen & Stith. Kollmorgen made 26mm tube scopes and early Redfield were also 26mm, were also called Bear Cubs and used the same friction adjustment system (bulletproof) as Kollmorgen. As long as they were an independent company, they made great scopes. There was a period when the name was bought and used on "just okay" pacific rim scopes.
Now Leupold has bought the name and is producing a broad line of medium priced scopes which have received good press and carry the full Leupold guarantee.

You scored a classic winner !

Lawrence Root why do you find it necessary to continually circumvent Rick Bin's wishes for you to be gone from his website by continuing to add numerous screen names for the sole intent and purpose to TROLL a site where you are neither wanted nor offer ANYTHING of real use and value to the membership?

You've been banned here multiple times and have multiple user names and even claim to be your wife from time to time! You've done the same thing on many other Forums, and have been banned from them as well ... (Accurate Reloading, SnipersHide, Optics Talk, ARAIG, just to name a few...).

Get a life you pathetic, miserable old limp wristed geriatric cross-dresser.

You f*cking old piece of dogshit, is your f*cking "pride" group on hiatus again?

He's over on Accurate Reloading as well under yet another handle!

Larry is still a root................

I have this same scope, bought it from a shooting buddy bout 2 years ago for bout the same price. Actually I bought a box of scopes from him at the time. Had not looked at it to hard at the time and so it sat in the box until I traded for a Ruger 77/22 hornet that he had acquired. This rifle was still in the box and hadn't been fired. The Redfield I have has a couple of ring marks on it, just normal wear and very clear glass. Stuck it on this rifle b/c it was the only scope I had free at the time. I got 2 cases of the Winchester 45 gn hollow points from him along with the rifle. After 50 rounds it is shooting under an inch and just getting better. I believe the Redfield will just stay on it:).

The only problem with it is some bubba had turned the right to left adjustment with a pocketknife or something. Wallowed it out a bit in the process. I'm actually glad I didn't pull the cap off when I bought it or I may not have. It looks like crap when you take the cap off but still works fine. I have several of these older redfields of different powers and reticles and have always been pleased with all of them.

The gender confused cross-dressing geriatric TROLL and his ardent defender Kevin aka 22WRF were both BANNED on the other board.... AGAIN! lol

Always hilarious to give the dumbest of nitwits such as Larry Root the microphone, spotlight and stage, only to watch him fall (get BANNED) repeatedly.

Trolling of the desperate wannabe faction (Larry and his ilk) is always good for a laugh.

FOsteology

The only reason I was banned is because you asked the moderators to ban me because I criticized you solely because you continue to insist that you should be the one who determines who should be on these forums, for whatever reason.

Thats fine. No problem. But I think its you who is always good for the laugh.

Kevin, as per usual you're WRONG. I never asked a Mod. or Admin. (nor the owner) to ban you. Furthermore, I have NEVER contacted a Moderator/Admin. nor the Owner in regards to you nor any of your posts.

Do you honestly think a Moderator or Admin. would ban you or anyone else I desired?? Absurd and laughable.

NO ONE is responsible for you and Root's user ID's being blocked or banned other than YOURSELVES.

Okay, then you tell me why I was responsible for being banned. I had been back on that site for quite awile, and at least three of the moderators knew I was there. And I had been told it was ok for me to be there.

And then, all of a sudden, when I mentioned that I thought you were going a bit overboard on a poster about a redfield scope, I get banned.

It had to be you! No matter. I am happy for you. You got your wish and now you get to brag about your accomplishment.

Never admit it was your own actions that got you booted....that would be too simple.

I don't know, but could hazard a guess. Your welcome was worn out?? Your constant defense and association with the loathsome Larry Root (whom has been banned NUMEROUS times) was the reason??

Instead of asking me, why don't you inquire with the powers that be over on AR?

I's asking you because you seem to be the only one over here bragging about the whole thing. When you get sh_t on you it continues to stink.

And by the way, I am not sticking up for Larry Root. I don't personally know Mr. Root. Rather, what I am sticking up for is the idea that these places are FORUMS. They are places to be heard. Even though they are private, they are meant to be a place for the free exchange of ideas.

There is no doubt that there have been a few occasions when Mr. Root may have gone overboard a bit, but so have you, and so have I, and so have many other folks both here and AR. Those are subjective decisions.

When I asked why I got kicked off AR the first time I was told
"because you are too good for this site". I doubt very seriously that I got kicked off the second time (after I had been back there for over three months, and all of a sudden made one comment about you) just because I was still too good for the site.

There really is nothing worse than a crybaby.

Jeep9776: I am happy your Ruger 77/22 Hornet is doing so well.
The one I owned I gave up on maybe a bit to soon?
Is your Ruger 77/22 Hornet the sporter model or the heavy barrel model?
Great shooting either way.
Ring marks have gotten me into some excellent used scope deals over the decades.
I try to always lap my rings before mounting a scope to avoid ring marks and "pressure points".
Rings and mounts have improved over the last 50 years though and I seldom see anymore a set of grossly misaligned rings.
Keep up the good work with the Ruger 77/22 Hornet.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It appears Larry is also f*cking around with people in the classifieds here; offering to buy an item, sending nothing, then sending a receipt or promissory note to send the funds at some future date. (I received a PM from someone asking me "WTF's up with this guy?")

He'll mess with the wrong guy one day and get more than a promissory note for a boot in his ass. What a tool.

Like Kevin, he doesn't actually do anything illegal or necessarily unethical, but he will waste your time to the nth degree. He likes to play these dickheaded passive-aggressive games to demonstrate that he can disrupt the business and various other board transactions and discourse while simultaneously being one of the most universally reviled pieces-of-[bleep] anyone can potentially encounter on 24HCF or AR. He just needs to be blacklisted -- like Kevin.

So what did this Larry Root guy do that was so bad to get him banned? Heck Pricktop is still on here and I bet there have been more complaints filed against him than anyone else.