Roamin_Wade
member
Why are glossy black scopes hard to find these days new? Even if total sales accounted for 2% of a company’s scope line, people that like them would be buying them. What’s the dadgum idea? Bring back glossy scopes!!!
Gloss black scopes
- Thread starter Roamin_Wade
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you can still order a polished scope from leupolds custom shop. Personally I've got a couple guns I would have liked to have a gloss scope, but not enough to do that.
one downside to gloss ano is that it fades a little easier than matte or satin.
one downside to gloss ano is that it fades a little easier than matte or satin.
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Roamin_Wade
member
Right on, I know Leupold will allow special orders but there are lots of VERY nice blued rifles with fine wood furniture that deserve to be scoped with a scope that matches the rifle’s aesthetics. We are losing the finer side of rifles by all these cheaper matte blued rifles with black plastic stocks.
Mosin Bubba
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I got looking for a gloss black scope for my CZ 527 a while back, and the total absence of gloss options shocked me. It's obvious that manufacturers prefer to produce matte-finished scopes because they're cheaper than gloss, but I couldn't find a single gloss option manufactured by anyone this side of ~$2000 Swarovski-land. Even if matte makes way more business sense, you'd think that someone would produce one model in gloss and capitalize on this niche.
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Bill460
Member
I agree 100%. I haven't scoped a new rifle out in quite some time. Most all of mine are equipped with gloss scopes. I simply do not find matte anything attractive to the eye, when compared to finely blued steel. It offers nothing except more profit for the manufacturer. (Sandblasting is quicker and cheaper than polishing).
I have a new .460 Weatherby Mark V Deluxe that I want to scope. But I'm finding the same thing. Locating a nice low power scope in high gloss is becoming difficult, to a near impossible task. It's quickly becoming the same thing with rings and mounts. Choices are slim to non existent.
This is now going well beyond guns and scopes. I'm seeing brand new Harley's in horrible looking matte finish colors..... Usually black. The damn things look like they were primed, and never painted. Some of the crappiest looking motorcycles I've seen to date. It is really becoming easy to separate people from their money these days.
Elkins45
Member
Most scopes are put on rifles that are used for hunting. There's no advantage to having a shiny scope on a hunting rifle. As I recall, Leopold used to charge $10 more for the matte finish because people were willing to pay more for a non-reflective scope.
ColtPythonElite
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Not only are new gloss scopes hard to find, so are silver ones.
Armored farmer
Member
I have some old Tascos I could sell you guys!?
Conelrad
Member
Any weapon that is shiny or stands out is a bad idea to begin with.
It attracts the eye of antis & game.
Conelrad
It attracts the eye of antis & game.
Conelrad
Bill460
Member
There is no disadvantage either. I just knew someone was going to come back with this. I've hunted all my life with glossy scopes, and bright blued rifles. And I never once lost a shot at an animal because my scope or rifle scared them off. This is all marketing B.S., nothing more. Stainless Steel rifles and scopes are far brighter. And even they work just fine for hunting.
Varminterror
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Gloss scopes are rare today because gloss rifles are rare today also.
Elkins45
Member
You have no way of knowing this. If an animal spotted your shiny scope before you saw them you would never even know they were there.
I agree that it’s mainly a perception that glossy scopes scare game , but your anecdote doesn’t help refute it in any way.
Bill460
Member
If he spotted anything before I saw him it wouldn't matter.
Elkins45
Member
Wanna think about that one for a minute?
ColtPythonElite
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Sure, if they are Japanese.
cdb1
Member
This. It’s really quite simple. Very few factory production rifles are made today with gloss barrels. Even though there is demand for gloss scopes from people such as posted on this thread, the overall demand for gloss scopes is minuscule I’d imagine.
Bill460
Member
As consumers we've been pushed into accepting lesser quality crap. And not only accepting it, but are led to believe it's "better". Perhaps trained would be a better word. When the fact remains it is only cheaper and more profitable to produce. Look at Remington 870 Wingmaster's, Weatherby Mark V Deluxe's, and Browning High Grade Citioi's. Today you have to look deep into these companies catalogs to even find them. They used to adorn the covers every year.
Then compare them to all of these cheaper matte finished guns of the same type. Having worked my entire life in the metal working trades, I can attest to the fact it's far cheaper and quicker to run steel through a sand or bead blaster, than it is to produce a high polished finish on the same.
Polishing requires painstaking metal preparation. Because all imperfections and tool marks must be polished out before bluing, or an oxide finish on Aluminum is applied. Or else these same imperfections will stand out like a sore thumb. And this type of polishing is a very difficult process to automate. It requires mostly hand work, and hand inspection by a keen eye.
Matte finishing hides these imperfections. Many companies like Savage go even further, and spray a rough matte coating on their actions and barrels, to hide these tool marks and imperfections to an even greater degree. The stuff is like latex paint it's so thick.
I bought a Savage Model 10 in .308 some years back. They didn't even install plug screws in the receiver holes. As a result, I had to take the rifle to a gunsmith and have the mounting holes tapped out, because I couldn't even mount a scope base, they had sprayed so much crap into them. This type of nonsense was unheard of with bright blue finishes on firearms. Today it's the norm. And again, we as consumers accept it as, "what's in style"..... And, "What today's customers want".
Scopes are no different. Producing a high polish, glossy finish on scope tubes and components like rings and mounting bases takes time. Time costs money in manufacturing. Running it through a bead blaster instead, hides the cosmetic defects faster and easier. And above all.... Cheaper. This translates into more profit, pure and simple. Then they go a step further, and surround that with all of the "better" B.S. "Anti glare finish that won't scare game". "Deluxe Low Luster Matte Finish", and on and on the advertising departments ramble.
I would have more respect for them, if they simply told the truth..... "Low Cost, Fast & Easy To Produce Matte Finish", assures us profits for years to come. So we can keep bringing you this crap well into your children's future. And continue to build our products cheap, and stack them deep at your local big box store, all for your shopping convenience. And at a price anyone can afford to pay!"
I can respect honesty. Even if it's not what I want to hear. It's far easier to swallow than all of the B.S. that gets regurgitated by their customers. Like trained seals balancing a ball on their nose for a Sardine.
Then compare them to all of these cheaper matte finished guns of the same type. Having worked my entire life in the metal working trades, I can attest to the fact it's far cheaper and quicker to run steel through a sand or bead blaster, than it is to produce a high polished finish on the same.
Polishing requires painstaking metal preparation. Because all imperfections and tool marks must be polished out before bluing, or an oxide finish on Aluminum is applied. Or else these same imperfections will stand out like a sore thumb. And this type of polishing is a very difficult process to automate. It requires mostly hand work, and hand inspection by a keen eye.
Matte finishing hides these imperfections. Many companies like Savage go even further, and spray a rough matte coating on their actions and barrels, to hide these tool marks and imperfections to an even greater degree. The stuff is like latex paint it's so thick.
I bought a Savage Model 10 in .308 some years back. They didn't even install plug screws in the receiver holes. As a result, I had to take the rifle to a gunsmith and have the mounting holes tapped out, because I couldn't even mount a scope base, they had sprayed so much crap into them. This type of nonsense was unheard of with bright blue finishes on firearms. Today it's the norm. And again, we as consumers accept it as, "what's in style"..... And, "What today's customers want".
Scopes are no different. Producing a high polish, glossy finish on scope tubes and components like rings and mounting bases takes time. Time costs money in manufacturing. Running it through a bead blaster instead, hides the cosmetic defects faster and easier. And above all.... Cheaper. This translates into more profit, pure and simple. Then they go a step further, and surround that with all of the "better" B.S. "Anti glare finish that won't scare game". "Deluxe Low Luster Matte Finish", and on and on the advertising departments ramble.
I would have more respect for them, if they simply told the truth..... "Low Cost, Fast & Easy To Produce Matte Finish", assures us profits for years to come. So we can keep bringing you this crap well into your children's future. And continue to build our products cheap, and stack them deep at your local big box store, all for your shopping convenience. And at a price anyone can afford to pay!"
I can respect honesty. Even if it's not what I want to hear. It's far easier to swallow than all of the B.S. that gets regurgitated by their customers. Like trained seals balancing a ball on their nose for a Sardine.
earlthegoat2
Member
Turning on my broken record.
Buy pre owned Leupolds on eBay. Plenty of gloss ones there.
I mean don’t do that. I don’t want people buying up my scopes.
Next challenge is to find gloss base and rings.
Buy pre owned Leupolds on eBay. Plenty of gloss ones there.
I mean don’t do that. I don’t want people buying up my scopes.
Next challenge is to find gloss base and rings.
Because most people don't want them. As some have pointed out, a non glossy finish is less expensive to produce. To listen to some posters here though, you'd think that was the only reason, which is nonsense. A $2000-$4000 Nightforce or Swarovski optic is not non-glossy just because it's cheaper to make. It's non-glossy because a gloss finish on a scope serves no useful purpose and may cause problems.
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Roamin_Wade
member
My thoughts exactly!
Bill460
Member
Not entirely true. They are non glossy, (Nightforce, etc.), because for the most part they are installed on dull, matte finished military type weapons. Both semi auto AR's, as well as sniper rifles. Military guns are not highly finished weapons because it would serve no point. Most are either rattle can spray painted, or else wrapped in some type of camo garb.
In fact, if you look back at the sniper rifles used by the military in Vietnam, most were Walnut stocked, gloss blued Winchester Model 70's, with civilian glossy scopes, (mostly Redfield's and Unertel's ). There are photos of snipers like Carlos Hathcock with these type of rifles everywhere.
Today look at most barrels on AR-15's. The turned finish looks like a phonograph record. Why would you install a beautiful gloss scope on that? It would be like putting a $8,000.00 custom paint job on an off road, rock crawler. For optics on these type of guns a matte finish is a far better choice than gloss.
But you have to remember, this is all a recent trend in the shooting world. Plastic stocked AR's and "sniper rifles" are all the rage today. 40 years ago you couldn't give them away with a free steak dinner. Gloss scopes, and beautifully polished blued rifles were everywhere. Again, this is all about trend and style. 20 years from now, it will be something different. Guns change style just like women's clothing. Not as fast or as often. But they change none the less.
What about what I said is not entirely true? They are non glossy because a gloss finish serves no useful purpose and can cause problems. That's 100% true. The weapons that they're usually mounted to have a similar finish for the same reasons.
That I agree with. I suppose that's why I've never been interested in a glossy scope. All my rifles are tools, not collectors items or toys. Most of them, including my hunting rifle, are spray painted random earth tone colors.
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Bill460
Member
What "problems" can a glossy scope cause?... Other than not matching the gun it's on. Remember, before you come back with the whole glare deal. As I said, most of these scopes are either rattle canned, or wrapped in the military. So it really doesn't matter what they look like out of the box. And I highly doubt we ever lost a sniper in Vietnam, because he gave away his position due to his glossy scope.
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