Robert Prudhomme Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 I managed to find the post. The guy's name was Alex, and he works for the Martin B. Redding Co. Here is the full post: " Ordnance Optics Scopes.....the complete story Okay guys, here's the complete story (as best I know) on the Ordnance Optics Scopes. When Ordnance Optics went out of business, we (Martin B. Retting, Inc.) bought their remaining inventory of 4x scopes. From what I hear...it was a pretty big lot and the scopes were such poor quality that Jim Thompson (who was the mgr. at the time and responsible for the purchase) never heard the end of it. For while the scopes were sold on the floor for use with .22 rifles, I think they were under $10.00 in the late 70's. I remember buying one as a kid for my 10/22.Their more infamous role came when one of the scopes that we sold Kline's ended up on a certain Carcano. Here are the fact as I know them to be: a) there was only one lot of scopes sold off buy Ordnance Optics....but there were to slight variations within it. The one on Oswald's rifle had a knurled ocular lens bell housing. The remaining scopes have smooth ocular bell housings. Otherwise the markings are the same. there is only one type of mount, both the 3 hole and 4 hole started out the same. some mounts were ground to fit 95 mausers (in order to clear the bolt stop). the carcano should have had a four hole mount, with no need for grinding...but Kline's had both styles and simply installed the wrong one. c) the best photo of the rifle, for reference of the scope and mount, appears in the November, 1983 issue of Life Magazine. A photographer was allowed access to the Oswald rifle...the resulting photos show much more detail than the Warren commission pics. d) the scopes themselves are horrible....very poor optically....very frail crosshairs! In addition, the crosshairs are not self centering, so depending on the rifle, the sight picture may be a little annoying. The mounts are also prone to bending. If I had to vote, I go along with the school of thought that argues that Oswald either used the iron sights or simply pointed the rifle by looking over the scope.that being said, I have a few left...the price is $250.00 with mounts, plus $20.00 if you want Keith (the guy who as a kid, ground them originally) to grind the mount like the 95 mount. the actual availability issue isn't the scopes, it's the mounts..... which will run out before the scopes. I used to advertise them occasionally, with a brief history and a certificate of authenticity, but I got tired of all of the hate mail that I would get... never ceases to amaze me how mean supposedly "enlightened" liberals can be if you're what they consider "politically incorrect" anyhow.... if anyone ever has any question, you can call me at the shop. 310-xxx-xxxx....ask for Alex" I thought it best to hide the phone number for now, as I don't want this guy getting a flood of calls before I have a chance to speak to him again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Newton Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I managed to find the post. The guy's name was Alex, and he works for the Martin B. Redding Co Robert - Great find! Thanks for posting this, let us know what you find out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Prudhomme Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 (edited) Well, I just spoke with Alex at the Martin B. Redding Inc. sales dept. He says they no longer regret the original purchase of the batch of Ordnance Optics Inc. 4 x 18 scopes, and that, with the rising price over the years, consider it now a very sound investment. Alex seemed to be a very accommodating fellow, and took the time to retrieve one of these scopes from the shelf and remove the elevation and windage caps. Much to my disappointment, there was no "<UP-DOWN>" or "<LEFT-RIGHT>" on either of the adjustment screws. He did say, though, that the lettering on the side of the scope looked more natural with the windage cap on the left, and that the lettering was actually upside down with the windage cap on the right. I guess we'll just have to go with that, and assume the Japanese manufacturers made a very unique scope with the windage cap on the left. Edited October 27, 2015 by Robert Prudhomme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Newton Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Hey Robert, Is there any documentation that comes with the scopes that he could scan and email? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Prudhomme Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 Oops, just read a little closer. It's Retting, not Redding. My bad. I'll see what I can do, Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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