FREEDOM OF CHOICE

Pete Evans gets his eye behind a couple of rather special scopes from Leupold

- Pete Evans

Of all the accessories available for an air rifle, along with pellets, the telescopic sight must be the most important extra. Let’s face it, most rifles would be seriously under-gunned without them.

Leupold is a name that looms large in the world of quality optics, having built an enviable reputation for quality and performance over many decades. In accordance with this, and with deep gratitude to Neville Gill and Viking Arms, I have the pleasure of offering before you the Leupold Freedom 2-7 x 33 rimfire and Freedom 1.5-4 x 20 models. Before delving into the main attraction, I think it would be interesting to take a little look at the fascinating back story of this company – often, by looking at the past we make sense of the future.

KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY

Our story starts in 1907 with a partnership between Fred Leupold and his brother-in-law, Adam Vopel, the concern at the time being the manufacture of surveying equipment. Family and the sense of belonging have always played a big part in the Leupold story, and continues to this day, with the impression that the company is still one big happy family. The motto of the company from the early years was, ‘The customer is entitled to a square deal’, which again, is in keeping with the sense of being looked after, as one would hope to be as part of a family.