Meopta's new HS 75 spotting scope: fortier says you know a piece of equipment is first rate when everyone wants to borrow it

Guns Magazine, Sept, 2002 by David M. Fortier

It was a cold November morning in New Hampshire and I was two days into a five day Advanced Tactical Marksman Observer course at the SIG Arms Academy. We had just finished a course of fire and my class was preparing to move to another section of the rifle range. I was engrossed in gathering up my brass, my Sako TRG-22, and other assorted gear, so I didn't hear our Instructor approach.

"Dave my spotting scope just went down, you mind if I borrow yours?" John asked.

"Naw man, it's right there." I said pointing to my Meopta HA 70 Hermes 1.

"Thanks man," he replied.

And that was the last I saw of my Meopta until the end of the course.

I really should have known better. John had taken a liking to it at the last rifle course I'd been at. He, and the rest of my class, had been impressed with its light weight, compact size, and excellent optics. So when his well-used and abused spotting scope died an inglorious death, he quickly pressed mine into service. I took it as quite a compliment. You know a piece of gear is good when everyone wants to borrow it, and they all ask how much it costs. Such was the case with my Meopta.

Great Value For The Money

When it comes to optics, the old rule of thumb, "you get what you pay for" rings all too true. Without a doubt it's best to stick with one of the well-established manufacturer's and pay a little (sometimes a lot) more for quality glass.

Recently however I ran across a European optics manufacturer almost unknown in the U.S. This unfamiliar company is Meopta of the Czech Republic. Of interest here is the fact that they have a new line of spotting scopes that are of very high quality and perfect for the serious rifleman.

No newcomer to building precision optics, Meopta is in fact an old established Western European company highly respected in the Old World. While their rifle and spotting scopes have been available in the U.S. for some time, they were never marketed aggressively. So most American riflemen have never heard of them. Due to this I did a little background research on the company and turned up some interesting information.

Origins Of Meopta

The company's history dates back to 1933, when the production plant "Optikotechna" was founded in the city of Prerov by Dipl. Ing. Benes. It was here that Dr. Antonin Mazurek constructed the first Czechoslovakian lens system. While at the time Europe was still caught in an economic depression, this little company managed to grow. Then Nazi Germany invaded and Hitler's expansionism brought the company firmly under the Wehrmacht's control.

One of the items needed to wage a modern war are precision optics, so Optikotechna was a valuable asset to the German war machine. Throughout the war years 1939 to 1945, the optico-mechanicle production in Prerov was continually developed and refined. Among other precision optical devices, they produced scopes for sniper rifles during World War II. These included such items as the Zielfernrohr 41 (telescopic sight 41, a long eye relief 'scout' type sniper scope for the Karabiner 98k), and the Zielfernrohr 4-fach (telescopic sight 4 power as used on the Selbstladegewehr 43 sniper variant).

Interestingly, Optikotechna also produced a scope, probably exclusively, for a Waffen SS sniping variant of the 98k. Known as the "double claw" mount 98k, this sniper rifle used a mounting system that was almost identical to that used by Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka, AS (Czechoslovak Arms Factory, Ltd.) on pre-war sporting rifles. For this rifle, Optikotechna produced a surprisingly modern 4x sniper scope. Features of which included a BDC calibrated to 800 or 1,200 meters, large objective lens, a focusable ocular lens, and, for the time period, superb light transmission and resolving power.

This was arguably the finest sniper scope of the war. It's interesting to think how many collectors over the years have admired the "superb German optics" on some of these sniper rifles without ever knowing they were actually Czech. The only way to identify them being their wartime code, "dow."

Postwar Evolution

Optikotechna eventually became today's Meopta. After the war they went on to become well known in the world of photography. They produced cameras, lenses, projectors, enlargers, and movie cameras. However, the Soviet invasion of 1968 placed Czechoslovakia firmly behind the Iron Curtain. This led to their products being almost unknown here in the United States. However, this is changing, and Meopta is quite interested in the U.S. market.

Today, in addition to their photographic products, they also have a line of military wares. These include passive night vision devices for use in armored vehicles, night vision goggles, and the ZD6x50 and ZD10x5O scopes for use on military sniper rifles. And though their military optics are not currently available in the U.S., their extensive line of sporting optics are.

Included in their sporting line are some very high quality spotting scopes. Their line includes the company's older HA 70 Hermes 1 as well as two brand new models, the HA 75 and HS 75. Having been impressed by their HA 70 and desiring a first hand look at these new scopes, I contacted Meopta directly when these new versions were first advertised. A short time later a parcel arrived from the Czech Republic.