Leupold Rifle Scope Company

The History of The Leupold Optics Company

For just over a century The Leupold Rifle Scope Company has been an American business that is owned and operated by family. In 1907, Fred Leupold began his company in optics manufacturing in Portland. Leupold was later joined by Markus Freidrich and Adam Voelpel, his brothers-in-law, in a small shop on 5th and Oak Street referred to as Leupold & Voelpel. Later Marcus Leupold, Fred's son, as well as JC Stevens came to be part of the business, and then in 1942, as the company expanded, they changed the name to Leupold & Stevens Instruments Company. At this point in time, Stevens' son Robert also joined the business and would go on to become the General Manager. Fred always said that each customer is entitled to a "square deal" and the company continues to operate with this belief, which certainly contributes to their continued success. Fred died in 1944 and Markus then became the company's president. Norbert, Fred's other son, followed in his father's and brother's footsteps and became the Production Manager.

Leupold & Stevens didn't start designing rifle scopes until 1947, with the first one being the 2.5x Plainsman Scope. The 2.5x Plainsman Scope was the very first scope that was filled with nitrogen rather than air, stopping it from fogging over. Actually, a lot of the standards of today's scopes, including the VX 3 are based on the developments that Leupold has come up with. In 1957, half a century after starting the company, Leupold & Stevens started to gain respect for their rifle scopes and had also created a compass for the outdoors-man. Because scopes were so valuable to the success of the company, they decided that the remaining half of the century would be spent concentrating on sports optics.

The past four decades have produced several innovations in rifle scopes with the invention of compact scopes, the Dual Dovetail mounting system and the Duplex- lightweight high power target scope. Leuplod & Stevens also brought the manufacturing of binoculars back to the U.S. with the Leupold Golden Ring Binoculars. Then in 1998, after a decade and a half as president of the company, Tom Fruechtel succeeded Werner Wildauer and is still the company's president today. Leupold Rifle Scope Company created the very first Compact Roof Prism Waterproof Spotting Scope, the first Lowlight Rifle Scope as well as new, cutting edge competition scopes in 2002. In 2006 there was the brand new RX Rangefinder as well as the VXL scope.

Over the past 100 years, Leupold has contributed positively to the lives of outdoor enthusiasts, shooters and hunters with their scopes. Continuing on the same path as they have been traveling since 1907; listening to the consumers' need for a "square deal" certainly would make Mr. Leupold proud!