Pennsylvania Game News - August 2011 - 61

on the mount. It wasn’t long, though, before all newer model scopes had permanently centered reticules with internal adjustments. (Earlier internally adjusted scopes would adjust the vertical and horizontal stadia’s independently, so if the scope wasn’t perfectly centered with the bore, or shimmed correctly, the crosshairs could be off center as you looked through the scope). Such new scopes were the Lyman Wolverine that came in an 8x and 10x, as well as its All American series that spanned from 2½x to 10x. Leupold came out with the 8x and 10x Mountaineer and Pioneer models, and Weaver came out with the K series of fixed powers from 2½x to 12x (as well as a variable K model that was 2-5x). Redfield had the Bear Cub 12x and the Bausch & Lomb optical company brought out a couple of fixed powers, as well as long range variables in 2.5-8x and a 6-24x range (actually the first American variable was the 3-6x Mossberg Model 6A in 1938). During the 1960s there seemed to be a surge in varminting. The .222 Remington was tops and the .222 Magnum (1957) was gaining popularity, along with the introduction of the .223 Remington (1964), as well as the .225 Winchester (1964), .224 Weatherby Magnum (1963) and the .22-250 Remington (1965). The Savage Model 110, Ruger M77 and Number 1, and Remington M700 and 788, were rifles that were chambered in some of these calibers. As far as scopes went, the variables were getting more attention. Redfield brought out its 3-9x, 2-7x and 4-12x variables, with their Accurange Rangefinder, along with its fixed power Master 12x. Leupold introduced the VARI–X and VARI-X II in 2-7x and 3-9x, and Weaver came out with the V series that included a 2.5-7x and 4-12x. Popular fixed power varmint/target scopes were the Redfield Master and 3200 series, as well as the Lyman All American series. Unertl had the Vulture and Programmer 200 models and Weaver had the K10 and K12 for long range. In the 1970s the .17 Remington (1971) was introduced and pushed 17-caliber 20- and 25- grain bullets at more than 4,000 fps. It is a mild varmint cartridge that has not become exceptionally popular because it is easily afaugust 2011

fected by the wind and its long range capabilities are limited. It had, however, gained a large enough following to continue manufacturing the ammunition, and some rifles are still being chambered for it. In 1979 Remington standardized the .22 Bench Rest cartridge, which had ballistics between the .223 and .22-250. It became popular with some target shooters for a time, but only saw limited use in hunting. It was the scopes that proved interesting, though. In the early 1970s Burris brought out high quality optics with the Fullfield models that had slightly larger ocular lenses. Leatherwood came out with his auto ranging scopes that he designed in the 1960s, which became successful for both the military as well as American sportsmen. Lyman brought out variables in the All American models, along with the new LWBR (Light Weight Bench Rest) fixed powered models up to 25 power, as well as a Metallic Silhouette model. Leupold added from 8x to 24x in its fixed power M8, and Weaver brought out its “T” (target/silhouette) micro-trak models in fixed powers from 6 to 24. As the ’80s rolled on the .22 Hornet, .223 Remington and the .22-250 Remington pretty much dominated the 22-caliber centerfire scene. Combined, these three covered any varminting situation. The very efficient .22 PPC (Palmisano & Pindell) cartridge was standardized in 1987 and became popular for benchrest shooters, but didn’t offer hunters much in the way of ballistic improvement over the already popular .22-250. The technology and quality of variable scopes vastly improved, and they were outselling fixed power models due to their versatility and increase in power ranges. The normal ranges were 1.5-5x, 2-7x and 3-9x, which pretty much covered most hunting situations, but by the late ’80s, 4-12x, 6-18x and 8-32x scopes were beginning to interest many sportsmen. The only rub was that the scopes were a bit longer and the objective lenses had to be enlarged for better light gathering at the higher ranges. The fixed higher power scopes still had an edge in clarity, and these remained popular with the benchrest/ target shooters. High quality expensive foreign scopes, such
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Pennsylvania Game News - August 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - August 2011