Leatherwood ART Rifle Scope Celebrates 50 Years

The Leatherwood ART rifle scope has turned 50!

While I have never had the opportunity to use one of the scopes, we congratulate Leatherwood in the milestone.

Check out the press release below for a bit of background on the scopes.

The ART scope technology was born out of necessity in the early years of the Vietnam War. Enemy snipers were killing American servicemen, but the US Army was not adequately equipped to deal with the problem. The solution was to send newly trained snipers into battlefield service as soon as possible.

However, sniper training at that time was a lengthy process that required long hours on the range teaching recruits to estimate distance and to use the proper amount of “hold-over” (aiming high to compensate for bullet drop) in order to make successful first round hits.

In the late 1960s, Second Lieutenant James M. Leatherwood entered the Army, and brought his recently patented design for a ranging scope that would raise and lower the rear of the scope similar to an open sight.  Shortly after, the Army equipped their snipers with Leatherwood System scopes.  The use of the new scope system had dramatic effects.

Now it was possible to rapidly train snipers to get first round hits out to 900 meters without having to devote precious time on distance estimation or “hold-over.” American snipers were now dominating the field in Vietnam, and the ART scope system became a legend.

ART technology raises and lowers the rear of the scope similar to an open sight, allowing shooters to get first round hits of up to 1000 yards without complex distance estimation.

Over the past 50 years, the ART scope system has been steadily improved under the discerning control of James Leatherwood. An unrelenting insistence on durability and quality resulted in the acceptance of the ART II scope as a standard issue item by the US Army.

Hi-Lux has introduced new versions of the ART scope system designed for the hunter and long-range shooter. These new scopes, based on the technology pioneered James Leatherwood, bring a new dimension and approach to long range shooting.

For additional information on this or any other Hi-Lux Optics product, send us an e-mail at info@hi-luxoptics.com, call us at 888-445-8912 or visit us at https://hi-luxoptics.com.

Hi-Lux Optics, based in Torrance, California designs and manufactures top-quality, feature-rich, rugged optics at affordable prices.Hi-Lux guarantees the workmanship and materials of their scopes for life because they’re rugged and reliable optics built for the demands of law enforcement, military, hunting and competitive shooting.