Hi-Lux Optics Malcolm 6X Short Rifle Telescope Adjustable Parallax

Since very little is generally known about early telescopic sights, a little history is in order to understand where the Wm. Malcolm short telescopic sight fits in. Good terrestrial telescopes were being built by the early 1700s. However, these scopes were riddled with chromatic aberrations, distortions, and cloudy glass among other issues. Nonetheless, these telescopes had adequate optical quality for use as rifle telescopes. It was not until the mid 1800s that rifles became sufficiently accurate to require a telescopic sight. The problem then became how to mount the scope so that it could be zeroed to the rifle. In 1855, William Malcolm started building ‘Rifle Telescopes’. He understood that a riflescope must be properly constructed to hold zero. He made his scope tubes by boring them from solid bar stock, the same procedure as was used to build rifle barrels. The lenses were mounted on separate housings, securely fastened to the scope tube. His first mounts followed the pattern described by John Chapman in his book published in 1844. This pattern was used by many early riflescope builders. The elevation adjustment was a simple threaded post in the rifle tang. At some point (probably after the Civil War), Malcolm devised a new solution to more precisely adjust elevation. He built a rabbit ear type mount that was located where the rear sight was usually positioned. This was much more robust than the previous designs and could be precisely adjusted either by a vernier scale or a scale-and-micrometer screw system. Additionally, he assembled his scopes to withstand the recoil of the heavier caliber finally using steel in place of earlier brass designs. Between the opening of the West and the death of the great Buffalo herds, Malcolm’s scopes saw it all. As repeating rifles appeared and the need for long-range single shot rifles were on the decline, short scopes in new styles of mounts began to appear. By the turn of the century, Malcolm was primarily producing this new type of scope in magnifications between 4X and 20X, with 6X 3 designs being the most popular. Their Malcolm short rifle telescopes are based on a design that continued to see use even during WWII. By the turn of the 20th Century, Malcolm had become the leading scope manufacturer in the U.S. The company continued in business until WWII, even though some new optical technologies had been developed in Europe which would make this line of scopes obsolete. However, American Marines would still carry this later type of Malcolm scope into combat during WWII. Descendants of these scopes, such as the Unertl, were used in armed conflicts as late as Vietnam. Our Wm. Malcolm vintage scopes are constructed in the same manner as the original, sharing the authentic look and feel of the original scopes. While the aesthetics and mechanical functionality of their Wm. Malcolm scopes are reminiscent of the original, the optical performance is much improved due to the fully multicoated HD lenses, and the mechanical performance is improved by advancements in metallurgy and machining processes. Specifications for Hi-Lux Optics Malcolm 6X Short Rifle Telescope Adjustable Parallax: Manufacturer: Hi-Lux Optics Magnification: 6 x Reticle: Fine Cross Finish: Matte Color: Black Length: 18.5 in Parallax: 10 yds to infinity Package Contents: Hi-Lux Optics Malcolm 6X Short Rifle Telescope Adjustable Parallax