This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of one of America's most prominent names in telescopic sights: Weaver. William Ralph Weaver was born in 1905 and established the W.R. Weaver Co. in a small shop in Newport, Kentucky, in 1930.

The Grand Slam is Weaver's top-of-the-line model. David really liked the adjustable turrets and excellent optical performance of his 3-10X 40mm review sample.

He built his first scope by hand and soon began offering a simple 3/4-inch tube 3X model, originally called the 3-30 (3X 1930). The design was smaller, lighter, and, best of all, much less expensive than the imported German scopes of the day. This early model offered excellent value for the money, which would become a trait of Weaver scopes, and sold well.

With two workers and a truck packed with equipment, Bill Weaver moved to a larger facility in El Paso, Texas, in 1933 and began his quest to produce riflescopes made entirely in the U.S. W.R. Weaver would eventually expand until it employed some 600 workers at its height in the 1960s. Maj. George Nonte stated that in the late 1960s half the scopes built in the U.S. bore the W.R. Weaver logo.

Through the years Weaver scopes have evolved and progressed to meet the needs of hunters, competition shooters, and the military. During World War II Weaver produced some 36,000 M73B1s (the military designation for the 330C) for use by snipers on the M1903A4 sniper rifle. After the war Weaver introduced the hugely popular K2.5 and K4 models for hunters. These were followed by additional models in the K-Series and the introduction of the V-Series of variable power scopes, along with a variety of other models and mounts. A reasonable price and good performance quickly made Weaver scopes hugely popular with postwar hunters.

Bill Weaver did not ride off into the sunset of a happy ending. The 1960s were a turbulent time with labor issues and strong foreign competition. The company fell on hard times, and he was forced to sell in 1968. Seven years later, on November 8, 1975, Bill Weaver passed away.

His company was bought and sold several times, and its scopes were marketed with varying degrees of success. Recently, Meade Instruments acquired Weaver (Dept. ST, 201 Plantation Oak Dr., Thomasville, GA 31792; 229-227-9053; www.weaveroptics.com) along with Simmons and Redfield. Meade appears to be dedicated to revitalizing the brand, and this seems to be a stroke of good luck.

The Current Weaver Lineup
Weaver currently offers a wide range of scopes for the hunter. These include the fixed-power K-Series, variable-power V-Series, and top-of-the-line Grand Slam series. For serious competition shooters there's the famous Weaver T-Series with its patented Micro-Trac 4 point adjustment system. Plus, there are separate lines of handgun, shotgun, and rimfire scopes. Weaver also offers binoculars, spotting scopes, and a Digital Nightview Monocular.

To take a closer look at what Weaver currently offers in riflescopes, I decided to review two models. From its flagship Grand Slam line, I picked the 3-10X 40mm with matte black finish. The T-Series is of particular interest to me, so I also chose one of the T-24s with a satin black finish. I thought these two models would provide a good idea of the quality and performance of the riflescopes Weaver is offering today.