When Wm. Malcolm opened the first true riflescope manufacturing operation in Syracuse, New York in 1855, he changed the way rifle optics were made. The scopes he brought to market were the first to be built with a seamless steel 3/4" diameter tube - and the first to feature an adjustable eye-piece.

Prior scopes, or telescopic rifle sights as they were known then, dating from as early as 1840 had been custom built, mostly by the muzzleloading rifle makers of the time, using rolled seamed tubes as small as 1/2" diameter, with the lenses precision ground for the individual shooter's eyesight. Malcolm's larger diameter seamless scope tubes proved far brighter, and the adjustable ocular lens meant that anyone could use his scopes. These were the first mass produced riflescopes in history, and were sold across the U.S. by general mercantile stores and gun shops. They were superior rifle optics at a more affordable price.

Today, the Wm. Malcolm name is a registered Hi-Lux Optics trademark, and is used to distinguish a growing line of earlier vintage scope models that have been put back into production.

New life for the Malcolm line began in 2005 with the recreation of an original style 1855 long 6x scope for use on long-range muzzleloading target rifles and early black powder cartridge rifles, such as the Model 1874 Sharps, the Remington Rolling Block, and the Winchester Hi-Wall. That scope was followed by 3x and 6x versions of a shorter circa 1880's Malcolm scope, introduced in 2007. More recently, the Hi-Lux Optics rebirth of the Wm. Malcolm line has been expanded to include the remake of the M73 scope used on the WWII Model 1903-A4 sniper rifles and the 8x external adjustment scope chosen by the U.S. Marine Corps to top their WWII sniper rifle, the Model 41. The newest addition to the Wm. Malcolm line is the 3-9x40mm auto-ranging scope that was mounted on USMC Vietnam era Model 40 sniper rifles - and there's already another very popular 1940's vintage scope under re-development.

What truly sets these scopes apart from the originals they copy is the internal construction. All lenses are now fully multi-coated for maximum light transmission. None of the originals were ever as bright, as clear or as sharp as the new-made Wm. Malcolm models of the same scopes. Lens mountings and sighting adjustments have also been vastly improved. All come with a limited lifetime warranty. For more on the entire Wm. Malcolm line, go to the Hi-Lux Optics website a www.hi-luxoptics.com .

(To learn more about early riflescope development in America, circa 1840's-1860's, and a look at some of the earliest riflescopes, go tohttp://www.namlhunt.com/mlscopes.html.)